I recently experienced one of the most perplexing mental health challenges in my life. I can typically experience a mentally challenging day once in a blue moon. Usually it comes, I fight through it and by the end of the day, the sun is shining. This most recent episode was nothing like this. Instead of lasting just one day, it lasted 4. The worst part of all, is that I couldn’t figure out what was causing me such anguish.
I walked down the possibilities in my mind. Was it my children? My husband? My work load? My blog? The answer was no to all of these. I find it easier to work through mental health issues when I know what is the root and how to move forward with turning my negative thoughts into positive ones, but this time, there was no rhyme or reason for the mental attack. The first day came, and I thought “What is this?” I barreled through the day and by the time I got in the bed, I still was troubled. I prayed and went to sleep assuming the new day would bring a relief from the mental ambush.
The second day, I woke up and continued to fight the same battle I had fought the day before. This time expending more energy, more time in prayer, and more of a heavier mental load. By the third day, I was not only exhausted, but asking God why I was experiencing the mental assault that I was moving through. I wanted to be done with this opposing force coming against my mental or at least understand why I was going through such a quarrelsome encounter. He only reminded me of the story found in 1 King 18-19.
To summarize the story, Elijah was a prophet of God who had confronted the king of Israel on his worship of God, Baal, and Asherah. He challenged him to bring together 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Aserah, cut up a bull, place the cuts on an unlit fire and for each to call on their (G)god to kindle the fire, observing which would answer the call. After the 850 tried everything from dancing, wailing, cutting themselves, and perpetual petitions, Baal nor Aserah answered the call.
Finally it was Elijah’s turn. He made an altar of 12 stones representing each of the 12 tribes of Israel, laid the cut pieces of bull on the wood and below this, he dug a ditch large enough to hold 14 liters. He then had the people pour 6 large jugs of water over the meat and wood resulting in the water filling the ditch underneath. After this, he prayed to The Most High God saying:
Our Lord, you are the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. Now, prove that you are the God of this nation, and that I, your servant, have done this at your command. Please answer me, so these people will know that you are the Lord God, and that you will turn their hearts back to you. Immediately the Lord answered and burned everything including the stones and the ground around the altar. The 850 prophets took off running and Elijah ordered all of them to be captured before they fled and he killed them all.
After this, the king of Israel’s wife, Jezebel, got word from her husband that Elijah had killed all the prophets and she vowed to kill him. Elijah became frightened and escaped into the woods and fell asleep. He was awakened by an Angel who told him to get up and eat. Next to him was a jar of water and bread. He ate, drank, and went back to sleep. The Lord’s Angel came back a second time with the same instructions in which he complied. This made him strong enough to travel an additional 40 days to Mount Sinai where the Lord provides instruction on returning from which place he had fled and also advised him on who to choose to become king, carry out the remaining killings of those who worshipped Baal, and the person who would take his place as prophet.
This was the story that the Holy Spirit brought to my remembrance, I decided to eat a little and ended up taking a 3 hour nap. The next day, I had the same mental anguish. I broke down, I cried, and I told my husband that I was breaking down and didn’t know why. I asked him to look after the children while I took some time to pray. I went into our bathroom, shut the door, got down on my knees, and began crying and praying. My husband came in and hugged me, kissed me, and asked if there was anything he could do. I told him no and informed him I needed to finish cooking breakfast in which he replied, “I will finish it and look after the kids. You take the time you need.”
I took a shower, I ate, and I sleep for another 5 hours. Once I got up from that nap, I started to feel like I was breaking free from the forces opposing me and I had won the battle attacking my mind.
Mental Health, Science, and Faith
The World Health Organization defines mental health as a state of mental wellness that assists in coping with life’s stresses, realization of abilities, and the power to learn and work well https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-strengthening-our-response.
A recent study conducted by the American Psychiatric Association involving 2,000 participants found that 60% cited faith and/or spirituality as an important factor in supporting their mental health https://www.apaf.org/media-events/news/polling-data-shows-most-people-of-faith-would-seek-mental-health-care-if-recommended-by-their-faith/. 89% of mental health professionals feel as though clinicians should have religious and spiritual training while around 47% of health professionals have not received such training https://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40359-023-01466-y.
I fall into the category of one who relies heavily on faith to guide me in every mental and physical challenge. Mental Health America confirms that faith can aid in mental health https://mhanational.org/resources/10-ways-faith-can-support-mental-health/ and ScienceDirect concludes that faith is a significant factor in mental health and overall well-being https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0732118X20302087.
Today’s society is constantly pushing for mental health awareness, mental health fitness, and mental health help yet they provide no experienced mental health challenges they have faced and how they pushed through them. Let’s moved forward and dive into how to fight mental health challenges.
How To Fight Through Mental Health Challenges
The first thing to assist you in fighting your mental health challenge is to pray and seek God for assistance in the fight. We are but spiritual beings having a human experience and we must consult with the Spirit Maker when facing opposition. Like a boxer receiving counsel from their boxing coach before and during a fight, so we must be when stepping into the ring of mental battles. We don’t give up when our back’s against the ring, we keep fighting and take pause when the bell sounds. Once we obtain that moment to take a break, we pray and tell God what it is we are or are not experiencing, we ask God for direction, listen to Him, and when the bell sounds, we go back in swinging.
The second step to assisting you in fighting your mental health challenges is to set your mind that you will be victorious. Battles come and go and will continue to do so throughout the duration of our lives. We must set our minds on the fact that we will win and we will rise from the ashes stronger than we were before. Remember that your biggest opponent is you.
The third step, one in which I had to learn, is that our body and ability is not mechanic but human. There may be times when you need to delegate tasks to someone else for a moment or permanently. The story of Elijah was not just one of faith, strength, and power; it was also a story of a called man walking in his purpose to such an extent that he took on everything. Although he was able to complete it, it exhausted him to the point of mental anguish. The Lord showed him that all he took on could also be delegated and we too need to make note of that and understand that we don’t have to be all things to all people.
The fourth and final step in fighting mental challenges is to listen to your body. At times, I too am guilty of pushing myself beyond my body’s request. I not only take on a load of mental weight but also physical and this can cause fatigue to occur at a much more rapid rate. Your body is a gift that speaks and as such, we should listen to it, tend to it, and nurture it.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
With Love,
Mother Ocia