Mental illness is a difficult thing to deal with daily. Many people who do not deal with mental illness tend to underestimate what exactly we deal with. Some people seem to think that we do not deal with anything different than what other people deal with. Since this is what they think, it is no wonder why they do not understand how difficult things are for us. For example, they do not understand what it is like to experience really high mania to the point where we get delusional and even hallucinate only to drop down into deep suicidal depression and then immediately go back up again. They do not understand what it is like to be in a grocery store and out of nowhere have an intense panic attack where you feel like you are going to die. They do not understand what it is like to feel intense compulsions to perform certain rituals to prevent something bad from happening. All of this and much more describe the intense battle those of us with mental illness deal with daily. However, it is not only this we have to deal with. In the midst of all of this, we also have to deal with the amount of years that we miss while dealing with our mental illness. What I mean by this is the fact that while we are dealing with our illnesses life seems to pass us by. While we are in and out of hospitals, our family is growing up without us and moving on with their lives. In this blog, I shall talk about some of the things my mental illness has caused me to lose, but I will close this by giving some hope straight from the Scriptures. The purpose of this blog is to help the reader understand that even though they may have lost some years because of their illness, there is still hope of restoration through Christ.
My illness has fundamentally changed my life in drastic ways. I was initially misdiagnosed at the age of 13 with clinical depression, but I suspect that I had Schizoaffective Disorder back then. Since the age of 13, I have noticed my life change in three very fundamental ways: family life, work ethic, and life experience. I will elaborate on all three of these points, but I would like to say that these are not the only ways my life has been changed by my mental illness. These are just the main ways.
Family Life
As I was growing up, my sisters have always been a stable support in my life because through everything I've been through they have always been by my side. However, due to my mental illness, I have not always been the greatest little brother to them. I had a tendency to be argumentative, manipulative, and, in some cases, even racist (not toward them but toward their husbands). I was more concerned with seeking my own interests than I was about building a relationship with them. Mental illness has a way of causing people like us to be very selfish. It is because of my selfishness that I never bothered to build a relationship with my nephews and niece and to this day they are virtual strangers to me. This makes sense because they essentially grew up without me in the picture most of their lives and now it seems like it is too late to establish any kind of relationship with them no matter how hard I try.
Work Ethic
My job history has been very erratic because of my Schizoaffective Disorder. It is not because I am lazy. I am a very hard and diligent worker when I want to be. However, how can I expect to be at work when I am having delusions that I am supposed to harm the president or that I am the anti-Christ? How am I supposed to be at work when I literally cannot even get out of bed because I am super depressed and do not even want to live? There were times when the stress of work got to me so much that I would impulsively quit my job. It is for these reasons that I have a scattered work history.
Life Experiences
There are many life experiences that young people go through that I missed because of my mental illness. For instance, I never had the opportunity to date until I was already an adult. It makes sense because in high school I was too busy being chased down the hall by an invisible giant fly with a human face. What teenage girl would want to date someone like that? Another life experience I missed was never getting my driver's license. At first, this was understandable because I was in foster care, but as an adult, I still never got my license. To be fair, I was not successful in finding someone who would consistently teach me how to drive. The ones who said they would teach me would give up as soon as they noticed how overwhelmed and stressed I would get behind the wheel. It is for this reason that I decided it is best for me to not drive. I do not think I could do well managing myself on the road.
I could go on for literally days about how my illness caused me to miss out on a lot of things these past years, but that is not the ultimate purpose of this blog. I just want the reader to know and understand that I get how you must be feeling about how mental illness stole years away from your life. So, what kind of hope can I offer you concerning this? Well, if we turn to Joel 2:25, we read,
"I will restore to you the years that the swarming locusts have eaten, the hopper the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you"
No matter how many years that mental illness stole from you, the Lord promises to restore them in your life. This is something that I did not understand when I was younger. I believed that I was destined to live out my life in a mental health group home or to die inside a dirty rooming house. However, the Lord had other plans for me. At the age of 33, the Lord gave me a wife. I know it was later in life than most people get married, but I am thankful for His provision. Also, the Lord gave me my calling in life to become a mental health advocate and an author too. God has really restored the years I lost and I believe He will continue to restore the years that I lost. I still do not have a close relationship with my nephews and niece but I believe that one day I will. My relationship with my sisters has definitely been growing more now that I am actually working towards growing closer to them. My point that I am getting is this: Do not give up on life just because you do not seem to be progressing the way your peers seem to be progressing in life. The Lord has you right where He wants you. You just need to entrust yourself to His sovereign care. As Proverbs 3:5-6 says,
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct your paths"
We are called not to trust in our own wisdom, but to trust in His wisdom because the Lord knows what is best. We do not need to worry about how long it is taking us to get married or why we seem to not be able to keep a job or whatever it is we are frustrated about. As the Lord Himself tells us in Matthew 6:33-34,
"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious about itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble"
Our duty as Christians is to seek His kingdom and His righteousness first in our lives. When we do this, He will make sure everything else we need He will provide. We do not need to worry about tomorrow. When we truly understand God's sovereignty in our lives, we can put our minds at ease. We will be able to focus on the things we need to do today and let God handle the issues of tomorrow.
I hope that this blog helps you understand that even though mental illness may have stolen some years off of your life, the Lord is mighty enough to restore those years. Please allow my story to be an encouragement to you. God is in the habit of creating miracles when everything seems bleak. Thank you very much for taking the time to read my blog and may the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all!
-David Lee Chu Sarchet
Christian Mental Health Advocate
Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
My illness has fundamentally changed my life in drastic ways. I was initially misdiagnosed at the age of 13 with clinical depression, but I suspect that I had Schizoaffective Disorder back then. Since the age of 13, I have noticed my life change in three very fundamental ways: family life, work ethic, and life experience. I will elaborate on all three of these points, but I would like to say that these are not the only ways my life has been changed by my mental illness. These are just the main ways.
Family Life
As I was growing up, my sisters have always been a stable support in my life because through everything I've been through they have always been by my side. However, due to my mental illness, I have not always been the greatest little brother to them. I had a tendency to be argumentative, manipulative, and, in some cases, even racist (not toward them but toward their husbands). I was more concerned with seeking my own interests than I was about building a relationship with them. Mental illness has a way of causing people like us to be very selfish. It is because of my selfishness that I never bothered to build a relationship with my nephews and niece and to this day they are virtual strangers to me. This makes sense because they essentially grew up without me in the picture most of their lives and now it seems like it is too late to establish any kind of relationship with them no matter how hard I try.
Work Ethic
My job history has been very erratic because of my Schizoaffective Disorder. It is not because I am lazy. I am a very hard and diligent worker when I want to be. However, how can I expect to be at work when I am having delusions that I am supposed to harm the president or that I am the anti-Christ? How am I supposed to be at work when I literally cannot even get out of bed because I am super depressed and do not even want to live? There were times when the stress of work got to me so much that I would impulsively quit my job. It is for these reasons that I have a scattered work history.
Life Experiences
There are many life experiences that young people go through that I missed because of my mental illness. For instance, I never had the opportunity to date until I was already an adult. It makes sense because in high school I was too busy being chased down the hall by an invisible giant fly with a human face. What teenage girl would want to date someone like that? Another life experience I missed was never getting my driver's license. At first, this was understandable because I was in foster care, but as an adult, I still never got my license. To be fair, I was not successful in finding someone who would consistently teach me how to drive. The ones who said they would teach me would give up as soon as they noticed how overwhelmed and stressed I would get behind the wheel. It is for this reason that I decided it is best for me to not drive. I do not think I could do well managing myself on the road.
I could go on for literally days about how my illness caused me to miss out on a lot of things these past years, but that is not the ultimate purpose of this blog. I just want the reader to know and understand that I get how you must be feeling about how mental illness stole years away from your life. So, what kind of hope can I offer you concerning this? Well, if we turn to Joel 2:25, we read,
"I will restore to you the years that the swarming locusts have eaten, the hopper the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you"
No matter how many years that mental illness stole from you, the Lord promises to restore them in your life. This is something that I did not understand when I was younger. I believed that I was destined to live out my life in a mental health group home or to die inside a dirty rooming house. However, the Lord had other plans for me. At the age of 33, the Lord gave me a wife. I know it was later in life than most people get married, but I am thankful for His provision. Also, the Lord gave me my calling in life to become a mental health advocate and an author too. God has really restored the years I lost and I believe He will continue to restore the years that I lost. I still do not have a close relationship with my nephews and niece but I believe that one day I will. My relationship with my sisters has definitely been growing more now that I am actually working towards growing closer to them. My point that I am getting is this: Do not give up on life just because you do not seem to be progressing the way your peers seem to be progressing in life. The Lord has you right where He wants you. You just need to entrust yourself to His sovereign care. As Proverbs 3:5-6 says,
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct your paths"
We are called not to trust in our own wisdom, but to trust in His wisdom because the Lord knows what is best. We do not need to worry about how long it is taking us to get married or why we seem to not be able to keep a job or whatever it is we are frustrated about. As the Lord Himself tells us in Matthew 6:33-34,
"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious about itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble"
Our duty as Christians is to seek His kingdom and His righteousness first in our lives. When we do this, He will make sure everything else we need He will provide. We do not need to worry about tomorrow. When we truly understand God's sovereignty in our lives, we can put our minds at ease. We will be able to focus on the things we need to do today and let God handle the issues of tomorrow.
I hope that this blog helps you understand that even though mental illness may have stolen some years off of your life, the Lord is mighty enough to restore those years. Please allow my story to be an encouragement to you. God is in the habit of creating miracles when everything seems bleak. Thank you very much for taking the time to read my blog and may the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all!
-David Lee Chu Sarchet
Christian Mental Health Advocate
Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
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