About two years ago I came across an article by Dr. Ayomide
Adebayo, a Nigerian medical doctor specializing in mental
health, entitled “I’m Christian and I don’t Believe Mental
Illness is Spiritual.” This captivated my interest, so I
began peering into the article and first saw where he came
across a Tweet by a Nigerian pastor who purported this
thought: “The root cause of mental illness is sin (Rom
6:23) and the foundational solution to mental health is
Salvation.”
Is that true? I know some might jump to the conclusion by
stating that it is true. However, it is utterly false.
Those of us who have a Christian belief system, we do agree
that the reason all evil exist is because of sin in the
world. But that is not what the pastor meant. He believed
that if you are mentally ill or have some kind of emotional
imbalance then you did something wrong spiritually or
emotionally or physically, “therefore, you need Jesus.” “He
also believes that knowing Jesus results in a perfect,
free-from-illnesses-of-all-kind life. Therefore, a true
Christian should not take pills, just take Jesus.” I am
happy to say that this tweet did not last long on the
internet. It was quickly deleted. It is false.
As I implied earlier, sin (original sin) is the reason there
is pain, discomfort, or illness. But it is not true that
all pain is the result of sinning. It is not true the only
reason one is having pain would be because they did
something wrong or sinful. This was the accusation that
three enthusiastic, arrogant men accused Job of in the Old
Testament. It was a common belief at that time, and still
prevails today, that pain and suffering would only happen
when you do something wrong in your life. This belief is
more pervasive when dealing with emotional or mental
illness. This idea is perpetuated from the pulpit to the
pew. Therefore, they falsely believe that when a person
has a schizophrenic disorder, bi-polar disorder, or a
depressive disorder, taking of medication will be a sign of
lack of faith in Jesus. But the opposite is true. Not
taking medication for these illnesses can demonstrate a lack
of faith and can truly make one “crazy.”
Let me further share from that intriguing article by Dr.
Ayomide Adebayo . He argues “What do people mean when they
say mental illness is spiritual?” He presents the
following syllogistic argument. Notice the reasoning
(A
syllogism is a kind of logical argument that applies
deductive reasoning to arrive at a conclusion based on two
or more propositions that are asserted or assumed to be true.):
(1) Everything is either physical or spiritual. (2) Mental
illnesses are not physical. (3) Therefore, mental illnesses
are spiritual. (4) The root cause of mental illnesses must
therefore be sin. This is poor reasoning that can
literally lead to death. The author exclaimed if we are
willing to accept broken bones and tummy upsets, diabetes
and HIV/AID as spiritual, then it’s okay to declare mental
illnesses as spiritual too. But we know they are real.
It is my view that for many the word “mental” suggests
something mystical or ethereal. Therefore, mental illness
does not really exist, or it is the end results of thinking
badly or sinning. It is imperative to note that the words
“mental illness actually means “brain illness.” We have
heart or stomach illnesses. We do not doubt those illnesses
are real experience and that those organs actually exist.
That brain is an actual organ. Scientists tell us that in
the average brain there are 100 billion cells. Linked by
synapses, each brain cell can connect to tens of thousands
of other brain cells. The brain is used to store
information. One author states that one way in which
working memory is stored is by keeping neural circuits that
encode the remembered items active.
Have you ever looked closly at a DVD? Hold it up and scan
the flat, shinning surface with your eyes. Can you see the
people waking on the DVD. Can you see words, music score,
or hear gun fire? No. It is impossible. Why? All
information is stored in form of mathematical formulas that
produce what to hear or see. In a sense, the brain is
similar. It stores all information in “code” for quick or
long-term recall. Since we cannot see that actual people
on the flat shinning surface of the DVD, do we say the
information is not there? Definitely not. So why do some
have difficulty to understanding the reality of brain
illnesses like they do stomach illnesses? Thus, it is
imperative to take medication.
The reality is, medications works. It’s that simple. “And
they not only work quite dramatically (at least some of the
time), for some conditions, they’re almost the only way to
go. Simple as this is, it at least shows that there must be
something physical for them to work on.” We know that
“People with depression, anxiety disorders and schizophrenia
experience everything from losing appetite and weight,
missing periods and getting higher rates of health
conditions like heart problems and diabetes.” These are
real problems. Brain know from brain imaging the difference
that take place in the brain of people with severe
psychological disorders. We can see it. Therefore, it is
logical to conclude that a “damage” brain can delay or
prevent recall or storage of information. Many of the
psychiatric disorders are the results of the
neurotransmitters of the brain not been able to relay
messages and thus resulting in “brain illnesses.” In most
of these cases that only solution is medication. We do know
that extreme religious fanaticism is usually the results of
a severe psychiatric disorder. “We know that patients with
schizophrenia usually exhibit religious delusions and
hallucinations.” The person makes irrational decisions and
do unusual things. For example: Kneeling and praying for
unusually long hours without eating. Holding the bible
above the head to prevent Satan from coming into them.
Religion is to be the answer and not the problem. Far too
many spiritual leaders are creating mentally ill people by
their erroneous teachings. They have created so-call
theological answers to physical conditions that are
diabolically dangerous. Dear readers, taking of medication
wisely is evidence of spiritual sanity. Start taking your
medications today.
Barrington H. Brennen, MA, NCP, BCCP, JP, a marriage and
family therapist and board certified clinical
psychotherapist, USA. Send your
questions or comments to
question@soencouragement.org
or write to P.O. Box CB-11045, Nassau, The Bahamas, or
visit
www.soencouragement.org
or call 242-327-1980
