5 Lies We Believe about Mental Health – and the Truth God Says

This is one of the most damaging lies people can believe: that if you were just a “better Christian,” you wouldn’t feel anxious, depressed, or overwhelmed. This lie compounds the feelings of guilt and shame that are all too common when battling a mental health disorder. Many fall into the trap of seeing their mental health issues as spiritual failures instead of just part of being human in this fallen world. 

But the Bible is full of faithful people who struggled with their emotions. King David wrote many Psalms while going through fear, despair, and sadness. 

In Psalm 42:11, he writes: “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why am I so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will praise him, my Savior and God.”

David didn't hide his pain; he brought it before God. He didn’t let his emotional turmoil drive him away from God, but toward him. Even Jesus, in the Garden of Gethsemane, experienced intense emotional pain. 

Matthew 26:38 records: “Then he said to them, ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” 

Jesus knew suffering well. He cried out, sweated blood, and grieved deeply. But he never sinned. The mental suffering Jesus went through was real, but he lived a perfectly holy human life. Having faith doesn’t mean pretending everything is fine when it’s not. Instead, having faith involves trusting God while you’re struggling. You can cry out to God when you’re hurting, even when you don’t have all the answers. You can believe that God is still good when life overwhelms you. 

In 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, the Apostle Paul describes how God’s strong power redeems human weaknesses: “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 

When you struggle with your mental health and still seek God, God will see your faith and give you the strength you need. The truth is that mental health struggles don’t disqualify you from faith. God sees your faith, and he loves you completely and unconditionally.

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When you feel bad because of your mental health challenges, it’s easy to think that God must be upset with you. Maybe you’ve thought that if you’re a good Christian, you’d always be full of joy. Then, when you don’t, you feel like a failure. But the truth is that God is compassionate and understanding. 

Psalm 103:13-14 reminds you: “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.” 

God knows everything, so he isn’t surprised by your struggles with difficult emotions. You don’t need to hide your true feelings to be accepted by God. The book of Psalms is full of raw, emotional honesty. It describes difficult emotions like anger, sadness, and confusion. You can use the Psalms in your prayer times to help you bring all your feelings to God without being afraid of God judging you for feeling the way you do. God not only allows you to have challenging emotions, but he also encourages you to experience them honestly. 

Jesus often expressed his difficult emotions. He wept when Lazarus died (John 11:35), he became angry at injustice (Mark 3:5), and much more. Emotions are part of God’s design for your human experience, so it’s not sinful to feel them. What matters is how you respond to them. God doesn’t expect you to fake happiness or pretend to be okay when you’re not. God invites you to bring your emotional struggles to him.

The Bible says about God in 1 Peter 5:7: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” 

God isn’t distant or annoyed by your struggles. He cares about your pain and walks with you through it. Hebrews 4:15-16 reveals that Jesus empathizes with us all as we struggle with human weaknesses. Because of that, we can pray for help with confidence that God will give us what we need: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” You don’t have to hide how you feel from God. He already knows and loves you anyway, so he meets you exactly where you are. 

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In our culture, you may hear messages that needing help with your mental health makes you weak or broken. This idea can be even stronger in some churches. If you feel pressure from people you know to cover up your mental health challenges, remember that’s not actually what God wants you to do. God has created you for community and wants you to enjoy honest relationships where you and others mutually help each other. 

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 points out: “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.” 

God designed us to support each other by carrying each other’s burdens. 

Galatians 6:2 says: “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” 

Asking for help shows strength because it involves humbling yourself with strong faith in God to help you. Admitting you need support is a step toward healing, not a sign of defeat. God often uses others to speak truth, comfort, and wisdom into our lives. Caring and trustworthy counselors, doctors, pastors, family members, and friends are all people who God can use to bring healing into your life. Just like you would go to a doctor for a broken bone, it’s wise to seek help for emotional wounds. Refusing to help out of pride can sometimes keep you stuck. So, don’t believe the lie that needing help means you’re weak. The truth is, it takes great strength to be honest and humbly ask for help. 

Psalm 34:18 promises you: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” 

God wants you to reach out to him, and you can trust God to help you whenever you do. 

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Unfortunately, this lie has kept many believers from getting the needed support. In some churches, there’s an unspoken belief that prayer alone should be enough and that going to therapy or taking medication means you’re not trusting God. But God often works through therapy and medications. 

James 1:17 states: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights.” 

That includes the wisdom God gives to therapists and the medical knowledge that creates medications. These can be part of God’s provision for your healing. God’s gifts include both spiritual and scientific tools. For example, the Apostle Paul advised Timothy to take a little wine for his stomach and frequent illnesses (1 Timothy 5:23). That wasn’t a miracle but a practical treatment. 

God can use any treatment as part of his healing plan for you. Therapy can be a blessing for you. It gives you a safe space to process pain, challenge lies, and grow in understanding. A Christian therapist can help connect biblical truth to your mental and emotional healing. 

Medication can also be a vital part of taking good care of your mental health. God has made it possible for people to invent helpful medications to help you manage depression, anxiety, or other mental health conditions. God created your brain, and he understands if any chemical imbalances affect your feelings. 

The truth is that going to therapy or using medication isn’t related at all to a lack of faith. There is no shame in using any healing treatments God has provided to take good care of the mind and body God gave you.

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When you’re in the middle of a mental health battle, it can feel like the darkness will never lift from your mind. You may feel like nothing will ever get better. This lie can lead you to despair. But God’s truth is greater than the pain you feel. The truth is that healing is possible, and you can even find joy during difficult times. God is a God of hope. 

Romans 15:13 says: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” 

When you ask the Holy Spirit to bring you hope, you can count on finding it. God is always at work through His Holy Spirit. 

Psalm 40:1-2 says: “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” 

God sees what you’re going through and will help you if you reach out to him. Your pain is real, but it’s not the end of your story. It’s okay to feel discouraged, but don’t believe the lie that your pain is permanent. God is still writing your story. He promises the pain of living in a fallen world today won’t last forever. Revelation 21:4 looks forward to a brighter future without any health struggles when it says about God: “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 

Mental health struggles are real, but they aren’t a sign of weak faith or failure. They are just part of living in a broken world. But you can count on God to bring you hope and healing. The lies you believe can keep you trapped, but the truth of God’s Word sets you free. God’s Word tells you that God sees what you’re going through, understands your pain, and walks you through it. God will lead you to everything you need to help you heal. So, choose to believe what God says over the lies you hear about mental health. When you do, you’ll experience God’s love for you!

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