Mental health

It is good that more attention is now given to the mentally and emotionally hurting and that these struggles are no longer as stigmatized. But we also have reached a point where it’s almost fashionable to be diagnosed with a mental health condition. This is especially true for women, and progressive women in particular.

It is not unusual for people to include a mental health diagnosis in their social media profiles. Regardless of how well-founded these diagnoses are, the fact that so many (especially women and young people) embrace them as part of their identity is a troubling sign of dysfunction.  

Reading the Bible, praying, and having a strong Christian faith can positively impact mental and physical health, according to a new report from Grey Matter Research and Infinity Concepts.

Author and theologian Albert Mohler says a new report by the U.S. surgeon general warning of a widespread "epidemic of loneliness" should lead society to renew its commitment to the biblical doctrines of marriage, family and church.

Assisted suicide, especially when extended to those most in need of compassion and care, subverts our collective understanding of human value. It subjects this value to feelings, both our own and (increasingly) that of medical professionals and government officials. When made available to cases of mental illness, assisted suicide undermines the battle a patient wages on their inner demons and thwarts efforts to recovery. In other words, it is the exact opposite of “care.”

This is yet another way that physician-assisted suicide or “medical aid in dying” corrupts medicine. Vulnerable people in most need of help will be the victims of these bad practices. For their sake, and for future generations who will inherit the world that we are unmaking, we must find a better way.

A medical examiner's office has ruled that Dave Hollis, a Christian author and former Disney executive, died of an accidental overdose.

Matt Brodersen said of his grandfather "Whenever I was down in the dumps, my grandpa would call me. My mom would usually tell him, 'Matthew's not doing so well. Can you please give him a phone call?' And my grandpa would call me, and he'd give me words of encouragement and pray for me over the phone. 

In the face of Gen Z’s mental health crisis, it is the Gospel and not gloom that should motivate and inform us. This mental health crisis is a spiritual crisis.

A Southern Baptist Pastor in Missouri ran 153 consecutive marathons to raise awareness for adoption, foster care, and youth mental health.

In 1935, Portuguese neuroscientist Dr. Egas Moniz pioneered a new procedure to treat symptoms of psychiatric illness. Using a thin instrument, a surgeon could sever the delicate neural connections between the frontal lobe and other parts of the brain. The procedure resulted in significant changes to the patient’s behavior. Despite a mixed reception by the medical community, Moniz received a Nobel Prize in 1949.

In the ensuing decades, the practice of transorbital lobotomies was championed by American psychiatrist Dr. Walter Freeman. He operated on over 4,000 patients and remained a fierce advocate for the procedure long after it fell into disrepute. While some patients seemed to be cured of their psychiatric distress, the main effect of lobotomies was the dismantling of the patient’s personality. According to Freeman’s own numbers, about 73% of his patients remained hospitalized for life or “in a state of idle dependency.” Another 5% died during the operation. Recently in The Washington Post, columnist Megan McArdle pointed to the history of lobotomies as a cautionary tale.

Have our spiritual enemy and our secularized culture been isolating your soul? Being identified with a denomination or even a local church is not enough. The question is: Are you engaged in intentional community within the body of Christ?