It is a well-known fact that people with mental illnesses have a tendency to be more susceptible to all manner of abuses. Some of this abuse can be physical, but most of the time it is emotional/verbal. Abuse in whatever form it takes should be taken very seriously because it can cause our mental health symptoms to worsen. Abuse is not something that is solely the world's responsibility, however, because even the Church has been responsible for some of these abuses too. In what ways do these abuses look like? In this blog, I shall discuss some of the ways mentally ill people are abused. The purpose of this blog is to cause the reader to understand how they may have intentionally or unintentionally contributed to abusing those people with mental illness in their lives. After you finish reading this blog, I hope the Holy Spirit will convict your heart by showing you how you may have been abused and then lead you to genuine repentance. This blog is not meant to denigrate anyone in the Church, but instead, I intend to highlight some classic examples of abuse so that people will be more careful in what they say to those people with mental illness. I would like to say that this list is not comprehensive because if I would list all of the different ways mentally ill people are abused then that would require an entire book (which sometime I may write, Lord willing). For the sake of this blog, I will only focus on a few of the ways people with mental illness are abused. If you can think of any more ways, then please feel free to let me know. I will now get into some of these ways we tend to get abused.
Manipulation
People with different mental illnesses tend to be too trusting of other people. This is not necessarily a bad thing because it does allow us to gain close relationships with others. In that sense, it is a blessing. However, since we are so trusting of others, it has caused us to be easily manipulated by people who mean us harm. I personally dealt with a woman for about ten years who would do nothing but manipulate me. She definitely did mean me harm, but I could not see it at the time. People with mental illnesses have a tendency to not be able to see when someone in our lives are not good for us because we intuitively want to see the good in people and give people the benefit of the doubt.
Gaslighting
Gaslighting is a form of manipulation where the one who is gaslighting knows that they are in the wrong but they will throw accusations at their victim in an attempt to cause them to second guess themselves. It is usually done as a way to control the person. People with mental illnesses are much more susceptible to being gaslighted because we always second-guess ourselves anyway. When I was dealing with the person who was manipulative in my life, she would always gaslight me because she knew I already felt guilty for something I should not have felt guilt over. She used my guilty feelings as a way to maintain control over me.
Telling Us To "Cast Out The Demon"
One of the most common means of abuse toward someone with mental illness is telling us to exorcise our demons. The reason why I say this is because it perpetuates the stigma against mental illness by making people think that there is something sinister wrong with us. As a result of this, it alienates us from fellowshipping with other believers. When we are isolated, we tend to spiral even more out of control. It is not good or wise for anyone with a mental illness to be isolated. Mental illness is not a demon and the evidence of this is the fact that Christians can have legitimate mental illnesses and that medication is so effective in treating mental illnesses. We know that Christians cannot be demon-possessed and how could a physical pill affect a spiritual entity?
Telling Us Our Mental Illness Is Caused By Individual Sin
This is another very commonly used method that people use to abuse those of us with mental illness. By telling us that our mental illness is caused by our own individual sin, you are blaming us for our brain disease. This is dangerous because we already feel guilty about our illnesses and so this accusation has the power to cause us to fall deeper into our guilt and thus make us very depressed. The truth is, our mental illness is not the result of our individual sin. Mental illnesses are the result of chemicals in our brain being out of whack and we need medication to restore the chemicals in our brains. We do not need people to tell us that we are to blame for the chemical imbalances in our minds.
Telling Us To "Pray More"
This one is not quite so common, but every now and then I still hear some well-meaning people tell someone with mental illness this. While I do believe that there is power when a Christian prays to the Lord, however, prayer is not going to cause my voices to go away or cause my mania to slow down. Prayer may help me to focus on the Lord in these moments, but I still need my medication and therapy to be more mentally stable. There is absolutely no shame in this because mental illness is a medical issue just like diabetes. One would never tell a diabetic to stop taking insulin and just pray more, so why tell someone with mental illness to stop seeking treatment and replace their treatment with more prayer?
Telling Us That We Are Just Lazy
When I was younger, I must have heard this many times in my life. People automatically assume that if they cannot physically see your disability, then you must not be disabled. In reality, mental illness is very much a disabling condition, even if you cannot see our disability with your own eyes. Most people with mental illnesses would love to work, but we cannot work because of our illnesses preventing us. How can someone prone to frequent panic attacks possibly be able to hold down a traditional 9-5 job? How can someone prone to hallucinations and delusions hold down a traditional job? How can you expect someone who cannot even get out of bed due to severe depression to go to work? These are just some examples of how mental illnesses prevent us from working. I can go on all day mentioning different disorders that prevent us from working, but I think you get the point.
I would like to thank you for being willing to read my blog and I hope that this helps you be aware of any ways that you may have abused someone with mental illness. If you have, whether intentionally or unintentionally, I beg you to repent of it today and in the future be aware of how to talk to someone with mental illness. The way that you treat us can make all the difference in whether or not we can become triggered into having an episode and landing back in the psychiatric hospital, in prison, or in death. I hope you will take what I am saying in this blog to heart. 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
Manipulation
People with different mental illnesses tend to be too trusting of other people. This is not necessarily a bad thing because it does allow us to gain close relationships with others. In that sense, it is a blessing. However, since we are so trusting of others, it has caused us to be easily manipulated by people who mean us harm. I personally dealt with a woman for about ten years who would do nothing but manipulate me. She definitely did mean me harm, but I could not see it at the time. People with mental illnesses have a tendency to not be able to see when someone in our lives are not good for us because we intuitively want to see the good in people and give people the benefit of the doubt.
Gaslighting
Gaslighting is a form of manipulation where the one who is gaslighting knows that they are in the wrong but they will throw accusations at their victim in an attempt to cause them to second guess themselves. It is usually done as a way to control the person. People with mental illnesses are much more susceptible to being gaslighted because we always second-guess ourselves anyway. When I was dealing with the person who was manipulative in my life, she would always gaslight me because she knew I already felt guilty for something I should not have felt guilt over. She used my guilty feelings as a way to maintain control over me.
Telling Us To "Cast Out The Demon"
One of the most common means of abuse toward someone with mental illness is telling us to exorcise our demons. The reason why I say this is because it perpetuates the stigma against mental illness by making people think that there is something sinister wrong with us. As a result of this, it alienates us from fellowshipping with other believers. When we are isolated, we tend to spiral even more out of control. It is not good or wise for anyone with a mental illness to be isolated. Mental illness is not a demon and the evidence of this is the fact that Christians can have legitimate mental illnesses and that medication is so effective in treating mental illnesses. We know that Christians cannot be demon-possessed and how could a physical pill affect a spiritual entity?
Telling Us Our Mental Illness Is Caused By Individual Sin
This is another very commonly used method that people use to abuse those of us with mental illness. By telling us that our mental illness is caused by our own individual sin, you are blaming us for our brain disease. This is dangerous because we already feel guilty about our illnesses and so this accusation has the power to cause us to fall deeper into our guilt and thus make us very depressed. The truth is, our mental illness is not the result of our individual sin. Mental illnesses are the result of chemicals in our brain being out of whack and we need medication to restore the chemicals in our brains. We do not need people to tell us that we are to blame for the chemical imbalances in our minds.
Telling Us To "Pray More"
This one is not quite so common, but every now and then I still hear some well-meaning people tell someone with mental illness this. While I do believe that there is power when a Christian prays to the Lord, however, prayer is not going to cause my voices to go away or cause my mania to slow down. Prayer may help me to focus on the Lord in these moments, but I still need my medication and therapy to be more mentally stable. There is absolutely no shame in this because mental illness is a medical issue just like diabetes. One would never tell a diabetic to stop taking insulin and just pray more, so why tell someone with mental illness to stop seeking treatment and replace their treatment with more prayer?
Telling Us That We Are Just Lazy
When I was younger, I must have heard this many times in my life. People automatically assume that if they cannot physically see your disability, then you must not be disabled. In reality, mental illness is very much a disabling condition, even if you cannot see our disability with your own eyes. Most people with mental illnesses would love to work, but we cannot work because of our illnesses preventing us. How can someone prone to frequent panic attacks possibly be able to hold down a traditional 9-5 job? How can someone prone to hallucinations and delusions hold down a traditional job? How can you expect someone who cannot even get out of bed due to severe depression to go to work? These are just some examples of how mental illnesses prevent us from working. I can go on all day mentioning different disorders that prevent us from working, but I think you get the point.
I would like to thank you for being willing to read my blog and I hope that this helps you be aware of any ways that you may have abused someone with mental illness. If you have, whether intentionally or unintentionally, I beg you to repent of it today and in the future be aware of how to talk to someone with mental illness. The way that you treat us can make all the difference in whether or not we can become triggered into having an episode and landing back in the psychiatric hospital, in prison, or in death. I hope you will take what I am saying in this blog to heart. 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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