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As a precursor to this discussion, I'm not a mental health expert and would not want anyone relying on my expertise regarding this topic.
The basic question is whether a Christian should use mental health pharmaceuticals or not.
My position is that there are some individuals with genuine chemical imbalances which can benefit from mental health pharmaceuticals, but that our society tends to overprescribe such pharmaceuticals and these drugs can have a detrimental effect on the Christianity of those who take the drugs.
I want to point to my personal experience. I started taking Paxil in about 2010 or so, due to social anxiety. I had just left a church I was involved with for years, and the experience was very disillusioning. I needed to get involved with another fellowship which taught sound doctrine, but felt out of place. I thought the drugs may help me to adapt to a new environment and to deal with the resulting anxiety.
Instead, I believe the drugs caused me to feel complacent about non-attendance, and about my Christian duties in general. I ended up backsliding for a number of years, getting involved in very obvious immoral behavior.
I don't blame my behavior on these anti-anxiety medications, but I do believe they engendered a false sense of peace, which replaced the peace I should have been receiving from the Holy Spirit. I also gained a lot of weight from these anti-anxiety medications, which caused further issues.
There are different attitudes in the Church regarding mental health drugs. My understanding is that John MacArthur teaches that they are never useful to the Christian. I have a friend who attended MacArthur's fellowship..my friend had a roommate with genuine mental health issues (having auditory and visual hallucinations) who was not encouraged to take medications and it caused great difficulty in his life. So, while I respect MacArthur's view on other topics, and while he has a genuine concern regarding mental health drugs, I do not agree with his black and white view on this topic.
My aunt is a very faithful Christian and also experienced auditory hallucinations and takes mental health drugs as a result. So, I am definitely sympathetic to both perspectives. Our physical bodies are subject to the effects of the Fall, and I believe that these sorts of illnesses are a manifestation of underlying physical frailties due to this, in some circumstances. However, I also believe that these illnesses can, in some cases, be caused by sinful thinking. It's a mixed bag.
Just wondering what everyone else thinks on this topic.
Note: I am not encouraging or discouraging the use of mental health pharmaceuticals, nor would I want anyone to feel guilty over their use if they have a genuine organic condition. I'm not qualified to judge that. I am only relating my own circumstance and thoughts.
The basic question is whether a Christian should use mental health pharmaceuticals or not.
My position is that there are some individuals with genuine chemical imbalances which can benefit from mental health pharmaceuticals, but that our society tends to overprescribe such pharmaceuticals and these drugs can have a detrimental effect on the Christianity of those who take the drugs.
I want to point to my personal experience. I started taking Paxil in about 2010 or so, due to social anxiety. I had just left a church I was involved with for years, and the experience was very disillusioning. I needed to get involved with another fellowship which taught sound doctrine, but felt out of place. I thought the drugs may help me to adapt to a new environment and to deal with the resulting anxiety.
Instead, I believe the drugs caused me to feel complacent about non-attendance, and about my Christian duties in general. I ended up backsliding for a number of years, getting involved in very obvious immoral behavior.
I don't blame my behavior on these anti-anxiety medications, but I do believe they engendered a false sense of peace, which replaced the peace I should have been receiving from the Holy Spirit. I also gained a lot of weight from these anti-anxiety medications, which caused further issues.
There are different attitudes in the Church regarding mental health drugs. My understanding is that John MacArthur teaches that they are never useful to the Christian. I have a friend who attended MacArthur's fellowship..my friend had a roommate with genuine mental health issues (having auditory and visual hallucinations) who was not encouraged to take medications and it caused great difficulty in his life. So, while I respect MacArthur's view on other topics, and while he has a genuine concern regarding mental health drugs, I do not agree with his black and white view on this topic.
My aunt is a very faithful Christian and also experienced auditory hallucinations and takes mental health drugs as a result. So, I am definitely sympathetic to both perspectives. Our physical bodies are subject to the effects of the Fall, and I believe that these sorts of illnesses are a manifestation of underlying physical frailties due to this, in some circumstances. However, I also believe that these illnesses can, in some cases, be caused by sinful thinking. It's a mixed bag.
Just wondering what everyone else thinks on this topic.
Note: I am not encouraging or discouraging the use of mental health pharmaceuticals, nor would I want anyone to feel guilty over their use if they have a genuine organic condition. I'm not qualified to judge that. I am only relating my own circumstance and thoughts.