Five Things on My Christmas “Wish List” as a Mentally Ill Christian
Image: Calwaen Liew
End the stigma of mental illness in the church community.
Continue to seek belonging in the church community.
Continued support of my family, friends, and the church community.
Not be judged for my mental illness or symptoms.
Be able to find joy during the Christmas season.
Ending stigma of mental illness in the church community. I am unashamed of my diagnoses of bipolar and Asperger’s. I am very open about my conditions and struggles within my church community. I live on mission and have launched a ministry, Abnormal Missionary. I share my testimony and witness to others as much as I can. I blog twice a month to engage and encourage. There is so much work to be done.
Continue to seek belonging in the church community. Churches should be a place for all to belong. We are all created in God’s image, but we are all uniquely different for His glory (James 9:1-3). We are the church. Our community is the strongest when it is made up of many differences. We are all one in His body to serve for His glory. Jesus went after the outcast, the sheep that ran off. We all belong in His family; each plays an essential role.
Continued support of my family, friends, and church community. A supportive network of family, friends, and the church community is important for stability of symptoms. Every mentally ill person needs an effective treatment team but also a great community. The community is not to monitor you but to guide you with other life skills. Many people with mental illness have poor life skills, like handling money, budgeting, and household chores.
To not be judged for mental illness or symptoms. Why are the mentally ill singled out by their illness or symptoms? People don’t judge those with heart conditions. High-functioning individuals get this type of judgment a lot when they are symptomatic, when we can’t function over our condition. People think they should just be able to work around their symptoms twenty-four/seven when they are high-functioning. It can be incredibly exhausting to consistently function at a high level.
To be able to find joy during the Christmas season. As a mentally ill Christian, I don’t always feel joyful, but I always have hope. Jesus Christ restores us and gives us hope in eternal life. Jesus dwelled among us, fully God and fully man. He felt all the emotions that we feel, but He never gave into temptation. He bore our sins on the cross. He died and rose three days later to restore our relationship with His Father. He sent a helper, the Holy Spirit, to guide us in a broken, dangerous, sinful world. Whoever repents and puts faith in Him receives this amazing grace. I can’t always be joyful, but I never lose hope in my Savoir.