Mental
Health for Latter-Day Saints
Have you ever felt distant from God despite your best
efforts to live righteously? Have you ever felt darkness despite having the
light of the gospel in your life? Have you ever felt sad and then quickly felt
guilty because you know you are blessed with knowledge of God’s Plan of
Happiness, and surely shouldn’t feel this way? Have you ever felt anxious and
sought relief from gospel sources only to feel worse?
If you have, first of all, you are not alone. These feelings
are very real, and can be confusing. And there are SO many people with these challenges.
I have personally been through times of depression and have watched people close
to me struggle with anxiety and other mental health issues. It can feel like
one of the hardest mortal challenges because it attacks the very way we perceive
life and the gospel – our mind.
Also, if not recognized or if misdiagnosed, mental health
issues can have spiritual repercussions. An Ensign article from February 2016 expounded
on depression and had this insight:
“Understanding that there are spiritual side effects from
depression is important for Latter-day Saints dealing with their own depression
or that of loved ones. Depression, in all forms, alters perception, making it
difficult to feel peace, love, joy, or any of the fruits of the Spirit. It
becomes easy to misinterpret sorrow as condemnation by God, thus causing
spiritual struggles and sometimes inactivity in the Church. This may cause
further distress for individuals and families facing this challenge. It is
essential to understand that such a spiritual crisis is not a result of
spiritual weakness or lack of faith. Rather, depressive feelings and the
resulting depressed view of one’s spirituality are usually caused by a chemical
imbalance. Because our physical bodies and our spirits are necessarily
connected (see D&C 88:15), it can be common to feel the effects of a
physical disorder in a spiritual way, especially in the case of depression,
which alters our very perception of ourselves. Therefore, it is important to
seek out the actual source of such feelings, especially when experiencing the
often-distorting effects of depression.”
Today I want to make a case for acknowledging mental illness
(or a bad week of out-of-balance mental health) for what it is, and thereby
achieving greater wholeness and connection.
We must be careful not to diagnose ourselves with a
spiritual shortcoming when our struggle is actually a physical problem. It could
be a chemical imbalance, a lack of self-care, or many other causes.
As people of faith, we may default to addressing feelings of
despair or anxiety by sending up a frantic prayer, or pouring over the
scriptures to find relief.
While praying and reading scriptures daily are essential to
staying close to the Spirit and putting God first in our lives, they may not be
the solution for emotional problems. For example, when we are depressed or
experiencing a panic attack, reading MORE scriptures will likely not improve
the situation, because it is not a spiritual problem. So let us be wise.
The physical needs that we have are not less important than
our spiritual needs. Nor are they less holy.
It has been said that we are spiritual beings having a
mortal experience. Part of that mortality is having a body with emotions. These
feelings are not bad, but are just part of being human, and, I believe, when
properly managed, part of being a god. It is my belief that learning how to deal
with our feelings in healthy ways is an important part of our refinement.
There is some natural tension between the body and the
spirit. If left unchecked, the body’s appetites would encourage us to lead a
hedonistic life without regard for the feelings of others or our own long-term
well-being. So we definitely don’t want the body to rule the spirit.
My only problem with striving to always prioritize the
spirit (our personal spirit) is that can misguide us to believe the body is the
enemy. The truth is that our body is sacred.
The Lord has said,
“The spirit and the body are the soul of man.”
(Doctrine and Covenants 88:15)
Tending to the needs of your body is not less important than
the needs of your spirit. Your body is a temple. It is sacred.
Good sleep, regular exercise, and wise nutrition are all
hugely important for our mental health and overall well-being. In my opinion
these endeavors are just as vital to our eternal journey as is scripture
study and prayer are. Mind – body – spirit wholeness is a noble pursuit.
For man is spirit. The
elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably
connected, receive a fulness of joy;
And when separated, man cannot
receive a fulness of joy.
Doctrine
and Covenants 93:33-34
It is not a battle of the spirit conquering the body. They
are to be completely connected and filled with light. Pursuing wholeness is the
journey of a lifetime, and it is possible because of Jesus Christ.
This fabulous Ensign article from 1985 about the body put it
really well:
“People who understand these truths understand that the
“real” self, or soul, is both body and spirit. They may feel a oneness, an
inner satisfaction, as both parts work together in righteousness…..they want to
prepare, both in body and in spirit, to live with their Heavenly Father again.”
It is fundamental to our theology that this process of
sanctification involves not only the spirit, but the body as well. As we give
heed to the promptings of the Spirit and purify our lives, the Lord promises:
“your whole bodies shall be filled with light, … and that body which is filled
with light comprehendeth all things. (D&C
88:67)
Barbara Lockhart, Ensign February 1985
So if caring for our physical bodies is worth our best
efforts, what are some things we can do to help with our mental health? I will
share a few things that have been helpful for me and that seem important to me.
Physical
First, we have to take care of the basic physical needs.
Consistent, sufficient sleep is the BIGGEST asset to
mental health.
If there is chronic, diagnosed mental illness, medication
is very important! If you need permission from an apostle, here is Elder
Holland:
If you had appendicitis, God would
expect you to seek a priesthood blessing and get the best
medical care available. So too with emotional disorders. Our Father in Heaven
expects us to use all of the marvelous gifts He has provided
in this glorious dispensation.
Get to a stable place and then you can work on the many
other things that can boost emotional health.
Exercise is well-known to be hugely beneficial for
both body and mind.
Wisely pursuing good nutrition has an impact on the state
of the mind and spirit as well as the body.
All of these physical aspects of life, when pursued with
moderation, are holy because your body is sacred and is connected with your
spirit.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is all the rage right now, and I think that is because
it is so needed. Mindfulness is being fully present in your body and with your
feelings. This is ideally a way of being, but in today’s world, it requires
practice.
We can practice mindfulness any time (while eating, in the shower,
on a walk, on a break at work). But it can be beneficial to set up a regular meditation
practice, such as by using an app that you can use in the morning or afternoon,
before bed, or whenever works for you.
Most meditations begin by inviting you to focus on your
breath. This is the best way to get you to bring your consciousness to the
present moment, and into your body. Sometimes that is the entire practice.
Other times there is some work on the way we think, which can also be very helpful.
Meditation is beneficial in the moment, but also has an
impact on how we respond to stressful things that come up in our day. Over
time, we can become less reactive, and more aware of what we are feeling, and
more conscious and intentional about the way we think.
 |
| For me, being in nature is a way to connect my body and spirit |
Yoga
Yoga is like a physical mindfulness practice. The more I do
it the more I realize that it is not about getting into intense poses, or becoming
super flexible. Yoga is about starting where you are. And yes, you do become
more strong and flexible, and because yoga is all about the mind-body
connection, your mind and spirit will also become more strong and flexible.
When I practice yoga it feels like a powerful act of
self-love, and a way to reverence my body. This reverence makes me more
peaceful and open to the Spirit.
Feeling our feelings
It is very important to allow both positive and negative
emotions within ourselves, rather than burying them, or “buffering” with
distractions and false pleasures. Remember that both positive and negative
emotions are part of the mortal experience and key to God’s Plan. (2 Nephi
2:11, 24-25)
If you have been taught that certain feelings are wrong, it may
take some work to change that belief inside yourself. Also, some feelings are
just uncomfortable, and we naturally resist them. Learning to allow them takes
practice.
Feeling our feelings allows us to actually solve our
problems, rather than disconnecting and aggravating them. It is a more whole
way of living. Like Adam and Eve, our eyes can be opened to the good and the evil,
and to the “joy of our redemption.” (Moses 5:10-11)
Thought work
The thing that has helped me with a lot of these concepts is
an arena of the self-help world called “Thought work.” I learned about this
first from Jody Moore on her podcast Better Than Happy. She is a Latter-day
Saint “life coach” who has a business helping anyone who wants help in this
area and produces a free podcast episode weekly. She learned a lot of what she does
from Brooke Castillo, founder of the Life Coach School, who also has a podcast
you can listen to. I’m sure there are many other people teaching similar
things, but these are the ones I have been exposed to and that have really helped
me.
Because the truth is, there are many things we can’t control
in life, but the one thing we can control is ourselves. And what we sometimes don’t
realize is how everything we do stems from the way we think. We think so automatically
sometimes though that we aren’t even aware of how hidden beliefs are affecting
us. Listening to these podcasts and doing the work to become aware of my
thoughts, and being open to different, more helpful thoughts, has
been life-changing in my motherhood, other relationships, and my productivity. Think
about how much time and energy you can save by not worrying about some of the
things that occupy your mind that are completely out of your control. It is so
freeing! And when you let go of the figurative junk in your mind, it
clears space to actually do what you want to do and be who you want to be. This
is intentional living.
The help of the Lord
Of course we can’t do any of this without the help of the
Lord Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father. Whether it’s the love of our Father
which reminds of our worth and gives us a reason to even try in the first
place, or the enabling power of Christ’s atonement when we are trying to do
something beyond our capacity, He is the beginning and the end, the author and
the finisher of our faith.
I am sure many of us have had times when we are in a dark
place and we wish the Lord would just pull us out, but we are left there
seemingly to struggle on our own.
He never abandons us. But I do think He must know there are
lessons too precious to miss out on if he were to take away our burden right
away. He also certainly can and does guide us to resources and influences that can help us learn these priceless lessons about peace and happiness. I know I have experienced that in my own life and the lives of loved ones.
Don’t give up on your faith. Keep praying. Pour out the
desires of your heart to Him.
I would like to add however that in my experience, doing
these other acts of self-care, such as taking even just a few minutes to meditate
(sit and focus only on breathing), or doing a simple yoga practice, or going to
bed early when I’m exhausted, help me to have more heartfelt prayers and
meaningful gospel study. I feel that in order to truly connect with God, I
must be connected with myself. In order to give my heart to Him, I need to take
the time to be still and get clear on what is going on in my heart.
I hope anyone reading this who struggles with mental health
will know that the Lord loves you, you are not alone, and that the things you
are learning and going through will “work together for your good.” (Doctrine and
Covenants 98:3). And that tending to the whole soul-- body, mind and spirit-- is
a holy pursuit that will yield deeper connection to self, to God and to others. In other words, deeper joy.
Recommended Books
Let God Love You by Wendy Ulrich
Self-Compassion by Kristen
