Don't Forget About Mental Health

1 Peter 5:6,7

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

I'm worried about your health during this lockdown. Of course, there's the great threat to your physical health, not to mention how hard it is to get your normal healthcare treatments right now. I pray that you are being taken care of.

 But I am also worried about your mental health. How are you coping? Are you anxious? Are you depressed? Are you unable to shake your frustration or your anger?

 According to statistics, about 1 in 20 adults in this country suffer a mental illness during any given year. Among teenagers, about 1 in 16 suffer from depression, and 1 in 10 suffer from an anxiety disorder according to the CDC. Children between the ages of 6 and 11 also suffer from mental disorders. I wonder if those numbers are way above average this year.

 Part of mental health is the ability to cope with stress caused by the struggles of life. When life changes, as it has for all of us, extra stress is placed on us. Trying to balance work and life when both are happening in the same place. Feelings of loneliness and isolation. Worn down by the monotony of only seeing the same four walls every day. Missing births and birthdays, weddings and anniversaries; not being able to say good-bye either at the hospital or even at the funeral. Trying to deal with the other problems of life when the help that's usually available can't be reached.

 How can you cope? There's a lot you can do for mental health. Get exercise. Release stress with one of your favorite hobbies. Just taking a break from work-at-home. But in addition to those things, we have something even greater. We can cast our cares and anxieties on God.

 The apostle Peter encourages us to cast our cares on God. As he says, that takes humility. Often, we want to battle through on our own. We don't want to show weakness. We want to keep a stiff upper lip. And it's not just for ourselves. We think if we show weakness, then the people who depend on us will lose heart, too.

 But we don't have to carry our cares on our own. We don't have to be strong on our own for other people. Cast your cares on God. Why? Because he cares for you. The struggles, the worries, the concerns you have, they are a concern to your almighty God as well. And here's the best part: he's not only concerned about you, he's able to help you. He wants to help you. "If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:32).

 I know it's one thing to say, "Cast your cares on God," and another for it to change your thinking. But just try it. Give your worries, your concerns, your anxieties to God. Let him carry them. Reach out to the people he's put in your life to help you. "Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2).

 If you are in need of mental health care, please reach out to me. Even if it's just to vent about what's going on, I'm here to listen. God bless you all.