Spiritual Attack or Mental Illness?
As a priest, people often share stories with me about a loved one, friend, or acquaintance who is behaving in a dangerous, unusual, or self-destructive manner. They wonder if this is a spiritual problem or a mental health problem. They want me to help them decide which one it is. Is my loved one facing a spiritual attack? Or is this a mental illness or a behavioral issue?
Usually, people seem to ask out of compassion, rather than just curiosity. They want to determine the cause, so they can propose a plan to help or cure the person. They reason that if this is a spiritual issue, then prayer, deliverance ministry, and a community of loving support will help the person.
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Unfortunately, we sometimes add a dose of guilt and blame to the mix as well, assuming that if this is a spiritual problem, then the person needs to pray or believe harder. Be that as it may, if this is a mental illness, then therapy, treatment, and perhaps medication will help them. Sometimes we also add shame or guilt here. Which one is it, mental (which is physical) or spiritual?
Rebutting Negative Views on Mental Health
Some Christians have a highly negative view of therapy. They think all mental health therapy is harmful or that all medications are unnecessary. If only we had enough faith, straining our souls, we could win that battle.
God wouldn’t want us to compromise and seek help from a therapist or doctor instead of turning to Him. Others have a highly negative view of spiritual healing. They believe that only mental health therapy and medication alone can treat someone. Yes, they believe in praying for the person, but they think it’s peculiar to see any spiritual issues in these things. They are afraid the person won’t seek treatment if we emphasize the spiritual side of things. Besides, “I wouldn’t want to be caught up in anything that seems weird,” they rationalize. We often do this because we can then pass the person on to a professional and feel like we’ve done our part. It’s cleaner that way.
Human Beings, Binary or Whole?
Why do we so quickly think in such binary ways? After all, we believe that Jesus was God and Man. We believe that he had two natures in one person. Therefore, we don’t have to choose whether he was Man or God; he was entirely both. We believe that the created world is spiritual too. Matter and spirit are all one in God’s created order, yet we know that they are different at the same time.
We tend to think in binary ways until we face our own issues. We see people with problems as “others” until we find that we are one of them too. Then suddenly we want all the help we can get! Our spiritual existence and our physical existence happen together. We are human. To be human is to be both spiritual and physical at the same time—our brains malfunction and degrade over time. Our spirits are influenced. Both happen; when we encounter a disorder in ourselves or others, both matter.
This doesn’t just apply to “other people.” This is you, and this is me. We are human: complex, amazing beings created in God’s image. We also live in a broken world, and all of us are affected by that. Nevertheless, we are a dichotomy of both spiritual and physical beings, existing as one unified whole.
Thoughts on What You Could Do
When you, or a friend or loved one, experience depression, panic attacks, delusional thinking, or any other experience of mental disorder, do not try to choose between a spiritual attack or a mental one. You don’t need to! Instead, be a healing presence to the whole person, recommending therapy and supporting medical decisions. Listen, love, and serve. Pray, fight a spiritual battle, and offer to connect them with spiritual counsel and a church community, if they don’t have one. Seek to be a healing presence for all of the person, rather than limiting people to a binary existence.
When you experience these things, reach out. Reach out to a hospital or counselor for safety and stabilization. Reach out for a medical diagnosis and therapy. Take those steps with a friend by your side, though also reach out for healing prayer. Reach out for a loving community. Reach out for help in the spiritual warfare that surrounds you. Don’t attempt to self-diagnose or manage the problem on your own. Ignoring it will only exacerbate the issue.
For the local church, support both of these ways God heals us. Don’t pit them against each other. Instead, love the Lord your God with all of your heart, your mind, and your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself—all of you, all of us, all of him.
And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Mark 12:28-31
Image: Photo by Muhamad Alip Fabio Mandaka from Alipstudio, courtesy of Canva. Digitally edited by Jacob Davis.
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