World Mental Health Day
I have struggled with depression for most of my life. It comes and goes. Sometimes I have long periods of time without it, but I have walked through a number of times when it was so dark that I wasn't sure if I would make it through. I'm not alone – Bible heroes such as Moses and Elijah wanted to die; great preachers such as Spurgeon suffered with bouts of depression. Yet for Christians, mental health issues can still be awkward or even taboo subjects.
That's why it was an honour to write a World Mental Health Day blog for Woman Alive. You can find the blog here. In it, I point out that those trapped in poverty are more adversely affected by mental health conditions than others. At the end of the article, there are five suggestions for how to help others.
After it went live this morning, I saw a Facebook post by my friend Helen Hodgson who runs the brilliant charity Hope at Home. In it she shares openly about things that have been unhelpful to her, as a Christian who suffers from depression. These include being told that she should read the Bible more, worship more, be more thankful, have more faith, and so on. Advice for people who are depressed often includes a list of how we can just try harder.
But Helen points out that depression is an illness, and asks us to reach out to those who are suffering from it in the following ways: "Give them extra love today. Show them you understand." Helen goes on to give some very practical suggestions for how to do this. Here's her list:
– Buy them flowers;
– Let them pace themselves;
– Allow them to rest;
– Buy them a journal and a really nice pen;
– Talk to them about the rubbish telly they watched because they needed to switch off their brain;
– Don't judge them when they cancel plans at the last minute;
– Pray for them;
– Cook them dinner on the days they can't get out of bed;
– Pick up their anti-depressants for them;
– Listen to them;
– Tell them they have amazing faith;
– Hug them.
It is a great list and one we can all pick something from to do for our friends, not just on World Mental Health Day, but throughout the year.