I’ve stayed pretty quiet about this topic — not because I had nothing to say but because I had other, more pressing topics to cover first. Now, it’s time to talk about Christianity and (the lack of) mental illness.
A few weeks ago, Joy Behar said on The View that Vice President Mike Pence made a public comment that he heard God’s voice, and she said mentally ill people were the only ones who heard voices. Several weeks later, she apologized, but the image of mental illness had already been placed in the minds of the millions of people who heard or read her comments.
Yes, it’s true that one of the qualifying features for the diagnosis of Schizophrenia is visual and/or audible hallucinations. When I was earning my undergraduate degree in psychology at The University of Texas at Dallas, we were talking about this topic in my Abnormal Psychology class. My professor was a practicing child psychologist concurrently while teaching at the university. I asked him specifically if you are a Christian or a minister and say you hear the voice of God will that cause you to be diagnosed with this mental illness. His answer was a profound no.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) — the “bible” of mental health professionals used to diagnose mental disorders — is very clear on this topic. “Hallucinations may be a normal part of religious experience in certain cultural contexts,” states the DSM-5 when defining the criteria of Schizophrenia.
Throughout my life, I have had many supernatural experiences. Unless you have these experiences personally, you can’t say they are not real. We are all bodies with a spirit and a soul (mind, will and emotions). Those who are open to spiritual encounters (especially children) are more likely to have them. In my book The Princess Guide to Healing a Broken Heart, I recounted the first supernatural experience I had as a child.
At the age of 3, I had a supernatural encounter — the first of many in my lifetime. I was sitting in church with my grandfather (my grandmother was at the front praying for people at the altar). For some strange reason, I was sitting near the aisle where my grandfather always sat, and he was sitting next to me. I saw Jesus walk out of a painting in the baptistry, down the aisle and He stood next to me. He was wearing a white sheet wrapped around him and sandals — just like I have always seen him depicted in paintings. He told me to “always be a good girl,” and then he walked back the way he came. I have spent my life trying to do just what he told me.
I have always said (and will continue to say) that if you have an experience that feels evil to your core or one that tells you to harm yourself or others, then that is not God speaking to you. It could be demonic or mental illness.
Let’s look at the case of Andria Yates, the Texas woman diagnosed with Postpartum Psychosis who said she heard voices telling her to kill her six children. I covered the final sentencing of the Yates case when I was working as a reporter for a newspaper in the Houston area. I interviewed William Winslade, medical ethics and law professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch and author of The Insanity Plea.
“It’s obviously a terrible, terrible tragedy that all those children were killed, but there seemed to be convincing evidence to the jury by the psychologists who evaluated her after it happened,” he told me during our interview for my story. Winslade said the jury was not excusing the crime, but was acknowledging that Yates was insane at the time she committed it — not necessarily before or after. “But I believe that the insanity plea was appropriate given how crazy she was at that time,” he said of the Yates case.
I firmly believe that God did not tell her to take the lives of her innocent and defenseless children. God is love. God will have the Holy Spirit convict us and have us feel remorse for things we have done so that we can change our behavior and make things right. However, no loving being or spirit will tell us to harm ourselves or others.
If a Christian is mentally ill because he or she talks to God and hears the voice of God — which is usually not an audible voice — then psychics, mediums, palm readers, tarot card readers, those who channel spirits/aliens and others are also mentally ill. Think about that the next time you’re tempted to call someone “crazy.”
Catch these first-run Write About It Wednesday blogs every Wednesday. If you want to know how to have successful relationships and peace of mind, you can get a free PDF sample chapter of “The Princess Guide to Healing a Broken Heart”by filling out the form in the sidebar on this page.
