3 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Mental Health Conversations
Recently, I had the chance to witness first-hand RemedyLIVE’s Wired Experience. I learned a ton, but three things stood out over and above the rest.
Throughout most of my adult life, I believed mental health was something you didn’t talk about. My aunt was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. We didn’t talk about it. Ever. I believed mental health was reserved for the professionals and those diagnosed with actual disorders. As a follower of Jesus, I thought issues like anxiety, worry, and depression were less of an issue related to mental health and more of a lack of spiritual maturity. After all, if you believe in Jesus, you should have no worries and an endless amount of joy. If you did have a problem, bury it and deal with it. Fake it till you make it. Right?
Perhaps you thought the same way I did.
RemedyLIVE’s Wired Experience changed that.
No matter how old you are or what profession you’re in mental health matters. And it concerns all of us. Because every one of us has mental health. And participating in the interactive polling of the Wired Experience taught me three critical things vital to my understanding of mental health. Not just for myself but also in how I treat and care for others.
Talking about mental health shouldn’t be weird. It should be normal. Everyone has secret struggles. Meaning we aren’t alone in the battle. These conversations are critical. The more we talk about mental health, the greater clarity we have for hope. Specifically, hope in Jesus.
These guys are mental health missionaries. While Jesus may not be an obvious part of the conversation. He is still at the center. These are conversations grounded in truth, love, and grace.
Click Here to Learn More About Meaningful Conversations
1. Mental Health Conversations Should Be Normal.
No matter which way you slice it, there is a stigma around mental health. Yet, the reality is that we all have mental health. We freely talk about physical health and our spiritual health. So why not mental health? Well, there are a variety of reasons—the biggest—knowledge and understanding. We simply don’t talk about what we are unsure of or afraid of. So mental health gets swept under the rug. We hope that if we ignore it, it will go away. It won’t.
The Wired Experience’s interactive polling gives people the opportunity to be educated in the area of mental health and simultaneously see that many people struggle with mental health issues. Knowing that you are not alone de-stigmatizes the conversation by framing a conversation around one simple question:
Interactive polling
Share your struggle anonymously and discover you’re not alone.
How are you, really?
Secret struggles don’t have to be a secret.
Click Here to Learn More About Asking, “How are you Really?”
2. Mental Health Conversations Create a Path To Hope
When a person has a chance to share a secret struggle, it could be a gateway to a conversation that’s more than just a conversation about mental health. It becomes a conversation about hope—a conversation about Jesus.
using technology
To create meaningful conversations about mental health
We struggle because there is sin in the world. We struggle because we are broken people living in a broken world. We struggle because no matter how hard we try, we are not the solution. There is something greater. But when we struggle in silence and solitude, the path to hope and healing is clouded and impossible to see. But giving people the chance to see they are not alone clears the fog and removes the barriers to reveal a path to hope, healing, and purpose. All of which only Jesus can provide.
Click Here to Learn More About Hope
3. Mental Health Conversations Brought to You By Mental Health Missionaries
The world desperately needs Jesus. Yet amid the growing need for Jesus is an equally growing rejection of him. People need to experience the love of Jesus often long before they ever meet him. The world we live in needs us to remove the barriers to Jesus and the Gospel before introducing people to him by addressing immediate needs.
By engaging in conversation, listening, and most of all, loving the person bridges gaps and barriers to the gospel and finding points of interest that can make gospel connections.
The central message of the gospel is one of hope. You simply cannot engage the words and actions of Jesus without mention of hope. Hope that there is life beyond this one, hope that there is forgiveness, hope that there is something greater, and hope that your life matters.
So much mental unhealthiness robs people of that hope. Worry, anxiety, depression, etc., tricks our minds into believing the worst about ourselves and the world around us. It tricks us into believing that we are worthless, purposeless, and unloved. A simple conversation can change all of that. These guys are genuinely mental health missionaries.
Bringing Mental Conversations To Your Circle
Conversations around mental health are not just impactful; they are necessary. If showing the love of Jesus is a priority, then you must treat mental health as no less important than physical or spiritual health. But let’s be honest. This is a big ask. That’s why you call in the professionals and let RemedyLIVE’s Wired Experience not only teach you how to have the conversation, but they will get it started for you.
ready to host your own event?
Are you or someone you know struggling and need someone to talk to? You can chat with a RemedyLIVE Soul Medic right now. Click Here
