I cannot tell you just how encouraging it is to see Christians who have such a positive attitude toward the mentally ill. I am educated, have traveled, been a public speaker, and done all kinds of things, but I am mentally ill, too. It has kind of challenged my faith, but it is still there. Many of my “Christian” friends have kind of written me off since I became ill, but it is so uplifting to see someone who will show kindness to those of us who cannot help that we are sick. It is just like if we had diabetes or heart disease, it is an illness and you have to treat it. My diagnosis is schizoaffective disorder and major depression. I have the disorder, but it does not have me! I have to accept it, but I do not have to succumb to it. When I first became ill, I could not figure out why God let this happen to me. I thought that God was being very unfair to me and that I did not deserve this. However, even in this situation, I can count my blessings. I know I can help someone who has similar problems where others who have never experienced severe depression or other symptoms of mental illness may not understand. I hope that God really blesses your church and your ministry.<\/p>\n\t
I’m glad you have found the information here useful and encouraging.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: I cannot tell you just how encouraging it is to see Christians who have such a positive attitude toward the mentally ill. I am educated, have traveled, been a public speaker, and done all kinds of things, but I am mentally ill, too. It has kind of challenged my faith, but it is still…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[127,508],"class_list":["post-28299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-about-this-site","tag-mental-illness"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":68714,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-god-save-people-who-develop-alzheimers\/","url_meta":{"origin":28299,"position":0},"title":"Does God save people who develop Alzheimer’s?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 3, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Brother Hamilton, My sister has a friend who has been a lesbian all her adult life. This friend now has Alzheimer's. Will she now be saved because she can no longer decide to follow Christ? I'm wondering who qualifies as the mentally ill who will be saved. Answer:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20498,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/inconsistent-treatment-of-transgenderism\/","url_meta":{"origin":28299,"position":1},"title":"Inconsistent Treatment of Transgenderism","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 29, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Source: Michelle Cretella, \"I\u2019m a Pediatrician. Here\u2019s What I Did When a Little Boy Patient Said He Was a Girl.\"\u00a0The Daily Signal, 11 December 2017. \"Biological sex is not assigned. Sex is determined at conception by our DNA and is stamped into every cell of our bodies. Human sexuality is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Issues"","block_context":{"text":"Issues","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12813,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-i-divorce-to-get-peace-back-into-my-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":28299,"position":2},"title":"Should I divorce to get peace back into my life?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 24, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am currently the minister of a congregation.\u00a0 I am married and my marriage is on the rocks.\u00a0 I often have thoughts of divorcing my wife, but I know that it would have a huge effect on all those whom I have baptized and help lead to Christ.\u00a0 My\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23389,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-help-a-mentally-ill-parent\/","url_meta":{"origin":28299,"position":3},"title":"How do I help a mentally ill parent?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 15, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, Thank you for all of the work that you do to inform people about what the Bible has to say about various matters. I need some help trying to understand my role in a situation dealing with my mother. I have a 70-year-old mother who is physically disabled\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":48116,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/thank-you-for-your-encouraging-remarks-on-schizoaffective-disorder\/","url_meta":{"origin":28299,"position":4},"title":"Thank you for your encouraging remarks on schizoaffective disorder","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 21, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My thanks to whoever wrote\u00a0the statement to the man with schizoaffective disorder. I have a schizoaffective disorder that is often debilitating. I have psychotic episodes whenever there is a major change in my life and suffer many mood swings. More often than not, I cannot get support from many\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35532,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/will-my-future-partner-determine-if-ill-make-eternity\/","url_meta":{"origin":28299,"position":5},"title":"Will my future partner determine if I’ll make eternity?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 3, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good evening, sir. Please, I have a question that has been bothering my mind. Will my future partner determine if I'll make eternity? Answer: Who you choose to marry can reveal your attitude toward righteousness. If you knowingly marry a sinner, then you are knowingly placing temptation before you.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28299\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}