Biblical Perspective on Mental Illness

In her memoir Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness, Susannah Cahalan chronicles her experience with a rare brain disorder called anti-NMDA-receptor encephalitis. She unwaveringly recounts the most intimate details of her extreme and progressive symptoms that eventually descend into madness. Prior to the final (and correct) diagnosis of her disease, Cahalan was misdiagnosed multiple times due to symptoms similar to those of other mental illnesses-- one doctor even diagnosed her as an alcoholic. At the onset of subtle symptoms of her disease, symptoms such as paranoia, depression, and emotional lability, Cahalan's family and friends believed her emotional and mental instability to be a result of an over-demanding job that eventually led to a nervous breakdown. It was not until her symptoms gradually worsened that Cahalan and her family realized she was actually sick and must seek immediate medical attention. Cahalan's subsequent diagnoses of bipolar disorder, postictal psychosis, schizoaffective disorder, etc., eventually led to her concluding diagnosis of anti-NMDA-receptor encephalitis.

Although Christian faith does not serve a primary role in Cahalan's novel, I found myself wondering, throughout my reading, what role faith might have played in her journey and experience with this disease. In a Biblical aspect, Cahalan's journey elicits many questions with regard to how Christians and the Church approach and deal with mental illness- an issue that raises much controversy and debate in a Christian setting. In the time following the suicide of Matthew Warren, the son of evangelical pastor Rick Warren, who had struggled for a time with mental illness, the Christian community was up in arms questioning whether or not Pastor Warren was fit to lead his Church community, some even blaming him for his son's death. Mental illness is an issue around which the Church sometimes tends to tiptoe. A common belief spread throughout the Christian community is that mental illness is an indicator of lack of faith, lack of repentance, or the presence of sin.

"Part of our belief system is that God changes everything, and that because Christ lives in us, everything in our hearts and minds should be fixed."
                                                                                             - Ed Stetzer

The Church often contributes to the idea that Christians are immune to mental illness, or that God will not give us over to situations that we cannot handle. Prayer, scripture, and increased communal participation in the Church are often thought of as enough to cure mental maladies. Mental illnesses are more than a consequence of weak faith or presence of sin. Mental illnesses are scientifically proven chemical imbalances in the brain. They are a physiological reality. By placing the blame of mental illnesses on those who suffer from them, we, as Christians, turn our backs on those who need us. We would not blame those with cancer or heart disease for living lives deserving of their illnesses, so why do we do the same for those with diseases that affect the brain? Living a God-honoring life filled with prayer and scripture will not treat the physical symptoms. While treatment and medicine is necessary, however, so is a community of believers who love and support individuals with mental illnesses.

In Romans 8: 22-23, Paul writes, "For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies." In studying consummation as the third Biblical mountain peak, we have identified a great hope with the coming of Christ. In chapter 8 of Romans, Paul claims that with the coming of Christ, we will be released from our worldly bondage. This includes the bondage of illness and pain. We can look to consummation as a hopeful promise to the eventual eradication of all illness and pain, but, until that day comes, it is important that we identify mental illness for what it is- an illness.