Becoming Healthy Humansनमूना

Becoming Mentally Healthy

When it comes to becoming mentally healthy, we’ve got good news, bad news, and better news.

Let’s start with the good news: There is now more awareness and less stigma around mental health struggles than ever before. People are talking openly about their struggles and seeking help. This is a really good thing.

Now for the bad news: Even with more information available, more money spent, and more energy put toward improving mental health, mental health outcomes continue to get worse and worse. And while it may be tempting to explain it away by saying it’s because people are more open about their struggles than they used to be, that doesn’t explain the increased hospital visits from self-harm or the continuous rise in suicide rates. While the conversation around mental health has gotten better, the outcomes just keep getting worse.

Time for the better news: God wants you to be healthy and whole, full of life, and free from anxiety—in every part of who you are, including your mind. And, with the power of His Spirit and the wisdom of His Word, becoming mentally healthy is possible.

In one of the greatest pieces of literature ever put to paper, the Apostle Paul provides the truth we need to unlock the door that leads to the wholeness and health we’re all searching for:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:1-2 NIV

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy …”Paul begins this paragraph with, “Therefore,” because what he says here is built on everything that came before. What came before? Eleven chapters outlining what God has done, what He is doing, and what He will do through Jesus. The first two-thirds of this sixteen-chapter letter is a deep dive into the richness of God’s mercy, revealed to us through His Son. Before Paul tells us what to do, he wants us to remember all that God has done.

Next, Paul instructs us to “offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God …”Why does he say that? He wants to make it clear that faith in Jesus doesn’t just involve part of you; it involves all of you. It’s an all-of-life way of life. Only when we give our full selves to God do we give Him “true and proper worship.”

And only when we give Him all of who we are can we accomplish what Paul says next: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

When it comes to mental health, the “pattern of this world” is to be splintered, anxious, and depressed. Becoming mentally well requires us to fight against the current of mental unwellness that dominates our culture. But it is so worth it. Because if we allow the Holy Spirit to help us resist the cultural pressures that want us to conform to mental struggles, we can be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Then, we will discover that mental health and wholeness—a mind governed by the Spirit, full of life and peace—is more than possible.

So, how do we do this?

1. Be in church.

Step one of not being conformed to the pattern of this world is to be in Church every week. The more consistently you make time to be in the presence of God and surrounded by His people, the more effectively you will make progress in the fight to take back your mental health. In their Global Youth Culture report, OneHope found that teenagers who were active and committed in their faith had lower levels of depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempts.

2. Train your brain.

In another letter, the Apostle Paul challenges followers of Jesus to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV). That means instead of sitting by and letting your mind run wild, you actively work to remove your negative thoughts and replace them with positive thoughts. Instead of just listening to yourself, you need to talk to yourself. When a negative, fearful, or hopeless thought starts to take over, ask the Holy Spirit to help you take it captive and make it obedient to Jesus. You can rewrite the script that runs in your brain by bringing in truth from God’s Word. You can change your mental conversation by naming three things you’re grateful for. You can take negative thoughts captive by reminding yourself that Christ in you is stronger than the wrong thoughts in you. Whatever it is, do the work to train your brain so you can win the war in your mind.

3. Serve someone else.

One of the best ways to get out of your head is to help someone else. It doesn’t have to be big, complicated, or expensive. A small act of kindness done for another person works wonders for our mental health. When you help someone else, the chemicals oxytocin, serotonin, and dopamine are released into your brain, boosting your mood and lowering stress levels. If you want to become mentally healthy, make a habit of helping others.

4. Limit screen time.

From around 2000-2010, the mental well-being of young people mostly improved or stayed stable. But, after 2010, rates of mental unhealth—and the negative outcomes associated with them—began to skyrocket. Why? Many argue it’s because of the popularization of smartphones and how they have dramatically impacted the lives and brains of young people. As a result, more and more adults are looking for ways to help young people break free from the digital world so they can be more integrated into the real world. A few simple and effective ways to do this are to set limits on your screen time, remove the apps that rob your time, and make your bedroom a phone-free space.

5. Move your body.

Lastly, we must approach our mental health from a holistic angle because our mental health is affected by our emotional, spiritual, and physical health, and vice versa. Research backs this up in really significant ways, like this recent study on the effects of exercise for treating depression!

In addition to everything we’ve discussed, commit to moving your body every day. Don’t worry—you don’t need to run 10 miles or lift weights for two hours for it to be effective. Going for a walk after dinner, dancing in your living room with friends, or doing an early morning session of push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and jumping jacks are all helpful ways to improve your mental health.

When you regularly practice these things, with the help of God’s Spirit and the wisdom of His Word, you’ll be transformed by the renewing of your mind and make progress toward becoming mentally healthy and whole, free from anxiety, and full of life.