Healthy Self: Heart, Soul, Mind & Strengthናሙና

Mental Health

Mental health can be easy to ignore since it’s basically invisible. It can be so tempting to ignore or hide the signs that we’re struggling in this area. Some signs that your mental health is not in a great place include: Anxiety and depression, consistently being unhappy or dissatisfied, irritability, being annoyed by everyone. If every day is a “bad day,” or you don’t enjoy the activities you used to enjoy. If you are experiencing any of these regularly, start finding ways to intentionally nurture your mental health.

First and foremost, remove any stream of content that brings you down. Set Truth before your eyes each day, and set your mind on “things above,” (Col 3), and “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise.” Set an alarm for two times today to look back at today’s scriptures and recite them in your mind.

The thoughts that pop into our head most often tend to take over, so it is easy to assume our mind is like the Wild West where the strong survive. But these Scriptures remind us that we have agency over our mind. We can ask God to “try me and know my thoughts,” (Psalm 139) and “take thoughts captive” (2 Cor 10:5). Thoughts aren’t truths - they need to be tested. Those that are harmful, destructive, unkind and untrue, we replace with truth. Filter your intake and think about what influences feed your fears or destructive thought patterns. When possible, remove them.

I use this principle when I struggle with anxious thoughts keeping me awake at night. I have learned to test my fears. Are they reality? No. They are “what ifs.” So, rather than letting the “what ifs” run amok in my mind, I focus on what is. What is true right now is that right now I am ok. I then remember Scripture that I memorized and meditate on that instead of the “what if.” If something is feeding my “what ifs,” maybe a suspenseful novel or TV show, or listening to too much speculation about current events, I cut back or remove it. This process will help you break fears, anxiety and any negative thought patterns.

Don’t let busyness, distraction, or fear of what might be beneath the thoughts you’ve stuffed down keep you from taking steps toward this. Invite God to search your heart and thoughts; His desire for you is thriving health - life to the fullest! Set your mind on what is true, lovely, commendable, excellent, and invite God’s peace into your mind.

If your mental health is really struggling, I encourage you to seek out counseling and/or the help of a doctor. Like with any piece of our health, sometimes we need help. Don’t be afraid to get help in order to be healthy. You and your marriage will benefit from it.

Action Steps:

• Do you experience any of the signals mentioned?
• Assess whether any content (screens, messaging, shows, friends) are unhelpful for your mental health. Cut out any that are.
• Choose a Scripture passage to memorize, so that when you are tempted into negative or anxious thought loops, you can meditate on truth instead.
• Pray and ask God if counseling would or seeing your doctor might be your next step if your mental health is really struggling.