I recently interviewed two professionals regarding post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and how equipped the largest town within a sixty-mile radius was handling the issue of mental illness. The pastor of the church I attend, albeit infrequently, told me our congregation was “poor” in dealing with mental health issues, and people are reluctant to say anything because it makes them appear “weak in their relationship with God.” The licensed clinical social worker I see as a client had this to say, “Isolation and poverty in small communities can be a breeding ground for generations of abuse, which can lead to PTSD and other anxiety-related mental illnesses.”
My pastor, although trained in psychology, was reluctant to use clinically-given diagnostic names to illnesses because he did not like the use of labels. However, the LCSW, had a different opinion. “People want to know,” she said, “it gives them the feeling that they are in control.”
Many people resonate with her opinion, including myself, precisely because knowing gives one a chance to know how to move forward. I understand deeply what it means to have no where to turn when needing professional assistance, whether it is for PTSD, bipolar, or fibromyalgia.
As Christians, we often say “God bless you” and are on our way. When someone continues to suffer without a place to turn to is like telling a person to take a heavenly trip. If Jesus came into our earthly existence to give us hope, how can we do any less? Let the Easter message be the haven where physical needs are met — then the spiritual ones are accepted more easily.
This is so very interesting and very frustrating a subect… this mental illness conundrum. The overlap of the spiritual and the psycological realms and those that make it their profession to care for humanity in this regard are demonstrating, at least to those who suffer from lack of care, themselves to be at odds with both the spiritual and psychological territory of humanity. At least I would like to see more interface with the proper vocabulary on either side of the spiritual or psychological fence as we have crossed from the sacred into the secular. We as humanity suffer as a result of that separation. We need to bridge this gap if possible to see where the two can work together when possible, and refer one to the other when not possible. Remove the shame and blame and bring on the healing.
Too bad that we, the people, as a whole only get our information about this from the television; and it is almost always the worse case scenario. Then we subconsciously put a person in that category not meaning to.