Feeling Unhappy?

[God the Father]

Happiness is directly related to minutes viewing Wayne's World. Studies show.

[Jaime]

[quote]Some say "oh it's chemical" - That is one theory. Chemicals in the brain can be created due to emotions, and chemicals can influence emotion.
[/quote]

Its not a theory. And if you had finished your degree in psychology you would know that. There is no debate that seretonin has an effect on the mood centers of the mid brain.

Depression in some cases is simply chemical. In many other cases it is a result of suppressed rage. To oversimplify it by saying "its because of sin" or "you're not right with God" is not only an extreme oversimplification, it is offensive. There are many causes of depression and none of them are because someone had it too easy.

And with all due respect to the good cardinal, he's out of his element. I disagree with him.

[Paphnutius]

[quote name='ironmonk' date='Mar 1 2006, 02:49 PM']Abortion has nothing to do with biology, abortion has to do with the act of ending an innocent life.ironmonk
[right][snapback]900960[/snapback][/right]
[/quote]But there are certain biological circumstances that allow procedures that would result in the killing of a fetus. One must know their biology to know the morality of an act. You cannot escape this. One has to know anatomy and biology to know how things will affect the human body, and therefore morality.

[quote]Drugs have to deal with drunkeness or breaking the law.[/quote] And drunkeness is a biological effect, which falls into the moral category because the phisiological effect tampers with our power of reason and will. What is this? Biology being neccesary to understand the conclusions of morality.

[ironmonk]

[quote name='photosynthesis' date='Mar 1 2006, 05:55 PM']Even St. Josemaria said SELDOM, though.  Not "never."
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[/quote]


That is why the other reason would be our point of view.


We can change anything we want about ourselves, but we have to want to. The minute we say we "can't" then we bring failure on ourselves.

Christ said that the eye is the lamp to our soul (St. Matt 6:22-23). What we fill our eyes with is what we will become. This same concept applies to our outlook.

If someone does not want to be unhappy and they are 'right with God' then they need to make a cognitive effort to have a possitive outlook... not overly vocalize or dwell on a negative outlook.

And for those who want to cry "you don't know until you're depressed" - I know very well what depression is. As a teen and in my early twenties there were many times that suicide crossed my mind.

Modern day psychology is the spoiled godless child of philosophy. There are few good psychologists and it is too easy for people to become one. Many people who need them most become one. The blind cannot lead the blind and expect to find their way home.

The key to happiness is God and outlook. If we are right with God and have a deep knowledge and love of Scripture we will have a positive outlook. If we have faith in God, then we have no reason to be depressed. If our faith is not strong enough to be positive because of God, then we need to change something in our lives.

I know a few people who think everything is going great yet they are not living right in God's eyes... they rationalize... these people think everything is going great but they still are unhappy and they can't quite put their finger on it... it is very clear why they are not happy - it is because they are not living the way God wants them too.

[b]The Wrong Outlook....[/b]
I want a girlfriend/boyfriend, I won't be happy until I have one.
[b]The Right Outlook[/b]
I want to live the way God wants me too, if it is my vocation to be married, then God will provide.

[b]The Wrong Outlook....[/b]
My life is miserable. I hate how I can't have what I want.
[b]The Right Outlook[/b]
Thank you Lord for giving me another day to come closer to you. Please help me do your will.

[b]The Wrong Outlook....[/b]
My car smells of elderberries, if only I had a 2006 whatever.
[b]The Right Outlook[/b]
Thank God I have a car that runs.

[b]The Wrong Outlook....[/b]
I just lost my job and it wasn't my fault, what am I going to do? How am I going to pay my bills.
[b]The Right Outlook[/b]
I now have an opportunity to do something better. God's will be done.

[b]The Wrong Outlook....[/b]
I hate my job.
[b]The Right Outlook[/b]
I am greatful I have a job.

[b]The Wrong Outlook....[/b]
I hate not having a job.
[b]The Right Outlook[/b]
I am greatful for another day of being able serving God.

[b]The Wrong Outlook....[/b]
Why does all this bad stuff happen to me?!
[b]The Right Outlook[/b]
How can I improve myself in God's eyes?

[phatcatholic]

[quote name='Brother Adam' date='Mar 1 2006, 05:59 PM']And phatcatholic doesn't have a degree in psychology. I believe the Q&A thread says he has a Masters in clinical and human counsoling. I'm going to send him a PM asking his thoughts on the topic.[right][snapback]901004[/snapback][/right][/quote]
my BA is in Human Services and Counseling. my M.Ed. is in Counseling and Human Development, with an emphasis in Mental Health Counseling. i will be speak to the best of my ability on this matter, altho i certainly acknowledge that there are more authoritative voices.

ok ironmonk, let me make sure my understanding of your position is correct. are you saying:

1. that it is wrong or erroneous to respond with melancholy to tragic events in our lives, --OR--
2. it is wrong to persist in this melancholy, --OR--
3. both one and two?

now, [i][b]assuming that the depression is not caused by chemical or biological factors beyond our control[/b][/i], i would agree with #2, but not #1 (and conversely, not #3). the very actions of Jesus refute #1. if it were wrong or erroneous to respond with melancholy to tragic events, then Jesus would have been "sinning" or "not looking at things with the right point of view" or "not in a good relationship with the Lord" whenever he wept at the death of lazarus, or when he cried tears of blood in the garden. actually, the fact that Jesus occasionally responded to life in this way grants legitimacy to these responses as normal and acceptable responses.

the key here, as you have been pointing out, is to not wallow in our depression. i agree with you that depression is egocentric, and that looking outwards towards others can be helpful. i also agree that "reframing" the tragic events in our lives, or looking at them from a different point of view can relieve depression as well. i agree that we can and should find joy through suffering. i agree that overcoming depression is often times an act of the will. if i didn't believe that alternate ways of thinking, and feeling, and behaving could remedy depression i wouldn't be a counselor.

however, having said all that, we cannot dismiss the chemical or biological factors that can cause depression, or other mental disorders like bipolar disorder or schizophrenia (btw, Ash Wednesday brought them up not to go off topic but to show that there are mental disorders that have a distinct chemical/biological origin).


[quote name='ironmonk' date='Mar 1 2006, 10:21 AM']I do no believe the theory of biological depression. Emotions can produce chemicals in our brains. When we artifically introduce chemicals into someone's brian it can influence emotion, but that person can still have control of their emotions... therefore "biological depression" is false.[right][snapback]900683[/snapback][/right][/quote][quote name='ironmonk' date='Mar 1 2006, 05:00 PM']There is no proof that depression is biological. It is a theory. Symtoms are treated with chemicals - problems are not solved.

Chemicals can be produced in our brains depending on our emotions. Those same chemicals which are produced can intensify the emotion. If someone gives us certain drugs they can enduce certain emotions... None of this is proof that depression is a biological problem... it is ONLY a theory.[right][snapback]900970[/snapback][/right][/quote]
ironmonk, what should our authority be on this matter? maybe you will suggest some way of determining whether or not this chemical factor is just a "theory." you have already ruled out our use of the Church's position. will you allow us to turn to science, or will you say that the neurologists and psychiatrists don't know what they are talking about either? before i set about trying to show that there can be chemical factors involved beyond our control, i need to know what you will consider authoritative on this matter.


[quote name='ironmonk' date='Mar 1 2006, 11:03 AM']For hundreds of years the Church has been the only psychological help around and it worked. Psychological problems seem to have grown in proportion to lack of Catholic faith in society. [right][snapback]900708[/snapback][/right][/quote]
wouldn't the fact that the Church was the only psychological help around give credibility to her position that medication is an appropriate remedy for depression?

also, it doesn't appear that you responded to the example of the person with a thyroid problem (if you have, please quote it for me). and, to anticipate an objection, this is related to the topic at hand b/c with a thyroid problem, depression is caused by a biological factor beyond our control, yet you have essentially been saying that there is no biological cause of depression. would you be so bold as to say that a messed up thyroid does [i]not[/i] cause depression? you also never responded to the verse that era might provided where it is advised in the bible to drink wine when in misery (Prov. 31:6-7), which is comparative in our day to taking medication for depression.

as a review, here is my position:
1. some depression is caused by chemical / biological factors beyond our control (especially in the case of a thyroid problem)
2. sadness or depression is an acceptible response to trauma (as seen by the example of Jesus Christ), but we should use the lessons of the bible and what we know about the healing effects of charity to avoid prolonging this disposition, or remaining in it.

Pax Christi,
phatcatholic

[ironmonk]

[quote name='hot stuff' date='Mar 1 2006, 08:55 PM']Its not a theory.  And if you had finished your degree in psychology you would know that.  There is no debate that seretonin has an effect on the mood centers of the mid brain. 

Depression in some cases is simply chemical.  In many other cases it is a result of suppressed rage.  To oversimplify it by saying "its because of sin" or "you're not right with God" is not only an extreme oversimplification, it is offensive.  There are many causes of depression and none of them are because someone had it too easy. 


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[/quote]


It is a theory.

Seretonin does have an effect on the brain, you should have been paying attention. Now, I have to splain it al'ovea agan....

Chemicals in the brain can be produced by emotion, AND when chemicals are introduced into the system they can affect emotion.

Let's think a with a little logic than zombiefied APA babble. Since emotions can cause elevations of chemicals in our brains then that must mean that emotions cause the chemicals....
BUT WAIT... we know that when we introduce these same chemicals artificially into the sytem we can influence emotion.... hmmm....

Chemicals are a two edge sword, they can influence emotion and they can be produced by emotion.

The fact is we have only scratched the surface of the depths of the mind's working.

So yes... "chemical imbalance" is a theory.




[quote]To oversimplify it by saying "its because of sin" or "you're not right with God" is not only an extreme [/quote]

I did not write that or say that. Pay attention. Two reason why someone might be unhappy - 1) Not right with God AND/OR 2) The wrong point of view.

Now, when I write "unhappy", I do not mean the occasional sorrow from deaths in the family and such... I'm talking about people going around sulking in their sorrow.


[quote]And with all due respect to the good cardinal, he's out of his element.  I disagree with him.[/quote]

No he's not. The wisdom of the Church in guiding people is 2000 years old verse "modern psychology" which embraces whatever senseless fad the APA wants to push. Helping people is the element of the Church.



[quote][b]1718 [/b]
The Beatitudes respond to the natural desire for happiness. This desire is of divine origin: God has placed it in the human heart in order to draw man to the One who alone can fulfill it:


We all want to live happily; in the whole human race there is no one who does not assent to this proposition, even before it is fully articulated.

How is it, then, that I seek you, Lord? Since in seeking you, my God, I seek a happy life, let me seek you so that my soul may live, for my body draws life from my soul and my soul draws life from you.

God alone satisfies.

[b]1723 [/b]
The beatitude we are promised confronts us with decisive moral choices. It invites us to purify our hearts of bad instincts and to seek the love of God above all else. It teaches us that true happiness is not found in riches or well-being, in human fame or power, or in any human achievement—however beneficial it may be—such as science, technology, and art, or indeed in any creature, but in God alone, the source of every good and of all love:


All bow down before wealth. Wealth is that to which the multitude of men pay an instinctive homage. They measure happiness by wealth; and by wealth they measure respectability. . . . It is a homage resulting from a profound faith . . . that with wealth he may do all things. Wealth is one idol of the day and notoriety is a second. . . . Notoriety, or the making of a noise in the world—it may be called "newspaper fame"—has come to be considered a great good in itself, and a ground of veneration.

[b]2094 [/b]
One can sin against God's love in various ways:

-indifference neglects or refuses to reflect on divine charity; it fails to consider its prevenient goodness and denies its power.
-ingratitude fails or refuses to acknowledge divine charity and to return him love for love.
-lukewarmness is hesitation or negligence in responding to divine love; it can imply refusal to give oneself over to the prompting of charity.
-acedia or spiritual sloth goes so far as to refuse the joy that comes from God and to be repelled by divine goodness.
-hatred of God comes from pride. It is contrary to love of God, whose goodness it denies, and whom it presumes to curse as the one who forbids sins and inflicts punishments.


[b]2500 [/b]
The practice of goodness is accompanied by spontaneous spiritual joy and moral beauty. Likewise, truth carries with it the joy and splendor of spiritual beauty. Truth is beautiful in itself. Truth in words, the rational expression of the knowledge of created and uncreated reality, is necessary to man, who is endowed with intellect. But truth can also find other complementary forms of human expression, above all when it is a matter of evoking what is beyond words: the depths of the human heart, the exaltations of the soul, the mystery of God. Even before revealing himself to man in words of truth, God reveals himself to him through the universal LANGUAGE of creation, the work of his Word, of his wisdom: the order and harmony of the cosmos—which both the child and the scientist discover—"from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator," "for the author of beauty created them."


[Wisdom] is a breath of the power of God, and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty; therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her. For she is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image of his goodness.For [wisdom] is more beautiful than the sun, and excels every constellation of the stars. Compared with the light she is found to be superior, for it is succeeded by the night, but against wisdom evil does not prevail. I became enamored of her beauty.

[b]2657 [/b]
The Holy Spirit, who instructs us to celebrate the liturgy in expectation of Christ's return, teaches us to pray in hope. Conversely, the prayer of the Church and personal prayer nourish hope in us. The psalms especially, with their concrete and varied LANGUAGE, teach us to fix our hope in God: "I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry."8 As St. Paul prayed: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."9


[b]2658 [/b]
"Hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."10 Prayer, formed by the liturgical life, draws everything into the love by which we are loved in Christ and which enables us to respond to him by loving as he has loved us. Love is the source of prayer; whoever draws from it reaches the summit of prayer. In the words of the Curé of Ars:


I love you, O my God, and my only desire is to love you until the last breath of my life. I love you, O my infinitely lovable God, and I would rather die loving you, than live without loving you. I love you, Lord, and the only grace I ask is to love you eternally. . . . My God, if my tongue cannot say in every moment that I love you, I want my heart to repeat it to you as often as I draw breath.11

[b]2733 [/b]
Another temptation, to which presumption opens the gate, is acedia. The spiritual writers understand by this a form of depression due to lax ascetical practice, decreasing vigilance, carelessness of heart. "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."21 The greater the height, the harder the fall. Painful as discouragement is, it is the reverse of presumption. The humble are not surprised by their distress; it leads them to trust more, to hold fast in constancy.

[b]2755 [/b]
Two frequent temptations threaten prayer: lack of faith and acedia—a form of depression stemming from lax ascetical practice that leads to discouragement.[/quote]




[quote][url="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07131b.htm"]http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07131b.htm[/url]

Reverting now to the teaching of St. Thomas and the Catholic Church respecting happiness, we can better appreciate the superiority of that teaching. Man is complex in his nature and activities, sentient and rational, cognitive and appetitive. There is for him a well-being of the whole and a well-being of the parts; a relatively brief existence here, an everlasting life hereafter. Beatitudo, perfect happiness, complete well-being, is to be attained not in this life, but in the next. Primarily, it consists in the activity of man's highest cognitive faculty, the intellect, in the contemplation of God — the infinitely Beautiful. But this immediately results in the supreme delight of the will in the conscious possession of the Summum Bonum, God, the infinitely good. This blissful activity of the highest spiritual faculties, as the Catholic Faith teaches, will redound in some manner transcending our present experience to the felicity of the lower powers. For man, as man, will enjoy that perfect beatitude. Further, an integral part of that happiness will be the consciousness that it is absolutely secure and everlasting, an existence perfect in the tranquil and assured possession of all good — Status omnium bonorum aggregatione perfectus, as Boethius defines it. This state involves self-realization of the highest order and perfection of the human being in the highest degree. It thus combines whatever elements of truth are contained in the Hedonist and Rationalist theories. It recognizes the possibility of a relative and incomplete happiness in this life, and its value; but it insists on the importance of self-restraint, detachment, and control of the particular faculties and appetencies for the attainment of this limited happiness and, still more, in order to secure that eternal well-being be not sacrificed for the sake of some transitory enjoyment. [/quote]



To be right with God and proper outlook includes detatchment from worldly things, not just doing things for people less fortunate but going out of our way to do so.

I also suggest reading "Way to Happiness" by Archbishop Fulton Sheen.


God Bless,
ironmonk

[ironmonk]

[quote]1. that it is wrong or erroneous to respond with melancholy to tragic events in our lives, --OR--
2. it is wrong to persist in this melancholy, --OR--
3. both one and two?[/quote]

4. None of the above.

[phatcatholic]

what is your position then? care to respond to the rest of my post?

[photosynthesis]

[quote name='ironmonk' date='Mar 1 2006, 10:03 PM'][b]The Wrong Outlook....[/b]
I want a girlfriend/boyfriend, I won't be happy until I have one.
[b]The Right Outlook[/b]
I want to live the way God wants me too, if it is my vocation to be married, then God will provide.

[b]The Wrong Outlook....[/b]
My life is miserable. I hate how I can't have what I want.
[b]The Right Outlook[/b]
Thank you Lord for giving me another day to come closer to you. Please help me do your will.

[b]The Wrong Outlook....[/b]
My car smells of elderberries, if only I had a 2006 whatever.
[b]The Right Outlook[/b]
Thank God I have a car that runs.

[b]The Wrong Outlook....[/b]
I just lost my job and it wasn't my fault, what am I going to do? How am I going to pay my bills.
[b]The Right Outlook[/b]
I now have an opportunity to do something better. God's will be done.

[b]The Wrong Outlook....[/b]
I hate my job.
[b]The Right Outlook[/b]
I am greatful I have a job.

[b]The Wrong Outlook....[/b]
I hate not having a job.
[b]The Right Outlook[/b]
I am greatful for another day of being able serving God.

[b]The Wrong Outlook....[/b]
Why does all this bad stuff happen to me?!
[b]The Right Outlook[/b]
How can I improve myself in God's eyes?
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[/quote]
Maybe you should start thinking about how to improve yourself in God's eyes instead of bashing others who supposedly have "the wrong outlook" because they are suffering? It seems that you are being a bully in this thread and not really considering what other people have to say.

[phatcatholic]

[quote name='ironmonk' date='Mar 1 2006, 11:09 PM']Now, when I write "unhappy", I do not mean the occasional sorrow from deaths in the family and such... I'm talking about people going around sulking in their sorrow. [right][snapback]901221[/snapback][/right][/quote]
well, from this statement, it would appear that your stance is that responding with melancholy to a tragic situation is ok , but that wallowing in this disposition is not ok (thus rejecting position #1 and accepting position #2). this i would agree with, assuming that the depression is not caused by a chemical or biological factor. if such a factor exists in a person, it can make depression a persistent malady, regardless of what we do to look at things a better way or strengthen our relationship with the Lord.

also, note that while you may be correct in asserting that emotions can cause the increase or decrease of chemical levels in the brain, that does not then refute the assertion that a chemical imbalance can [i]also[/i] have its root in a biological or genetic factor. you have merely given us one cause of a chemical imbalance w/o refuting the other cause for such an imbalance that others in this thread have been asserting.

btw, i would still like a response to the rest of my earlier post

pax christi,
phatcatholic

[Thumper]

Ironmonk, it seems to me that you are advocating for a variation on the theme of Pelagianism, i.e, your idea that we are always somehow able to think or pray our way from a "wrong outlook" to a "right outook," inasmuch as these wrong outlooks are predicated upon our misunderstanding of divine providence and/or being out of right relationship with God.

The problem here is, to paraphrase an 80's commercial: "Where's the grace?"


BTW, I don't disagree that our way of thinking can impact our mental states . . . . I think those wackos in the APA call it "cognitive therapy." It's just incorrect to deny that some cases of depression have their origins in brain chemistry as well.

Edited March 2, 2006 by Thumper

[photosynthesis]

[quote name='Thumper' date='Mar 2 2006, 12:29 AM']Ironmonk, it seems to me that you are advocating for a variation on the theme of Pelagianism, i.e, your idea that we are always somehow able to think or pray our way from a "wrong outlook" to a "right outook," inasmuch as these wrong outlooks are predicated upon our misunderstanding of divine providence and/or being out of right relationship with God. 

The problem here is, to paraphrase an 80's commercial:  "Where's the grace?" 
BTW, I don't disagree that our way of thinking can impact our mental states . . . . I think those wackos in the APA call it "cognitive therapy."  It's just incorrect to deny that some cases of depression have their origins in brain chemistry as well.
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[/quote]
I could agree with this. The will must always cooperate with God's grace, and through God's grace we can accomplish anything ("I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.")

Sometimes God uses things like medicine, spiritual direction + good counseling + frequent confession to help people out of depression. The Church has been helping people with this for centuries and it recognizes all of these healing approaches as valid and morally licit. If you don't like it, take it up with the Magisterium.

The key here is compassion. It is better to try to help + support people who are going/have gone through depression than to judgmentally say to them "you have the wrong outlook, get over it." It is never good to wallow in depression for too long, but who are you to judge the state of a person's soul? Who are you to determine if someone is not right with God? This is a pastoral issue, something that is best left to a person's confessor or spiritual director.

If you don't like the APA, why don't you get a Ph. D from a Catholic university and start your own Catholic psychology association?

[Jaime]

I did read what you said. And I'll quote it for you since you don't seem to remember

[quote]If we are unhappy, it is our own fault. [/quote]


Then you change your position later to

[quote]I did not write that or say that. Pay attention. Two reason why someone [b]might[/b] be unhappy - 1) Not right with God AND/OR 2) The wrong point of view.[/quote]

The first is inflammatory. The second is conditional. Yes these are two reasons that someone MIGHT be unhappy. Thank you for changing your position

[quote]Chemicals are a two edge sword, they can influence emotion and they can be produced by emotion. [/quote]

Hence the role of seretonin in the midbrain is not a theory. It is accepted that it plays a role in our moods. Are there way too many people who are prescribed antidepressants? Yes. But at least 2% of all cases of depression are caused solely by a chemical imbalance.

And yes if you are going to apply the Cardinal's statements to clinical depression, he's out of his element. It is not an issue of faith and morals. It is an issue of psychophysiology.

You would not tell a cancer patient that its his own fault that he had cancer.

[Carrie]

Ironmonk, here is more food for thought.

According to a twin study by Boomsma, D. I., van Beijsterveldt, C. E. M., &
Hudziak, J. J.

[quote]Differences between children, [b]even as young as 3 years, in Anxiety/Depression are to a large extent due to genetic differences[/b]. As children grow up, the variation in A/D is due in equal parts to genetic and environmental influences.[/quote]

This study acknowledges that there are environmental differences but also shows that genetics can have a large role in anxiety and depression for children as young as three!! Would you say these three year olds aren’t right with God or have the wrong view?

According to another twin study done by Rice, F., Harold, G.T., Thapar, A.

[quote]Among adult twins, studies have shown that clinical depression and depressive symptoms (Merikangas and Risch, 20003, Sullivan et al, 2000) in adults [b]are significantly genetically influenced with heritability estimates between 25% and 50%.  Twin studies of depressive symptoms in children and adolescents have also found significant genetic effects [/b](Eaves et al, 1997; Eley and Stevenson, 1999; Ric et al, 2002b; Thapar and McGuffin, 1994).[/quote]

Ironmonk, according to your theory, would you claim that all of these twins (some as young as three) all are either 1) not good with God or 2) have the wrong outlook? I am not discounting that faith and morals are vital but I think it is clear that genetics and biology can and often does play a role in depression.

[photosynthesis]

[quote]Date: 2006-02-18

The Mentally Ill Patient: A Faithful Image of God

Cardinal Lozano Barragán's Address at World Day of the Sick

ADELAIDE, Australia, FEB. 18, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Here is an excerpt of an address Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragán, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers, prepared for World Day of the Sick. The main events of the World Day were held Feb. 9-11 in Adelaide.

* * *

Is the Mentally Ill Patient a Deformed Image of God?

Some Data on Mental Illnesses

1. Current Situation

According to the World Health Organization there are 450 million people in the world affected by neurological or behavioral mental disorders, of which 873,000 commit suicide each year. Mental illness is a true health and social emergency.

Twenty-five percent of countries do not have laws concerning mental health, 41% have no defined policy on the issue and in over 25% of health centers patients do not have access to basic psychiatric medication; among 70% of the world population there is less than one psychiatrist for every 100,000 people.

As to dealing with mental disorders, it maybe asserted that in the past 50 years great strides forward have been made, evidence of which are the technological advances in the field, of new psychotic and mental health medicines, which have considerably improved the quality of life of the mentally ill.

Nevertheless, the conditions of assistance to mentally ill patients are quite deficient as a result of limited funding, the lack of understanding among authorities, the serious problem of the social stigma that the patients and their families have to face, all of which have serious repercussions on the social support networks in many countries that consequently deteriorate.

The number of "homeless" mentally ill patients has considerably increased in wealthy countries. It is alarming to see how serious mental disorders are simply dealt with using bureaucratic and juridical or legal solutions without in the least taking into consideration the daily needs and the quality of life of patients and their families.

Mental disorders affect more frequently those populations that are less fortunate economically culturally and intellectually. Millions of individuals have to bear on their body and mind the psychological consequences of malnutrition, armed conflicts or natural disasters with their heavy burden of morbidity and mortality. …

What Can Be Done?

1. Mental Disorder in Christian Thought

In Christian thought it is said that these severe mental illnesses reduce man to sad conditions, like a deformed image of God, which is compared to the suffering servant of Isaiah (Isaiah 53:1-7). Yet, apart from that deformation, or rather due to it, [b]the mentally ill person resembles our Lord on the cross; and since the cross is the only way to the resurrection, the mentally ill person, has so to say a superior level, is worthier and reaches such a level of excellence because of the magnitude of his love and the suffering he endures.[/b]

2. Is He a Deformed Image of God?

If the above holds true, I would like to move a step further and venture a statement that might shed light on the issue, from the point of view of moral theology. The statement is that: the mentally ill person is not a deformed image of God but, rather, a faithful image of God, our Lord.

Such a statement intuitively finds confirmation in the thought of our Lord when he says: "The Kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21) and "what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles man" (Matthew 15:18). "For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a man" (Mark 7:20).

The Kingdom of God, the existence of the Holy Trinity in each one of us, may be found in our heart, the heart seen as the ultimate source of decisions that give form to our whole existence; not only that which was previously defined as the fundamental option, but also the whole meaning of this option, with all the actions we perform to realize it. In other words, the heart represents all our dynamism at the service of the mission that God has entrusted to us.

The Kingdom of God enters into the loving knowledge and in the decision made in the deepest intimacy of our person, which are then realized by the power of the Holy Spirit, who leads us by the hand like Children of God, and by the total collaboration that give form to our existence, according to the Law of God. I[b]f we want to separate from the Kingdom of God, we can do so only with an evil heart, to which Christ our Lord refers, and from which all the sins come.[/b]

3. Faithful Image of God

Therefore, once the mental illness has caused such a disorder as to take away from the mentally ill patient any responsibility for his actions -- qualifying them as separation from the divine will, as a sin -- the mental patient cannot separate from God.

In other words, the image of God in him cannot be distorted. In this case his knowledge or his volitive option is no longer sufficient to motivate any human action that separates him from God. His bodily and psychic conditions do not allow him to commit a grave sin, given that in his state of disequilibrium he does not have that full knowledge and ability of assent required to sin.

If we approach the argument from this point of view, whereby the mentally ill patient does not have the knowledge or the faculty of full consent required to commit a mortal sin, his is not a deformed image of God, since that image can only be deformed by sin. Certainly, it is the suffering image of God, but not a deformed image. He is a reflection of the mystery of the victorious Cross of the Lord. Inspired by the image of the Suffering Servant of Yahweh (Isaiah 53:1-7) we are drawn to a conscious act of faith in the suffering Christ.

It is not by chance that in the old popular Mexican language, a mad person was called "bandito," that is, "blessed"; […] without the full use of reasoning, he was unable to commit sin and was, therefore, destined to eternal life.

It is true that the objective disorder of sin and its consequences are manifest in the mentally ill patient; however, at the same time, there is in him the historical equilibrium of the only possible order, the order and equilibrium of the Redemption.

This is not comprehensible to a secularized mentality; it is only understood within the context of Christian optimism, which stems from a reasoned faith that tells us how in such circumstances our obligations towards a mentally ill person, on one hand, satisfy our duty to see the suffering Christ in the poor and less protected; and on the other hand the idea of seeing in the patient the love of God who has indicated him as his chosen one, in the sense that he shall not be separated from Him.

He is therefore a proof of the crucified love of God. Hence, the best thing we can do is to give them a treatment of love. Since the mentally ill patient is also the image of the resurrected Christ, we have the obligation of being the "Good Samaritan," that is, providing all that is necessary for his care.

We need to think about a series of treatments that should be devised to pull these patients out of the prostration that is all the more painful the deeper the psychic suffering is. In fact these patients often lose the sense of human relations and feel persecuted by a hostile surrounding environment; or the subjectivity of the environment disappears and for them people become many objects, or are indifferent or even real threats to their security.

4. Treating the Mentally Ill

[b]The treatment for a mentally ill patient should be a treatment of loving care, tenderness and kindness, in order to help him cope with his imaginary world, perceived as an enemy, a world in which he often drowns.[/b]

[b]The treatment, which should be personalized and of maximum quality, requires also maximum diligence in prescribing treatments and most appropriate medicines. It will draw from all the resources made available by science, be it from medical and technical arts or from the research that is always progressive looking for the most adequate medicaments from the psychosomatic point of view.[/b]

Practical Lines of Action

In this perspective, allow me to suggest some guidelines for practical interventions, which will help us offer a loving care to the mentally ill:

General Interventions:

-- Establish, in the education systems, [b]solid religious foundations[/b] that help one to work out clear and stable horizons, to be followed for a lifetime.

-- Be aware of the system of values underpinning the whole human life and make reference to it, especially to avoid that mental illness is lived with anxiety, sadness and desperation.

-- Fight against relativism, consumerism, pseudo-culture of instinctive desires and pansexualism.

-- Promote the dignity of mentally ill patients.

-- Foster a healthy development of the child, including his brain functions.

-- Make awareness programs on mental illnesses for the society so that people may know about them and prevent them.

-- Exhort religious orders and congregations, whose charisma it is to take care of these patients, not to waver in their commitment and to dedicate particular care to them, given the particular emergency that this illness presents.

-- Support these patients with the administration of sacraments where this is possible.

-- Enlighten and console the mentally ill with the Word of God, if their mental and physical condition allows it.

-- Be aware of the fact that the rehabilitation of a mentally ill patient is a duty of the whole society together, within the context of solidarity that shows preference for those who are most in need.

-- Promote a social and physical environment that favors human relations and for the mentally ill patients a sense of belonging to a concrete community. …

Conclusion

Remembering that sentence engraved on the lintel of a German hospital "Infirmis sicut Christo" -- to the sick as to Christ -- I would like to conclude my reflection insisting on this image of Christ suffering in the depth of his soul, full of pain and affliction, yet he succeeds in transforming this evil into a source of life, since his pain and suffering constitute the nucleus of his Resurrection, and therefore our salvation.

Our way of approach to the mentally ill is a difficult test for our faith. Handling them effectively means professing our faith in the agonizing and suffering Christ, but at the same time victorious. This is the sense of today's celebration of the World Day of the Sick, dedicated to the mentally ill patients.[/quote]

Now, I think the article often talks about SERIOSULY mentally ill people, i.e. people who have lost all faculties + reason. But not all people w/mental illness are that compromised. they can and do sin, even mortally if it is done in a circumstance where they do have full knowledge + consent of the will.

But you also have to understand that depression is often a sickness which causes the will to be compromised.