Confronting Mental Illness

Caveat: (I do not profess to be nor am I a certified mental health doctor or counselor. This information is purely from my direct and indirect experiences with mental health and my concern for those who have a mental illness.)

A lot of insecurities mimic mental illness. In other words, it is our insecurities that cause us to have bouts with mental health issues. Our insecurities feed our fear, and we don’t believe we can get free. We have allowed the problems of life to get the best of us through our insecurities.

We become insecure when we encounter places or situations in our life that are not secure. Many of us have grown up with no real secure or safe place. Some of us have been molested, raped, beaten, abused mentally, physically, psychologically, and some of us even been sold, misused and downright tortured. Unfortunately, these traumatic experiences for some of us are causing us and have caused us to react in ways that are irrational and in some cases have caused us to lose all sense with reality. The feeling of being insecure has caused us to be paranoid and suspicious, and some of us don’t trust anyone not even ourselves.

So we go alone in life without the security (love, peace, trust, confidence, assurance, etc.) that is so desperately needed to live life to the fullest. Insecurity causes us to have constant erroneous thoughts that give way to mental illness/instability. The purpose of insecurities is to feed off our past traumatic experiences to render us helpless and hopeless so that we will never get the help we need to expose oneof the real culprits of mental illness.

Mental illness is rooted in our traumatic experiences where our insecurities (“I’m not pretty enough,” “I’m not skinny enough,” “I’m not smart enough,” and the "I’m not good enough” syndrome list is endless) have a field day. Those situations in our lives that have violated, abused and neglected us are considered unsafe and now are our insecurities.

To get mentally stable we must first get honest with our past trauma. We must face the “giant” or the “white elephant in the room” (our past). In other words, we must deal with that which caused the insecurities. If we do not face our past traumas, we will continuously be in a state of mental influx and mentally challenged as well as unstable. If we never confront the giant, we will never experience life without being insecure.

A life of mental instability is not a life God our Creator called us to the earth realm to live. Jesus Christ came to give us life and that more abundantly (John 10:10). He did not go into the world to condemn us but to free us from captivity. So God wants us to live life and not let life live us through mental anguish.

Another name for God is Jehovah Jireh which means God provides. If God provides medical doctors for our physical health, He has also provided psychiatrists, counselors, and ministerial counselors and self-help groups for our mental health as well. God has given us an escape route for our mental health. Many of us are asking God to deliver and heal us of our mental illness, but God is saying, “I have already provided you an escape, and you will not take it.” Most of us won't take the escape route because we want God to deliver and heal us instantly. He is not going to do that because He has already provided the necessary healing agents and remedies for our mental illness. It is like asking God to heal your headache, and many medications have been created to cure your problem (we provoke God when we ask Him for something He has already provided).

Never stop praying but after you pray, receive the answer. There are many mental health agencies and ministerial counselors and self-help groups ready to help you get free and stay free. It is going to require you taking the first step into your freedom. You are already free (John 8:36) because Jehovah Jireh has already provided.