Mental health illness is increasingly becoming rampant. According to Philstar, the Philippines has the highest number of depressed people in South East Asia. The NSO reported that mental illness is the third most common form of disability in the country. Records shows a high number of cases among the youth with suicide rates in 2.5 males and 1.7 females per 100,000. They added that increased risk factors with breakdown of relationships, health lifestyles and unresolved expectations are prone to vulnerable suicides. Mental health just like physical infirmities where a person suffering from depression, anxiety or chronic stress are in comparable danger. If they are untreated, can lead to death.
Rejection and abandonment in failed relationships causes one to feel neglected and despair in their crises. Though the hurt may not be physical but the emotional pain carries wounds that are as far greater. It can be so bad that that chronic depression over time engulfs the soul. To numb the pain and mental torment, the inflicted finds that the only solution is to attempt suicide, because dying is more tolerable than to coping with the loss of their needs or someone. When a child falls down and hurts himself, the first thing the parent does is to comfort the child by reassuring him that everything will be alright in their arms. They are cleaned and bandaged with medication to help soothe the pain, allowing time to heal the wound.
When we have been wounded, battered, rejected, neglected, abused and shattered by the sins of others, our Lord opens wide His arms and invite us to enter into a personal relationship with Him. He then begins healing our broken hearts with His Love and binds our wounds with His ointment of Grace and Mercy. He then sends His Holy Spirit to comfort and watch us in the process of healing in time. God does not promise that we will not fall down or get hurt, but He does promise that when we do, He can heal us. In Him, we can find the hope to recover. There is no reason to call it quits. The world may give up on us but certainly not Christ, who laid down His life sacrificially that we become wholly healed people. You and I were created to love and be loved. At the end, all we want is to know that someone out there, loves us no matter what. But the fact is that only God can love us this way. When we are confident in that foundation of His unconditional love, we can find the strength to face rejection from others, who themselves are broken. God says that He loves us with an everlasting love. The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit Psalms 34:18
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Allow God to work deeply because it will take time to completely heal. We may feel that all hope is gone. But God has designed us so we will heal from wounds whether in a longer or shorter time. It is normal to grief, but talking to someone trustworthy like your pastor or a Christian friend can help with prayers and a listening ear. But most importantly, be comforted that the Lord knows all and sees all. He remembers you and is not just the Healer of the body but also of the spirit. It may not be in our time table for that reconciliation to come or for the resolve of all issues but, be in God’s comfort that He can redeem any broken relationship. Don’t let the devil fill you with those negative thoughts of anguish and despair but, rather surrender them to God and ask His Holy Spirit to replace them with peace and assurance. Remember that He is all powerful and while healing our wounds, He also strengthens our spirit and increases us in His empowerment of the Spirit.