Mental Health Awareness Month is upon us. However, it has long been a taboo within the church. Many evangelists believe that the driving force of mental illness is one’s own sin or lack of faith, and they just need to pray more. This can be shown by analogy in John 9 when even the disciples believe the blind man’s troubles are his or his parents’ fault. As any psychologist will tell you, mental health is much more complex than that. The real treatment for mental illness is one’s faith, professional help, and fellowship.
Depression is overwhelming and has often been described as feeling like one is drowning. These extreme feelings are heightened when people don’t get the help they need from loved ones and professionals. Photo courtesy of Stormseeker
In a world that continually challenges and wears us down, sometimes the burdens of life become too much for one person to bear alone. One option many people are afraid to consider is counseling. Although the process of finding a counselor who fits you can be difficult, it can help facilitate personal growth and discovery that isn’t available elsewhere.
A numb feeling, uncontrollable weeping, heavy breathing. No matter how you experience depression, anxiety or an overwhelming sadness, those feelings are valid and you don’t have to tackle them alone. Confiding in a counseling professional isn’t a weakness, it’s one of the bravest moves you can make to help yourself. Image courtesy of Free-Photos from Pixabay
Here are some interesting facts about MBU Timeline, the student newsmagazine of Missouri Baptist University, in St. Louis:
*Our mission statement is: MBU Timeline is the student news network of Missouri Baptist University, a private Christian university that embraces the essential core value of “social change through service and leadership.”
*The Bible verse that drives our mission is 2 Timothy 2:15 (Worldwide English Version): “Tell the true message in the right way.”
*The WordPress website has been up since late-fall 2013. We average about 3,000 sessions and about 5,000 pageviews per month.
*Our stories and galleries get as few as 40 or 50 hits, or as many as 8,000 hits.
*We have readers in every state and more than 90 countries around the world. We have several readers in South America, the United Kingdom, India and Australia.
*Most of our readers are in Missouri, followed by Illinois, California and Texas.
*We do not accept advertising as we are a not-for-profit online newsmagazine.
*We welcome contributors from all walks of MBU life, regardless of your major. Reach out to us on Twitter at: @mbutimeline.
