Britain is in the midst of a mental health crisis, with as many as 1 in 4 suffering from some kind of mental affliction, including depression.1 How on earth have we got here? What is at the root of our troubled minds? Is there any way back?
Hardened hearts
It is now clear that we are beginning to witness the effects of God handing our nation “over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done” (Rom 1:28). Tragically yet wilfully, our nation and its leadership have hardened their hearts towards God and his laws of love, and God is now hardening hearts further. We must understand that this process of hardening is part of God’s sovereign will, being designed to encourage repentance, though it is currently difficult to see any signs of godly sorrow.
The hardening of hearts has mental repercussions- the darkening of the mind. As I have prayed over the last year, one of things I feel that God has revealed to me as being part of his manifesting wrath is the spreading of a plague of mental illness. I believe we are seeing- and are about to see -an unprecedented rise in mental affliction, particularly depression.
"The hardening of hearts has mental repercussions- one I feel God has revealed to me is a plague of mental illness."
When I first thought I heard the word ‘plague’ from God I drew back with horror, but I have learnt to understand that the plague is not God-inflicted, but rather a natural result of the rejection of God and his love. I think that many of those who will be touched by it will be those who have been gravely sinned against in the past, but there will also be others affected who have wilfully chosen a path of disobedience.
150 Die in Plane Crash
I had been wondering and praying about whether or not to share this word, when the shocking news about the co-pilot Andreas Lubitz and the Germanwings flight disaster hit the international headlines. This pilot, who deliberately took all his passengers and fellow crew members to their deaths in the Alps, had a history of mental illness. I felt this was a confirming sign from God, one that should make the world sit up and think.
Root causes
In the UK, so much of the rise in mental illness comes as a result of family breakdown and its subsequent fallout. The breakdown of marriages, and the even higher rate of breakdowns between co-habiting couples, causes untold damage to mental wellbeing, especially where children are involved. Statistically, children from 1-parent families are twice as likely to have a mental disorder as children from 2-parent families,2 and 72% of children in care have a diagnosable behavioural or emotional disorder.3
What God has made plain about the true nature of marriage, family wellbeing and sexual ethics has been shunned, rejected and even overturned, and the consequences for the nation’s mental health are very serious. God’s heart truly grieves.
The negative and damaging effects that this has had on at least two generations of young people and children is now beginning to emerge. We are witnessing rises in:
- Self-harming amongst children and young adults. Between 1 in 12 and 1 in 15 young people actively self-harm,4 and the UK has one of the highest self-harming rates in Europe, at 400 per 100,000 of the population.5
- Serious eating disorders. Hospital admissions due to eating disorders rose by 8% in 2012/2013, with the biggest rise being amongst young people.6
- Suicides and attempted suicides, overdoses etc (including high-profile celebrities regularly reported in the media). The NSPCC has reported a 117% rise in ChildLine counselling sessions about suicide between 2010 and 2014.7
- Bullying in schools and online, causing much anxiety and depression. 70% of young people have been victims of cyber-bullying.8
- The need for counselling (putting mounting pressure on counsellors, who end up suffering themselves).
- Intense feelings of loneliness and, consequently, depression, the severest form of which affects 80,000 young people in the UK.9
In addition to this, and often connected into the issue of family breakdown (though not always), we are seeing rises in depression relating to:
- Huge financial debts.
- Homelessness and poor housing.
- Horrendous child neglect and child sexual abuse.
- Sexual immorality, perversions and the struggles over sexually transmitted disease.
- Devastating addictions, particularly to pornography, alcohol, drugs and gambling.
- Poverty and gross inequality.
- Crime and being the victim of violence, including domestic violence or cruel financial scams.
- Low self-esteem and self-worth; this affects hundreds and thousands of young people daily.
Much of the above I have come into contact with in my work as a local pastor and university chaplain. But I sense it increasing significantly, with more and more people being affected, which is why I sensed the Lord speaking from his grieved heart about “a plague.”
Looking forward
Currently, it is estimated that as many as 1 in 4 of the adult population will suffer some kind of depression or mental illness during the course of a year.10 The mental health of our nation will become an almost daily topic and I feel the Lord is revealing that our NHS services will be completely overwhelmed (mental health care already costs the NHS and social services £21 billion a year11). Much of it is already at breaking point- 74 out of 96 NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups have cut or frozen their Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services budgets since 2013.12
Please pray about this. NHS staff themselves will likely become victims of depression due the immense stresses and strains of their workloads.
"Can a brave prophetic voice rise up from the Church urging the nation to return to God?"
The hardening of the heart towards God is clearly having significant mental repercussions upon the wellbeing of our nation. What is the solution? Can a brave prophetic voice rise up from the Church urging the nation to return with repentance to the God whose first commandment is to love him with all your heart, mind, soul and strength (Mark 12:30)?
The Solution
The healing from such a plague comes through being reconciled to God through Christ- this is what the Church must implore upon the nation. With God it is possible to know “the peace that passes all human understanding [which] will guard your hearts and minds in the knowledge of Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:7). The mind can be lovingly renewed and healed by the Holy Spirit and lives can be made whole, so that they start to correspond to the mind of Christ. What an offer- and how much we need it!
Healing is possible, but so is further hardening (remember Pharaoh in Exodus 7-14). Lord, in wrath, remember mercy.
References
1 Mental Health Statistics: UK & Worldwide, Mental Health Foundation.
2 Sedghi, M, 2015. What is the state of children's mental health today? The Guardian, 5 January.
3 Mental Health Statistics, Young Minds.
4 Ibid.
5 Mental Health Statistics: Self-Harm, Mental Health Foundation.
6 New agencies, 2014. Eating disorder increase among young people, The Telegraph, 30 January.
7 Huge increase in suicidal feelings amongst young people. NSPCC, 31 October 2014.
8 The Cyber Bullying Report 2013, Ditch the Label.
9 See note 3.
10 Ibid.
11 Yew, M L, 2010. Cost of mental ill health soars to £105bn per year. The Guardian, 4 October.
12 See note 2.
