As Paul describes in Romans 8:
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 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. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. (Romans 8.18-25)
This passage captures our mental health journey. We "groan inwardly" as we await "the redemption of our bodies." Due to our embodiment, in this life we are never wholly free from this groaning. Consequently, our posture toward mental illness isn't triumphalistic, but is, rather, a posture of patience and hope. For many of us, even among the faithful, our mental health journey will be arduous and long, perhaps even life long. However, this long, hard journey isn't a moral or spiritual failure. This journey is simply a manifestation of the present groaning of creation, a groaning that only ceases when our bodily existence is redeemed.
Now, does that mean God does nothing for us in the meantime? No. As Paul says in the passage above, though we "groan inwardly" we have the "firstfruits of the Spirit." After this post I will turn in this series to describe what we can expect by way of help from the Spirit. But today I want to simply note that this aid from the Spirit does not fully overcome our present groaning. In theological language, our posture toward mental illness has to be eschatological. Full healing, for both body and soul, is something we "await" with patience and hope.
Patience and hope isn't just the posture of those suffering from mental illness. Patience and hope should also be the posture of caregivers, the community, and the church. How should we treat and respond to mental illness in our homes, neighborhoods and churches? With patience and hope. There should be no stigma, shame or blame. In patience and hope we accompany each other on our mental health journeys.
Let me, then, pause here to summarize some of the take home points from these last couple of posts before turning to some new issues in the posts to come.
The point I've made over the first six posts in this series is that a dualistic assumption sits behind many of the confusions we find among Christians in regards to mental illness. Because many Christians believe that the "soul" is radically independent of the body, we find increased stigma, triumpalistic expectations for healing, and a suspiciousness toward medication.
I have suggested that if we come to embrace our embodiment, that we are ensouled bodies and embodied souls, we gain a more compassionate, wise, holistic, and realistic view of mental illness. Specifically, if our mental health journey is embodied it will not escape the present groaning of creation, a groaning we all experience. No one is wholly "well" in this life, physically or mentally. This recognition chastens any triumpalistic expectations we might have about mental illness. Our posture toward mental illness is eschatological, we await our future healing. In the meantime, we care for each other in patience and hope. There should be no blame or stigma attached to mental illness. We're all groaning together, and we're all playing a long game. Compassion and care should be our only response.
Also, due to our embodiment, medications are appropriate interventions for mental health issues. To be sure, we still might want to begin with psychological and behavioral interventions where these are effective and appropriate. But we shouldn't attach a stigma for choosing psychopharmacological interventions. Again, as embodied creatures things like our willpower, affect, and cognition will have a biological aspect, and addressing that biology is both wise and prudent.
In fact, wisdom is the framework that should be used when thinking about medication. Christians, due to habits of mind, tend to default to moralizing attitudes. That is to say, we tend to think about a course of action as being either "right" or "wrong," "good" or "bad." But this persistent moralizing is just not a good framework to think about mental health issues and interventions. Wisdom is a much better stance. For example, is it right or wrong to take medication? Faithful or unfaithful? That's just not a very helpful question. Far better to ask, "What is the wise and prudent thing to do here?" Don't approach medication as a moral issue, think about it as an exercise in wisdom. Sometimes, given the age of the person, their history, and a particular diagnosis, medication might strongly recommend itself as the wise thing to do. In other situations, you might want to hold off on the medication, at least for now. We'll judge these situations on a case by case basis, and there's not ever going to be a right or wrong answer. We just have to make wise, considered, and thoughtful decisions.
Consequently, we need to extend grace to others as we reach different judgments. One person might opt for medication. Another person might opt out. So, beyond not moralizing our own choices, we have to avoid moralizing everyone else's choices. Let people make their own discernments about what is best for them and their situation.
To summarize: Let me offer some summary conclusions here before turning to some other issues in the next post:
Because we are embodied creatures...
- Mental illness, like all illness, demands empathy and access to care.
- Medications are appropriate in treating mental health problems.
- When making decisions about the use of medications, there are no right or wrong answers. Rather, practice wisdom. Make informed and prudent choices.
- Because people will make different discernments about mental health treatments, medication in particular extend grace toward others who make different choices than yours.
- Finally, we need to adopt an eschatological posture toward mental illness. Mental illness exists among the faithful because we, along with all of creation, inwardly groan as we await the full and final healing of our bodies and souls. Our expectations about mental illness, for ourselves and those we care for, isn't triumpalistic but is, rather, a journey of patience and hope.
