{"id":1197,"date":"2009-09-29T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2009-09-29T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mintools.com\/blog\/?p=1197"},"modified":"2026-07-16T11:10:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T15:10:13","slug":"mental-illness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mintools.com\/blog\/mental-illness.htm","title":{"rendered":"How Much Do You Need to Understand Mental Illness to Come Along Side?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the U.S. the first week of October is Mental Illness Awareness Week, established in 1990 due to the increase of mental illness.\u00a0 Tuesday of that week is the National Day of Prayer for Mental Illness Awareness Recovery and Understanding.<\/p>\n

So I ask:<\/p>\n

How much do\u00a0you understand about mental illness?<\/p>\n

How much is physiological? (i.e., chemical imbalance)<\/p>\n

How much is psychological?\u00a0\u00a0 (i.e., faulty belief system)<\/p>\n

How much is emotional?\u00a0 (i.e., reaction to trauma, loss, abuse, etc.)<\/p>\n

How much is sociological? \u00a0(i.e., conditioning, environmental)<\/p>\n

How much is spiritual? \u00a0(i.e., result of a hardened heart, sin, or spiritual warfare)<\/p>\n

I’m not sure that we can always know the answers to those questions\u00a0which supports the need to minister to the whole person.\u00a0 God made us with a\u00a0body,\u00a0mind, will, emotions, and a spirit and He made us a\u00a0relational being.\u00a0 All these areas weave together and can affect each other.<\/p>\n

Come Alongside of People with Mental Illness by Ministering to their Whole Being
\n\"Coming<\/a><\/h2>\n

If you don’t fully understand mental health issues and don’t know how to come along side of people with mental illness, just practice the “one another” commands in Scripture<\/a> and treat them as whole people.<\/p>\n

Physiological<\/em>:\u00a0 Encourage them to get regular physical check-ups, to eat well, exercise, and get enough sleep.<\/p>\n

Psychological<\/em>:\u00a0 Help them work through faulty beliefs.<\/p>\n

Emotional<\/em>:\u00a0 Comfort, support, and encourage.<\/p>\n

Sociological<\/em>:\u00a0 Point the person to the power of God to break cycles.<\/p>\n

Spiritual<\/em>:\u00a0 Pray for them.\u00a0 Engage in a discipleship process.\u00a0 Share God’s Word with them.<\/p>\n

Just as you might not fully understand a person’s physical health issues, so you might not \u00a0be able to get a good grip on mental health issues.\u00a0 That doesn’t mean you avoid them.\u00a0 You still love them, accept them, and come along side as you are able.\u00a0 You treat them as whole people made in the image of God and loved by Him. You view them with value as you would any other human being.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the U.S. the first week of October is Mental Illness Awareness Week . . . So I ask: How much do we understand about mental illness? . . . Continue reading How Much Do You Need to Understand Mental Illness to Come Along Side?<\/span>→<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-benevolence-caring"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\t\t