I’ve met a few people who believe this myth. Maybe believe is too strong of a word… accept might be more accurate. I think that people in general readily believe that misfortune comes from sin, and that isn’t necessarily an incorrect interpretation. After all, it is true that sin does not lead to happiness and well being. However, while sin may generally lead to misfortune, not all misfortune is sin-based, and we are wrong to judge the mentally ill on this basis.
The following story comes from a good friend of mine:
The strength of my testimony is not correlated with my social anxiety disorder. I know that God loves us. I know that the atonement of Jesus Christ is a way for us to lighten our burdens. I know the Book of Mormon is true. I know the church is true.
People, especially unorganized groups, freak me out. Three hours of participating and being around this group we call Church Attendance gives me anxiety. Other locations and situations give me anxiety: dinners, dances, standing in line, freeway driving, hanging out, meeting new people, shopping, and teaching.
Getting through the majority of my days requires a great deal of faith. I also get frustrated and inpatient with myself more than anyone else. This requires constant dialog with my Heavenly Father as I learn to “have a fresh view about God, about myself, and about the world we lin in” (Bible Dictionary – Repentance).
I am doing the best I can. I know others are, too. I don’t know how to tell others how to interact with me, but I don’t mind talking about my illness. I don’t mind being straightforward and honest if you ask me why I don’t come to church and how I am doing in matters of faith. But please don’t judge the behaviors as indicators of my faith. I am not fragile, I won’t break, I have not been offended. I love small groups and personal visits, and I love the Church.
The unfortunate thing about my friend is that I have found myself feeling the need to defend her and her situation to other people. Fortunately, our bishop is a wonderful man with an intimate knowledge of mental illness, but that is not always true of the people who work with him.
This myth is a result of misunderstanding and misinterpretation. If we accept sin to cause unhappiness and mental illness to be an unhappy state, we all too often correlate the two as equal and related things. They are not. It may be true that sin can be a trigger in a person that is already susceptible to mental illness, but sin will not directly cause mental illness. It just does not work that way.
Related to this myth is the perception that a person who does not attend church does so because of a lack of faith. This is also untrue. A family member has been unable to attend church for many years due to mental illness, but she frequently writes of her humble and genuine faith and belief in God and Jesus Christ.
One reason that I love the atonement of Jesus Christ is because it means that I’m responsible for me in my condition doing what I am capable of doing. The Lord understands me and will judge me for me. The Lord understands my sister and my friend and knows both of their situations perfectly. When that final judgment comes, He will justify and condemn based on those situations, and I personally believe that, more often than not, we will find ourselves looking into the eyes of an advocate rather than an executioner.
Sin does not equal mental illness. Mental illness does not equal a lack of testimony.
Amen. My favorite saying, my mantra over these past several years:
Sometimes bad things happen to good people.
AND
Sometimes good things happen to bad people.
It’s so simple, but people really do have a hard time internalizing it. I think it’s because it makes them unsafe from bad things. They want to believe that if they do everything “right,” they’ll never have tragedy or difficulty on the levels we’re talking about. And so the idea that a person who has done nothing “wrong” experiences something like mental illness, or divorce, or a child straying, is threatening to them. At least, that’s how I’ve come to see it. I can feel more compassion for the people who have treated others with less charity, when I think of it that way.
I know mental illness is not caused by sin, but I also beleive that everything happens for a reason and that it’s all part of the Plan. So it just frustrates me because I don’t know *what* the reason is (and I may not be supposed to). God doesn’t always use Occam’s razor.
nosurfgirl–So very true. I once felt that way about tithing. I figured if I paid tithing, nothing bad would happen to me on a financial level… HA!!! Again, I say HA!!!! However, you’ll never see me deny that we haven’t seen wondrous blessings and protections as a result of paying tithing. Just the opposite in fact. We have been so blessed, and I believe many of those blessings are a direct result of paying tithing.
LauraG–My new favorite quote: God doesn’t always use Occam’s razor. Thanks for that one. I think too many people get into the 1+1=2 syndrome without accounting for the marvels of God’s power.
One of my later posts (probably the very last one) talks a bit about the why of mental illness. I’m not sure I have any real answers or if there are even any to be found, but I do believe that there is a message of hope for those who seek it.
I’m not a licensed psychologist, but I have been teaching psychology on the community college level for over 30 years. I’m not saying that in a bragging sort of way, but in a “It makes me angry, sad, bewildered, upset, annoyed, irritated, and baffled sort of way” to hear people attribute mental illness to sin. If these folks took even one look at the DSM-IV,surely they’d agree that the causes of mental illness are as varied and complex as the disorders themselves.
god has no power because there is no god
mental illness is real, religious people prove that.
TLA–While I absolutely disagree with you on the matter of God, I appreciate your comment.
I have a very hard time understanding why people reject the reality of God. For me it is simple matter of opening my eyes and seeing what is around me. Does this not testify of God?
I am a very spiritual person who rejects organized religion for many reasons. TLA, however, is conflating Mental Illness with religious views he or she doesn’t understand or agree with, or merely can’t empathize/sympathise with.
In TLA’s opinion, religous people may “act crazy” (which is really just a misnomer for perceived social and/or behavioral deviance), but that isn’t the same thing as the factual existence of the physiological pathology that causes Mental Illness.
By the way, I found your post while searching for more information on essential vs. non-essential clauses and stumbled upon this series on depression myths. Thank you for writing this. For writing on both topics, actually. Now I get it.
Thanks GC. I’m always glad to hear that something I’ve written is useful.
Dave
Very good points, Dave. Thank you for writing this.
I know individuals that are mentally ill, and unable to mix well in a social setting like Church meetings. Mental illness is a disease. There are many types. Many times there are people with addictions, or obsessive/compulsive disorders. It is the natural tendency of a religious person to try to put “sin” tags on some of these things. It is like they have this need to make sure everyone pays for their sinful behavior. It just seems impossible for some people to accept the fact that a person can suffer from a disease and do, unwillingly, some unacceptable behavior, and at the same time have a belief in God. We must all stop judging other people, because judging another person may be the greater sin!