Mental Illness And God's Plan

[Fidei Defensor]

I've always been curious about how mental illness plays into God's supposed plan, especially with those who claim to have direct visions and contact with God.

 

I guess I don't have a real question, just curious about viewpoints. Feel free to discuss.

[Selah]

God's plan isn't mental illness. I always hate when people say things like that. I suffer from agitated depression. I struggle with self-harm and tried to take my own life a couple weeks ago (I know that's a lot I just confessed, but whatever). It sucks. I hate it.  If this is God's idea of a plan, he can...well, you know. Yet, you learn to live with it, and you try to understand that all sickness and illness are a result of the fall, and yes, God can help us through our circumstances. But no, God's plan was that we don't suffer, but we screwed that up royally.

 

And the people who tell me and others this mean well, but it actually comes off as insensitive. 

[HisChildForever]

I find it interesting that with psychotic disorders tends to come preoccupation with religion or grandiosity.

[HisChildForever]

I think we can say this--God does not [b]cause[/b] these things to happen but [b]allows[/b] them to happen. Why, I don't know. But that's the best I can come up with.

[Fidei Defensor]

God's plan isn't mental illness. I always hate when people say things like that. I suffer from agitated depression. I struggle with self-harm and tried to take my own life a couple weeks ago (I know that's a lot I just confessed, but whatever). It smells of elderberries. I hate it.  If this is God's idea of a plan, he can...well, you know. Yet, you learn to live with it, and you try to understand that all sickness and illness are a result of the fall, and yes, God can help us through our circumstances. But no, God's plan was that we don't suffer, but we screwed that up royally.

 

And the people who tell me and others this mean well, but it actually comes off as insensitive. 

I wish you nothing but peace, I completely understand where you are coming from. I suffer from major depression and have been hospitalized a few times because of it. 

[polskieserce]

I've always been curious about how mental illness plays into God's supposed plan, especially with those who claim to have direct visions and contact with God.

 

I guess I don't have a real question, just curious about viewpoints. Feel free to discuss.

 

I think it's impossible for mere humans to know what God's will is, unless he directly communicates with an individual and tells them.  That being said, I do think that people with mental illnesses should have a close eye kept on them, both for their safety and the safety of others.

[OnlySunshine]

I think it's impossible for mere humans to know what God's will is, unless he directly communicates with an individual and tells them.  That being said, I do think that people with mental illnesses should have a close eye kept on them, both for their safety and the safety of others.

 

People with mental illnesses shouldn't be lumped into one category.  Not all mental illnesses present a danger to self or others.  It depends on the type of illness and whether or not the person is being treated by a doctor effectively AND whether their medication/therapy is working.  I was diagnosed with depression about 15 years ago and I'm doing so well that most people don't notice I have it until I tell them.  Recovery IS possible.

[OnlySunshine]

I've always been curious about how mental illness plays into God's supposed plan, especially with those who claim to have direct visions and contact with God.

 

I guess I don't have a real question, just curious about viewpoints. Feel free to discuss.

 

I don't believe that God gave me depression but I do believe He allowed it for my greater good.  I've learned so much about myself and gained compassion and empathy for others that I probably wouldn't have learned otherwise.  Once you endure something successfully and never give up, it teaches you a lot.  I am thankful that I have a good medical/therapeutic support system which has allowed my recovery.  I don't consider myself a victim but a survivor.  ;)

[Tab'le De'Bah-Rye]

I have a mental illness but which one i know not because the diagnosis keeps changing. I'm unsure what you all mean by God allowing it as a part of salvation but i get the sentiment as being stay faithful in hope and love and you will learn from it, but i don't believe it is the illness itself that the good comes from it is the remaining faithful to God in hope and love that does. This i believe is the work of the enemy mental illness,depression, chronic anxiety etc, to distort our minds,hearts and souls, an attempt to drive us to despair.

And Tardis the enemy and it's legions don't only attack christians. Anyhow these are all just my thoughts. On the whole plan thing, i believe God desires only good and happiness for us all but our sins,resentments and sins against us, etc, separate us from that plan, sometimes sometimes and sometimes often. His will is that we trust him 1st and foremost and it is very easy to trust worldly things and forget about God therefore such things becoming false idols causing us to break the 1st commandment and seperate us from his plan or only recieve bits and pieces of this plan. No i don't think sin is part of Gods plan nore do i believe such terror as mental illness and depression to be either.

And on the whole saints having vision i don't think they had mental illnesses, most of these where one offs or not very regular or for a very brief period of time, perhaps some are due to mental illness though but the church officials discerner this and i guess that is why not all visions are church official. And sometimes even if the visionary isn't mentally ill and totally coherent in all other respects as i'm sure the recognised saints where some visions are personal and some for a select few and not the whole.

 

Jesus iz LORD.

Edited March 7, 2014 by Tab'le De'Bah-Rye

[maximillion]

I have been diagnosed on the Autistic spectrum of disorders (Aspie).

 

I have never thought that this was 'sent from God', or for that matter, sent from the evil one either. It is part of human nature, and that nature got the way it is at the fall. Humanity became imperfect as a result and one of the consequences is illness, of whatever description.

 

However, I can't let this go without a comment:

 

 

That being said, I do think that people with mental illnesses should have a close eye kept on them, both for their safety and the safety of others.

 

 

It is an artifact of the media industry that people with mental health issues more dangerous than anyone else. It simply is not true, and there is active research to back this up if you are willing to look for it, and this is endorsed by every major mental health organisation. I know it is hard not to think this when you read newspapers and watch TV and other sensationalist media, but please try to inform yourself of the true picture and don't pass out unaware comments. Thanks!

 

This is from the organisation in the UK called Time to Change, which works to end the stigma around MH.

 

Statistics about violence and mental illness

• The majority of violent crimes and homicides are committed by people who do not have mental health problems. 
• People with mental health problems are more dangerous to themselves than they are to others: 90 per cent of people who die through suicide in the UK are experiencing mental distress
• In 2009, the total population in England and Wales aged 16 or over was just over 43 million. It is estimated that about one in six of the adult population will have a significant mental health problem at any one time, (more than 7 million people). Given this number and the 50–70 cases of homicide a year involving people known to have a mental health problem at the time of the murder, clearly the statistics data do not support the sensationalised media coverage about the danger that people with mental health problems present to the community.
• Substance abuse appears to play a role: The prevalence of violence is higher among people who have symptoms of substance abuse (discharged psychiatric patients and non-patients). 

Read our guidelines for reporting stories featuring violence and mental health problems for more information.

 

[Selah]

Nvm 

 

Edited March 7, 2014 by Selah

[CatherineM]

I find it interesting that with psychotic disorders tends to come preoccupation with religion or grandiosity.

Also aliens. Of my husband's dozen or so friends, two were in seminary and one rabbinical school when they got sick. I suspect that their precursor voices seemed like God talking to them.

As to what good it does, if there wasn't some benefit to having the genes for schizophrenia, it would long ago have been bred out of the population. In family clusters like my husband's, they have found those with the genes but not the illness are more creative.

[Fidei Defensor]

I think we can say this--God does not cause these things to happen but allows them to happen. Why, I don't know. But that's the best I can come up with.

Technically, God causes everything as the "first cause."

[KnightofChrist]

Technically, God causes everything as the "first cause."

No, not really. But I do wonder if He causes you to come back around here every Lent. Seems like the last time I saw you actively posting was last Lent. Good to see you again.

[polskieserce]

People with mental illnesses shouldn't be lumped into one category.  Not all mental illnesses present a danger to self or others.  It depends on the type of illness and whether or not the person is being treated by a doctor effectively AND whether their medication/therapy is working.  I was diagnosed with depression about 15 years ago and I'm doing so well that most people don't notice I have it until I tell them.  Recovery IS possible.

 

I beg to differ.  Over the course of my life, I have seen a wide range of people with illnesses (severe autism, depression, self-injury, impulse control, adhd, etc).  In every case I've seen, there were problems with these people functioning in day to day life.  Obviously, someone with depression will have nowhere near the level of trouble that a severely autistic person will have.  But there were still problems.  I'm not saying that there needs to be a guy with a straight jacket following these people around.  But the people in that person's life need to be mindful of that individual's psychological limitations.  Lets put it this way, I have no problems being friends with a person who has adhd/depression.  But I would be VERY weary of spending the rest of my life in a relationship like that.

 

However, I can't let this go without a comment:

 

 

It is an artifact of the media industry that people with mental health issues more dangerous than anyone else. It simply is not true, and there is active research to back this up if you are willing to look for it, and this is endorsed by every major mental health organisation. I know it is hard not to think this when you read newspapers and watch TV and other sensationalist media, but please try to inform yourself of the true picture and don't pass out unaware comments. Thanks!

 

This is from the organisation in the UK called Time to Change, which works to end the stigma around MH.

 

Statistics about violence and mental illness

• The majority of violent crimes and homicides are committed by people who do not have mental health problems. 
• People with mental health problems are more dangerous to themselves than they are to others: 90 per cent of people who die through suicide in the UK are experiencing mental distress
• In 2009, the total population in England and Wales aged 16 or over was just over 43 million. It is estimated that about one in six of the adult population will have a significant mental health problem at any one time, (more than 7 million people). Given this number and the 50–70 cases of homicide a year involving people known to have a mental health problem at the time of the murder, clearly the statistics data do not support the sensationalised media coverage about the danger that people with mental health problems present to the community.
• Substance abuse appears to play a role: The prevalence of violence is higher among people who have symptoms of substance abuse (discharged psychiatric patients and non-patients). 

Read our guidelines for reporting stories featuring violence and mental health problems for more information.

 

My statement was not based on anything I saw in the media.  I know the media blows a lot of things out of proportion.  I was basing my statement off of my personal experiences, as well as what others have experienced personally.

[IcePrincessKRS]

I think we can say this--God does not cause these things to happen but allows them to happen. Why, I don't know. But that's the best I can come up with.

 

Agreed. These things exist because of the fall. We are fallen creatures with faults. We are prone to illness. God doesn't cause people to have mental illness any more than He causes them to catch a cold. *Ish happens because the world is (in a sense) a broken place.

 

I know several people with diagnosed mental illnesses. They are some of the most beautiful human beings I know. I consider it a blessing and an honor to have them be a part of my life. It makes me irate to think that other people woud consider them a burden.

[Winchester]

 

 

My statement was not based on anything I saw in the media.  I know the media blows a lot of things out of proportion.  I was basing my statement off of my personal experiences, as well as what others have experienced personally.

Anecdotal experience, then.

[OnlySunshine]

I beg to differ.  Over the course of my life, I have seen a wide range of people with illnesses (severe autism, depression, self-injury, impulse control, adhd, etc).  In every case I've seen, there were problems with these people functioning in day to day life.  Obviously, someone with depression will have nowhere near the level of trouble that a severely autistic person will have.  But there were still problems.  I'm not saying that there needs to be a guy with a straight jacket following these people around.  But the people in that person's life need to be mindful of that individual's psychological limitations.  Lets put it this way, I have no problems being friends with a person who has adhd/depression.  But I would be VERY weary of spending the rest of my life in a relationship like that.

 

 

My statement was not based on anything I saw in the media.  I know the media blows a lot of things out of proportion.  I was basing my statement off of my personal experiences, as well as what others have experienced personally.

 

Depression does not mean someone will forever struggle with problems.  Depression and anxiety are the most common mental illnesses today.  It's a chemical imbalance, which can occur from a traumatic life event such as a family member dying in a car crash.  It can be acute and not long-term.  So I think it's unfair to say that someone with a mental illness will always have problems.  Medicine is always evolving. 

 

http://www.livescience.com/42442-mental-disorders-more-common.html

 

http://tech.mit.edu/V120/N3/dep1.3n.html

Edited March 8, 2014 by MaterMisericordiae

[Fidei Defensor]

I have diagnosed major depressive disorder, attention deficit disorder and an anxiety disorder.  With the proper medications, I am a high functioning member of society. 

 

I will not lie, I have had some rough times. However, I have made it through and am still here today, perhaps by the grace of a loving God; certainly through the work of my dedicated team of physicians. 

Edited March 8, 2014 by tardis ad astra

[CatherineM]

My husband has schizophrenia, I have PTSD, our adopted son has bipolar and fetal alcohol. The sanest person in the family is our basset hound. Considering he likes to smell his own urine puddles, I'm not sure he is a paragon of sanity.