Inspiration from Rick Warren: “Your Chemistry is Not Your Character”

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Rick Warren proclaimed these words, “your chemistry is not your character,” during his first sermon after his son’s suicide last April (video below).

Pastor Rick Warren Returns to Pulpit – First Time Since Son’s Suicide:
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/pastor-rick-warren-returns-pulpit-time-sons-suicide-19798603

In an effort to support Rick’s movement toward defeating the stigma associated with mental illness, I’d like to dispel some myths that may not be as frequently addressed (sources noted below):

Myths about Mental Health

Myth: Children do not experience mental illnesses. Their actions are just products of bad parenting.
Fact: A report from the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health showed that in any given year 5-9 percent of children experience serious emotional disturbances. Just like adult mental illnesses, these are clinically diagnosable health conditions that are a product of the interaction of biological, psychological, social, and sometimes even genetic factors.

Myth: Mentally ill and mentally restored individuals are unpredictable, potentially violent, and dangerous.
Fact: A research literature review conducted at Cornell University found absolutely no evidence to support such portrayals. The vast majority of individuals with psychiatric disabilities are neither dangerous nor violent.

Myth: People with mental health needs, even those who have received effective treatment and have recovered, tend to be second-rate workers on the job.
Fact: Employers who have hired people with mental illnesses report good attendance and punctuality, as well as motivation, quality of work, and job tenure on par with or greater than other employees. Studies by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) show that there are no differences in productivity when people with mental illnesses are compared to other employees.

What’s our reaction?

In July of 2011, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported the following (based on a 2007 BRFSS research study; http://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/data_stats/mental-illness.htm):

57% of all adults believed that people are caring and sympathetic to persons with mental illness.
Only 25% of adults with mental health symptoms believed that people are caring and sympathetic to persons with mental illness.

Those two figures don’t equate, do they? Apparently, our perception of our actions may not be perceived by a person with mental illness in the same way they were intended. We are often fearful of what we do not understand. But isn’t it also true that defeating what we fear leads to immense satisfaction (in this case, for both us and those who suffer from mental illness)?

“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

~2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV)

So what can we do? Well, one more myth to squash:

Myth: I can’t do anything for someone with mental health needs.
Fact: You can do a lot, starting with the way you act and how you speak. For example:

• Learn the facts about mental health and share them with others, especially if you hear something that is untrue.
• Treat people with mental illnesses with respect and dignity, as you would anybody else.
• Respect the rights of people with mental illnesses and don’t discriminate against them when it comes to housing, employment, or education. Like other people with disabilities, people with mental health needs are protected under Federal and State laws.

Are we any different?

We all have our own challenges. Some of our challenges deal with our character, gravitating toward selfishness, anger, or the inability to be vulnerable. Some of us are addicted to work, alcohol, or eating. Some have physical disabilities. But all can be debilitating, no matter the source or context. We’re all different, and yet the same.

No matter our issue(s), the most important details are not only how we diligently assess our situation(s), but also how we treat other’s dealing with theirs. Ideally, shouldn’t we live in a world of symbiotic relationships? Shouldn’t we give another’s challenge (whether changeable or not) the same consideration and respect that we expect for our own?

Moreover, if we were personally struggling with a mental issue, wouldn’t we want someone to go the extra mile for us? If it were a family member suffering–would we extend a hand for them? What if it were Jesus himself? Though assumptions are never safe, I think in this case I can safely assume the responses to each of these questions. So why not make that love and consideration universal? How can we not when we expect the same in return?

“And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”

~Matthew 25:39-40 (ESV)

Myth/Fact Sources:

http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/go/workplacewellness/5myths; http://promoteacceptance.samhsa.gov/publications/myths_facts.aspx

Twitter: AliciaMSmith7