The importance of understanding and normalizing the entire spectrum of mental health is needed more than ever. Who we are, how we interact with ourselves, others, and our Heavenly Parents are impacted by what has happened in our lives. The impact of hard things and the absence of good things in our lives affect us daily in our thoughts, feelings, and CHOICES.
Mental health challenges are not something a select few experience, nor should they be dealt with on the sideline. Our past wounds must be attended to with the appropriate tools and resources.
If you have ever: felt like you needed to have it all together, can't say no, withdrawal from others, responded unproportionally to something, were afraid to share your feelings, avoided conflict, did something to please another, wanted to conform to others to feel accepted, blamed others, needed a constant distraction, felt responsible for another's feelings, judged others, worried about what others thought of you, couldn't stop thinking about something, felt afraid others were mad at you, compared yourself to others, felt envious of others, took on responsibilities of others, wanted to be better than others…something is hurting inside of you and is yearning to be attended to. These are mental health issues and it is important to remember everything is on a spectrum in the mental health field.
Most of us have some wounding. And it has nothing to do with not being strong, faithful or a lack of spiritual capacity. The wounds can't be erased by making a better choice or practicing more faith.
Teaching the use of 'Sunday School basics' with, at times, uninformed (but well-intentioned) advice on coping with mental health struggles members face is insufficient and can be harmful. I have witnessed people feeling understood, dismissed in their experiences, and suffering in silence due to the lack of understanding of where mental health issues originate.
I believe spiritual practices can be part of the healing journey, and spiritually attending to trauma and attachment wounding is a critical part of the process.
I want to bring mental health into active awareness for members and the Church. Those things that impact our mental health are essential, and I believe sacred parts of us.
Our wounds are also very normal parts of us that impact our daily lives, our interactions with others, how we approach the gospel, and our relationships with our Heavenly Parents.
As we are informed about trauma, I hope we can approach mental health with much more compassion, welcoming the wounded parts that many of us experience. I also hope the things that impact our mental health will be integrated into how we individually and collectively approach gospel principles and discussions with one another. I also believe being more informed on mental health could invite collective healing that is needed in the Church.