I suffer from OCD and I get awful intrusive thoughts that messes with my head. I know there’s not much about mental illness in the Bible. Is anyone going through this as well? I feel like most Christians don’t struggle with these kinds of things and I feel kinda alone. Is there anything kind of counseling that is faith based and understands mental health? Please pray for me and this struggle with my brain .
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you are not alone in struggling with your mental health and ocd, many Christians suffer from them.
I#ve two suggestions.
1/ please read this links advice particularly point4 and share it with your family, your minister and friends so they know how they can help you:-
2nd please seek medical advice and follow it.
If you can find a Christian therapist that is a bonus, folllowing medical advice is what you need to do.
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It might be possible to experiment with supplements to see if you can manage to reduce the intensity and frequency of intrusive thoughts. For example GABA, Institol, or SAMe might be worth experimenting with. There is a lot of information on the Internet to do research.
You’re definitely not alone in this, even if it feels that way sometimes.
A lot of people, including Christians, deal with intrusive thoughts, it’s just not something people talk about openly very often. Having those thoughts doesn’t mean anything about your character or what you believe.
It’s really good that you reached out. And yes, there are faith-based counselors who understand mental health and take it seriously.
I’ll be praying for you.
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One, you are not alone, I deal with intrusive thoughts and alot of time this puts me in a state of depression, however, seeking out a friend or somebody you can vent to, or even unloading yourself in prayer can help. I’m no expert but I have lived with multiple mental health diagnosis since the age of 5.
I particularly don’t believe in psychiatric medication, when I got off that junk 12 years ago I felt I could actually think clearly and was able to deal with my own problems.
Vitamins and excercise are great ways to regulate a chemical inbalance.
You have to find what works for yourself, some people prefer meds, some don’t. Therapy always helps in my opinion, if not therapy just having someone to talk to helps.
I hope you stay strong and find what works best, I will be praying for you.
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i dont want to be a broken record as i know this has been expressed already but just want to throw in extra assurance… i really dont think christians are any less susceptible to mental illnesses than other folks. they might be better at coping with them, or hiding them, because of their faith and their religious community keeping such issues at bay to a degree. there are plenty of resources for christian mental health help. i dont know one offhand except a very local one. if i were you id reach out to some local churches to hear their help-of-choice; sometimes they even can help fund the counseling. i know one that covered it 100% but they dont anymore, so you might run into that, with today’s economy. but youll find something easily if you go that route, even if you end up paying for it.
my main point to make you feel less alone is, again, christians in my opinion are just as saturated population-wise with mental health issues. even if not straight-up “issues” as we’d call them, i was recently bombarded by 2 of them, up in age compared to me, who thought they had the right to tell me how to run my life. they are concerned because i am in the middle of a divorce. without even knowing many details of what im going through, they tried to run an intervention, without trying to understand my situation, EVEN when i told them they were overstepping and needed to back off and take a closer look at me first. it was very hurtful and now i dont care to talk to them so much. so just one example of saying christians are not so immune to having issues, even when it comes to trying to help someone; we just arent perfect. they thought they had good intentions but really treated me like a child whos just willy-nilly seeking separation from my husband. one of them was even incensed like we OWED him something because he gifted us a air-conditioning repair last year. we had not asked him to pay, he simply was referring us to someone he knew would fix it, and by surprise paid for it behind our backs. so he said he feels “disrespected” that my husband “went behind his back” to ruin our marriage after what this guy had done for us. ummm dude, I feel disrespected myself because of what my husband did; its not your business; we dont owe you anything for the gift you foisted upon us. and he is too stuck up his own pedestal to see that he is being ridiculous. you are not alone in feeling unstable. let us know if you have trouble finding a good source around where you live.
so, sorry, personal venting here; christians are not any less prone to mental issues, and maybe we can help some more. or even personally. maybe what youre experiencing is something some of us have been through. share if youd like. keep us updated as needed. praying for you <3
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Essentially, the way God instructs us to think and behave is radically different to how those who don’t belong to Christ think and behave. The ingrained philosophical structures are different, the nature of applied processes is different, the authoritative solutions are different. The world’s thinking is godless everywhere all the time and therefore radically different. This unbridgeable gulf should be remembered when we go to the spiritually dead for help with our mental issues.
I’ve been through the godless mental health system, so I know how this works. It would be a mistake to sweepingly say that in the context of our damaged minds professional expertise has no value. That would be throwing the baby out with the bath water. But rather we must prayerfully turn the light of God’s Word on the mental health profession to see where it is lacking, where it falls down and how it can usurp God’s authority and provision in Christ.
We depend on God because without Christ we can do nothing. We keep in step with the Spirit, we are transformed by the renewal of our minds. We are fully enriched by knowing His will for us. Will God by His Spirit strengthen the minds of those who walk in His ways, who have the mind of Christ?
A broken or struggling mind is often evidence of some kind of relentless pressure. Negative thinking that contradicts God’s Word, the cruelties of adversity or persecution, abuse, sick bodies, grief, the suffering of loved ones, dire troubles that follow our sin, the work of our spiritual enemies—all these can play a part in how we think and how balanced our mental health is.
If we enjoy unbroken fellowship with God are our minds at risk?