Breaking the Mental Illness Stigma

Although different types of mental illness are fairly widespread among the Christian population in any given year, people fear that they will be stigmatized and tend to hide their symptoms and keep their concerns to themselves. They don't seek help.

Recognizing this, Synod 2010 encouraged "Christian Reformed churches, classes, ministries, and institutions to sponsor events to observe Disability Week from October 11 through 17, 2010, with a suggested focus on mental health issues."

In hopes of breaking down the fears and misunderstandings people have about mental illness, the Christian Reformed Church’s Disability Concerns office has partnered with Faith and Hope Ministries to produce a free, downloadable study series on mental illness.

Titled Let’s Talk! Breaking the Silence around Mental Illness in Our Communities of Faith, the series was developed to open conversations about this often hidden subject.

Put together by a special CRC task force, the new material includes a Study Guide and an extensive Leader Guide with well-researched and timely background information.

"Although the idea of leading a study series on mental illnesses may seem intimidating, Let's Talk! was written so that any caring Christian who has some skill in small group leadership can facilitate the discussion," said Rev. Mark Stephenson, director of the Disability Concerns office.

Along with Let's Talk! Disability Concerns has added a new section to its website called Mental Health Resources. (This new effort is not in any way to replace one’s medical psychiatric care. Rather, it is a means in which one’s community of faith can complement one’s medical care.)

"This new page includes worship resources and other tools for ministry that will help congregations better understand and support people dealing with mental illnesses," said Stephenson.

About 25 percent of the North American population experiences a diagnosable mental disorder during any given year. A much smaller population, about six percent, lives with a serious mental illness. Due to its prevalence among younger people, mental disorders are now the leading cause of disability in the United States and Canada for people ages 15 to 44, said Stephenson.

Winnie Visser and June Zwier, the writers for Let’s Talk!, define mental illness this way in the new study guide: “We speak of mental illness as any kind of brain disorder that can be diagnosed by a doctor. Such disorders can profoundly disrupt a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, and ability to relate to others, interfering with that person’s capacity to function well amid the demands of daily life. Mental illnesses include depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and bi-polar disorder.”

In order to create appropriate educational materials, Disability Concerns organized a mental health task force last year: two chaplains, two therapists (both from Canada), and Stephenson. The two therapists on the mental-health task force are the co-directors of Faith and Hope Ministries, which is a ministry of classis Quinte.

From the Disability Concerns Advocates' Handbook, here are some ideas for ministry with people who have mental illnesses.

• Greet the person normally, making brief eye contact with "Hello" and the person's name.
• Avoid asking, "How are you doing?" or "How do you feel?" These phrases are extremely painful, especially when other people are present.
• Don't be afraid to make "small talk."
• "I'm glad to see you," is one of the most helpful phrases.
• Do not push or pressure other people when they say they cannot do something you ask them to do.

Other suggestions include:

• Listen when they try to talk about their difficulty. It's important to them that you know and care.
• Do not try to make light of the difficulty. It may seem like a small problem to you, but it is a big problem to them.
• Do not try to determine what people can or cannot do from what you observe them doing. Sometimes people can do things in one environment that they cannot do in another.
• Above all, realize that most people are doing the best they can at any given moment with the abilities they have and in the environment surrounding them.