The Stigma of Mental Illness among Christians

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S.—43.8 million, or 18.5 percent—experiences mental illness in a given year. Many of these individuals turn to their church and their faith for spiritual guidance in times of emotional distress. Unfortunately, there is still a stigma attached to mental illness in many Christian churches. The prevailing culture of silence along with misguided attitudes and erroneous expectations often cause suffering believers to feel shamed, blamed and very unsupported. 

That means a lot of good, Christ-centered people suffer alone in silence. Recent statistics from NAMI also show:

• Approximately 1 in 25 adults in the U.S.—9.8 million, or 4 percent—experiences a serious mental illness in a given year that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities.
• 18.1 percent of adults in the U.S. experienced an anxiety disorder such as posttraumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and specific phobias.

Suicide, depression, schizophrenia and substance abuse are just some of the mental illness-related topics many Christians find it hard to talk about. However, things are slowly changing for the better, and many Christians and clergy members are now taking mental illness much more seriously, states Billy Graham Center Executive Director, Ed Stetzer, Ph.D., in a piece for Christianity Today.

Christian faith and acute mental illness study results

Nashville-based LifeWay Research partnered with Focus on the Family and the family of a man who endured schizophrenia to conduct a large study on faith and mental illness. One of the three groups researchers surveyed in the multi-part study was comprised of 1,000 senior Protestant pastors.

As expected, based on the large numbers of Americans suffering with some form of mental illness, the pastors were quite experienced with the subject matter. The survey found:

•       Approximately three out of four pastors said they knew at least one family member, friend, or congregant who had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
•       74 percent said they knew someone diagnosed with clinical depression.
•       57 percent said they knew at least three people who fell into the clinical depression category.

But the researchers found a real disconnect between the pastors’ familiarity with mental illness and how proactively their churches approached the issue. While there was a genuine desire to help those who experience mental illness, there was not a proportionate amount of concrete, supportive action. The survey showed:

•       There is a lack of training for leaders on how to recognize mental illness.
•       Few churches have plans to assist families affected by mental illness.
•       Few churches are staffed with a counselor skilled in mental illness.

Why is mental illness still such a taboo topic?

Although each Christian individual dealing with depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder or PTSD has a unique and personal reason for not seeking support from others—in or out of church— there are some common experiences and misperceptions. Whether these come from the person, their pastor, their peers or their loved ones, they often get in the way of seeking life-changing help. Examples include:

Mental illness is a sign of weakness: “Chin up! You just need to be stronger!” is something a person dealing with depression might hear. Instead of being recognized for the legitimate, clinical condition it is, depression might be viewed as a personal flaw, character weakness, or caused by a lack of self-discipline or willpower in some cultures and congregations.