Knowing and being known

….and the influence of delusion upon the world

Counting the other costs of the pandemic

Seeking to understand the complexities in the Royal saga

We review ‘Get Real’ by John Gordon (Philadelphia Books, 2019)

What our suicide problem says about our society.

Why are young men in Britain killing themselves at the rate of 17 every day? It is a national scandal that has rattled the Government, hence the announcement this week of the appointment of a Minister for Suicide Prevention.

Prime Minister Theresa May said the appointment of Health Minister Jackie Doyle-Price to the new role will help tackle the stigma surrounding suicide. She was speaking on what has been designated World Mental Health Day, and she also announced increased funding for the Samaritans and for schools’ mental health work among children.

Mental health is a worldwide issue of immense proportions, especially in Western nations. In the USA nearly 45,000 people killed themselves in 2016 – more than double the homicide rate. In Britain severe mental illness has been rising steadily since the beginning of the 1990s and has become the biggest problem area for the NHS. Women are now more prone to severe mental disorder than men, but men under the age of 49 are more likely to take their own lives.

It is this particular problem of suicide among young men that is troubling mental health experts. The train I was due to take to London last week was cancelled due to “an incident on the line”. Yet another young man had jumped from a railway bridge in front of a train. I did not know this one but I did know a young man who did the same thing recently. I knew his wife and two young children. He had become unemployed and introverted so no one could communicate with him. He was just 36.

The particular problem of suicide among young men is troubling mental health experts.

We probably all know similar tragedies that are happening in families throughout the land, creating untold misery, hardship and poverty. It is, of course, those left behind who suffer most – regret and self-recrimination are hard to live with when tragedy has hit a family. The first suicide funeral I had to conduct is still a vivid memory when I too suffered personal blame. She was a beautiful young woman in my church congregation and I had deep regret that I had not been aware of her problems. But is there something as a society that we can do?

Understanding the Symptoms

We all need to become more aware of the symptoms of mental health problems – stress, anxiety and depression are all signs that should alert us to the difficulties that someone is facing. It’s when we ignore these signs that we blame ourselves later on. Being more alert and more caring for others would undoubtedly save lives. But we are all too busy, too self-centred on our own little world to bother with other people.

The number of young people you see today walking the streets with their eyes glued to their smartphone and unaware of what is going on around them is a vivid expression of the level of individualism and unreality that now afflicts a whole generation. Many young people live in a virtual world where they have hundreds of contacts but very little personal interaction – a situation exacerbated by social media, which has been linked to numerous mental health problems.

Many social studies show that loneliness is suffered by millions in the population, even when they are living in densely populated cities. Of course, much of this is due to the breakdown of family life: once, large families cared for each other and interacted with other similar families, providing plentiful opportunity for friendships to flourish. Today, we lack community and live in a virtual world.

Individualism and unreality now afflicts a whole generation, with many people living in a virtual world.

Another big culture change that has particularly hit young men is a loss of masculine identity in a world where women demand equality and sameness. Men were once proud to be the breadwinners and take care of their young wives while they were nursing children. Today, career women employ nannies and childminders so that they can become the breadwinner, pursuing their ambitions to make it to the top in their professions.

Lack of Peace with God

Human beings have immense adaptability and no doubt men will adjust to their new status in society, but we are clearly in a transition period which places extra strains, anxieties and insecurities upon individuals. The social changes we have been experiencing in the past two generations have coincided with the loss of faith in God and the abandonment of our Judeo-Christian heritage that provided fundamental security in the lives of individuals and whole communities.

It is the lack of this sense of being at peace with the God of Creation who made us in his own image that is the most serious absence in our modern culture. If we really want to understand the problems in our society we need to read the first chapter of Romans, where the Apostle Paul offers a penetrating analysis of social change. He says that once we suppress truth, we are driven by the powers of darkness that lead from one degree of corruption to the next.

Jesus taught his disciples the cure for anxiety. He said “If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth.” He also said “My command is this: love each other as I have loved you” (John 14:15 and 15:12).

The combination of family breakdown, bringing the loss of fatherhood to millions, together with the loss of the Fatherhood of God, is the devastating product of our postmodern, atheistic, humanistic world.

If we really want to understand the problems in our society, we need to read the first chapter of Romans.

The only cure for all the ailments in society, especially the anxieties and insecurities that lead to black despair and suicide, is the rediscovery of the Gospel, biblical truth and the Fatherly love of God for each of us his children. The Bible tells us that “The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence for ever” (Isa 32:17). In the New Testament Paul tells us that “The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:7).

It is being at peace with God that transforms our whole worldview and our interaction with other human beings. Paul urged the Christians in Rome “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom 12:2). This is the message that the new Minister for Suicide Prevention needs to understand if she is to make any real progress in her work of transforming society.

The real reason why our NHS is in dire straits.

The New Year headlines and editorials around Britain are filled with crisis in the NHS, with the Government insisting that there is no crisis.

They say that the postponement of 12,000 operations and the appeals to the public not to go to A&E unless it is a real emergency are simply the result of careful planning. There’s nothing wrong with the NHS: all arrangements are in hand to get our health and care services through the winter.

The Government hopes that we will all be reassured by these statements; but still the reports persist of overcrowded hospitals, patients left on corridors for hours, ambulances queueing up outside A&E departments (for which the PM has now apologised) and elderly patients blocking beds because there is no place for them to go in the community.

Facing Up to Reality

So, what is the truth? Every year more and more money is poured into the NHS, more doctors and nurses are recruited, more operations are carried out, medical science advances, more diseases are being successfully treated, more and more people are living longer. But still the demands upon the NHS increase year on year and – as always – we have the usual New Year outbursts of anger that our great National Health Service, the pride of the nation, is not performing as well as we would like.

Without disputing the incredible work done by our health professionals, it is not excessive these days to suggest that the NHS is fast becoming the golden calf at the centre of our national religion, before which we bow our heads and worship.

Without disputing the incredible work of our health professionals, it is not excessive to suggest that the NHS is becoming the golden calf at the centre of our national religion.

We sacrifice our wealth at the NHS altar and in return we receive multitudes of pills and potions to satisfy our cravings and ward off the consequences of over-indulgence. We replace parts of our bodies in our search for eternal life hoping that they will never wear out. The noble origins of our tremendous health service are being augmented and warped beyond recognition to gratify our lust for physical wellbeing, long life and free promiscuity.

It is little wonder that despite everything we do to improve our great NHS, the demands upon it grow steadily year upon year.

Why is this? Why do we never stop to ask fundamental questions about the NHS and the health of the nation?

Ambulance waiting area outside St Thomas's Hospital, central London. See Photo Credits.

The Real Trouble

What is the real trouble with the NHS? It all comes down to 2 words – family breakdown!

Why are so many elderly patients bed-blocking in hospital because there’s no one to care for them in the community? The answer is – family breakdown.

Why are so many beds in our hospitals occupied by mental health patients? The answer is – family breakdown.

Why are so many people going to their GPs with depression? The answer is – family breakdown.

Why are our care facilities in the community under such strain? The answer is – family breakdown.

Why are there so many long-term people off work? The answer is – family breakdown.

Surely it’s time we recognised that the nation is sick! Why is the nation sick? The answer is – family breakdown.

What is Driving This?

Is there a simple reason why this is happening? There certainly is! We have abandoned our Judeo-Christian value system, which put family and community at the heart of the nation.

Former generations did not have everything right; there was plenty of evidence of injustice and an unequal distribution of resources. But there was one thing they did get right – faithful commitment in marriage, with love and care in the community at the very centre of national life – thanks to the efforts of evangelists and intercessors down the ages who helped establish the Bible as the moral foundation of British society.

Our nation is sick because of family breakdown – which has happened as we have abandoned our Judeo-Christian value system.

Happy, faithful, loving family life produces happy, stable, loving and healthy children. It is in the family where children are taught the basic values of community, of love for one another, of respect, of recognition of the rights of others, of dealing with disagreements in a non-violent manner, of finding pleasure in making others happy and of caring for one another.

All these things are a normal part of family life in a nation whose values are drawn from the Judeo-Christian heritage of the Bible. The Bible is the only blueprint in the world for marriage and the family that really works and leads to blessing – based as it is on God’s good design for humanity.

The Biblical Model

The teaching given by St Paul to the Christians in Corinth was brilliant. He based his teaching on Christian family and community upon the illustration of a body – a healthy body in which each of the parts performed their function. Each part was equally essential to the health, vitality and right functioning of the whole. He said “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’ On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable” (1 Cor 12:21).

The Christians in Corinth were living in a hostile social environment with paganism all around them and increasing pressure from the government in Rome who hated Judeo-Christianity and tried to force everyone to worship the Emperor.

Our situation today is not very different and it is likely to get more difficult for Christians to witness to the truth in an increasingly hostile, secular humanist environment. It is essential, if our faith is to survive, that we not only teach the faith within our families, but in our community life we demonstrate the practical worth of biblical principles.

We have something of immense value to communicate here in the West, to nations that have had the truth for centuries but are now deliberately turning to false gods like Darwinism and Epicureanism, which deceive with their material trinkets and Godless hedonism. The West is totally neglecting – even denying - the fundamental values that lead to true health and well-being of both individuals and communities.

If our faith is to survive, we must not only teach the faith within our families, but in our community life demonstrate the practical worth of biblical principles.

Our Task

The New Year message that we need to convey to the world is to show the essential nature of biblical family and community, where love and respect for one another – putting others ahead of self – and finding true fulfilment in service become part of our nature. Only then will others begin to listen to the Gospel we preach.

Paul’s teaching on family and community defines the essence of love that needs to be taught and demonstrated by Christians today. He says:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (1 Cor 13. 4-8)

This kind of love cannot be taught in the classroom or studied in a university library. It must be lived out and conveyed in family life by those who have come to a personal knowledge of the love of God our Father through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord of all.

Mental illness is becoming the go-to explanation in the press for the recent spate of terror attacks. But this approach is not without problems.

Have you noticed that media coverage of the recent terror attacks across Europe has been littered with references to the mental health of the perpetrators? Without necessarily denying links to Islamic extremism, reports also keenly stress the role of psychological instability.

To take a few recent examples, according to the BBC, Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, the man responsible for the Nice lorry attack, reportedly "had a history of violence and mental instability".¹ Omar Mateen, the 29-year old responsible for the Orlando nightclub attack in June, "was violent and mentally unstable".²

The Ansbach suicide bomber (27-year old Syrian refugee Mohammad Daleel) was reported as having previously received psychiatric care following two suicide attempts, and Adel Kermiche, who murdered French priest Jacques Hamel in the Rouen attack, had apparently received treatment for mental disorders as a teenager.³

London Stabbings

Most recently, this week's stabbing in London led the Met Police very quickly to point to "mental health issues" as a possible explanation, whilst repeatedly emphasising that terrorism is just one of many possible lines of enquiry and that so far there is "no evidence of radicalisation".⁴

Of course, not all recent attacks have been described in this manner. Nevertheless, a cross-media narrative is certainly emerging which holds 'mental health issues' as the go-to explanation for the recent spate of terror attacks in Europe. Only in the last few days have others begun to point out the problems with this approach.⁵

A cross-media narrative is emerging which holds 'mental health issues' as the go-to explanation for the recent spate of terror attacks in Europe.

Complex Concept – Not Catch-All Explanation

The highly complex relationship between mental health and violent behaviour is not well understood. Individuals driven to such terrible actions as we have witnessed in recent weeks must themselves be severely disturbed – mentally deluded, corrupted or oppressed. To deny the presence of psychological problems in this context could be dangerous.

For Christians, belief in the existence of a spiritual realm necessarily provokes questions about the influence of demonic spirits. But the secular press ignores such things and rushes to explain away what is going on purely by a catch-all reference to mental health problems, which though convenient, can be severely misleading.

Will Gore of The Independent has argued that "The media glosses over the specifics in favour of creating a kind of homogenised bogeyman figure: a religious fundamentalist afflicted by mental illness and immune to rationality".⁶ His argument is that the media's first response to any attack is to suspect jihadism, the second response is to expect mental health issues, and the third response is to conflate the two, oversimplifying and demonising them both.

This is visible in the term 'Islamopsychosis', which is gaining traction online, and also in yesterday's Daily Express, which claimed that ISIS might be deliberately targeting mentally unstable people to encourage them to carry out attacks.⁷

The complex relationship between mental health and violent behaviour is not well understood, but the secular press ignores such things.

Explanation or Distraction?

So, whilst our security services are working around the clock to try to understand the complex processes behind radicalisation, the general public are being sold a different and much simpler narrative – these attackers are just crazy religious people!

This sits neatly with the 'Islam is a religion of peace' doctrine; any Muslim who turns to terror is not practising a true form of their faith – they are simply mentally unstable. So the public is deceived and deluded about the incursion of jihad (radical Islam) into Europe. The secular humanist values of multi-faith 'tolerance' remain intact.

But if we ignore the links of attackers to radical Islam, we close down proper debate and divert attention away from the real reasons behind the attacks. We end up blaming mental health for the things we do not understand and dismissing anything beyond our comprehension or in discord with our own worldview.

Mark Brown of The Independent commented yesterday:

When such events break the reasoned quiet and order of our lives, we look for ways to make ourselves safe, ways to fit the shock of such attacks into our existing ways of thinking and understanding of the world. We want an explanation for what feels beyond comprehension...⁸

The 'mental health' narrative is fast becoming the pacifying response that somehow makes us feel more comfortable and in control of a threatening and unpredictable situation. But this leaves us deceived about the full truth and irrationally prejudiced about both Muslims and those suffering from mental health problems.

The 'mental health' narrative is fast becoming the pacifying response that somehow makes us feel more in control of a threatening situation.

Danger for Christians

The great danger of all this cover-up for Christians will be the next stage in the deception. As the secular media begin dismissing all terrorism as the action of crazy religious fundamentalists, this will only be a stepping stone to saying that all religious people are mentally deluded – especially those who can be labelled 'fundamentalist'. This is the final goal of our secular humanist society.

Paul warned about the coming of a great delusion in the last days. In the first chapter of Romans, he spoke of people suppressing the truth about God and creation, leading God to give them over to a depraved mind and them becoming filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, depravity and violence.

When writing to the Thessalonians, in reference to the 'man of lawlessness' being let loose into the world, Paul said that people perish because they refuse to love the truth and so be saved. He said "For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness" (2 Thess 2:11).

As terrorism is increasingly dismissed as the action of crazy religious fundamentalists, it will then be easy to assert that all religious people are mentally deluded.

Shine Like Stars

Only a lost and broken world would try to explain away one terrifying problem it doesn't understand with another it understands even less – shifting fear from one base to another.

For Christians, it is important that we guard our hearts, so we do not allow ourselves to be drawn under the powerful, delusional influence of fear currently shrouding Europe. It is also important that we brace ourselves and learn the full truth about Islam – because we're not going to get it from the BBC.

In an increasingly panic-stricken time we are given the opportunity to shine like stars in the universe (Phil 2:15), holding out the beautiful gifts for which the entire world is searching: TRUTH, HOPE and PEACE. It is time for the Church to stop hiding its light under a bowl – the world needs it now.

References

1 Attack on Nice: Who was Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel? BBC News, 18 July 2016.

2 Orlando nightclub shooting: How the attack unfolded. BBC News, 15 June 2016.

3 Knife attack raises fears of Isis targeting people with mental health problems. The Express, 4 August 2016.

4 Russell Square stabbings: Man arrested on suspicion of murder. BBC News, 4 August 2016.

5 E.g. Brown, M. Mentally ill people are the collateral damage of news reports about the Russell Square stabbings. The Independent, 4 August 2016.

6 Gore, W. Mental illness has become a convenient scapegoat for terrorism – but the causes of terror are rarely so simple. The Independent, 25 July 2016.

7 See note 3.

8 See note 5.

As mental health issues are given huge media attention this week, Clifford Hill reflects on depression: is it a purely individual problem, or does it also have something to do with wider trends in society?

Mental health issues have been given a lot of media attention during the past week. A report by a task force set up by NHS England reported that every year a quarter of the population suffer some form of mental health problem, but three quarters of these do not receive any help.¹

Mental health services are the Cinderella of the NHS and the Prime Minister has responded by calling for greater focus upon mental health issues and promising additional funding.

An Issue Close to Home

The BBC screened a programme on Tuesday this week (16 February, BBC1), still available on iPlayer, which I found particularly harrowing as it featured a young mother whom I've known personally for a number of years - the daughter of one of my friends (he also spoke movingly on the programme). Although a qualified paediatric nurse and a committed Christian with a vibrant faith, after the birth of her first baby she suffered from a rare form of post-natal depression.

Mental health services are the Cinderella of the NHS and the Prime Minister has responded by calling for greater focus on mental health issues.

It is known as 'post-partum psychosis', from which 1 in 500 mothers are said to suffer. Her condition was so severe and caused such powerful mood-swings that she was actually suicidal and had to be admitted to a specialised mother and baby unit. She has now made a remarkable recovery and her baby is doing well, for which the whole family are giving thanks to God.

The Prime Minister chairs a meeting of business leaders to discuss mental health issues in the work place, 15 February, 2016. See Photo Credits.Of course, there are many different forms of mental health issues. By a strange coincidence, two other friends have contacted me during the past week concerning mental health problems with their children. One of these has been struggling to deal with a mixture of aggression and depression in his teenage children since their mother left home to live with someone else.

The Cost of Family Breakdown

The suffering caused by family breakdown is immeasurable. The effects upon physical health and mental and emotional well-being are having life-changing outcomes for millions of children. More than half of all children in Britain will experience a broken home before they leave school.

The unsettling effects of domestic disputes and the disruption of family life affect educational attainment and future life-chances. They also create psychological problems such as aggressive behaviour, which teachers have to deal with in school, and barriers to relationships of love and trust with others that can affect their adult life.

A report last week from the Relationships Foundation said that the cost of family breakdown to the economy of the nation has risen to a staggering £48 billion annually, which means a cost to each taxpayer of £1,820 a year.² Health, education and the economy are all affected by the strength or weakness of family life and our human relationships.

The cost of family breakdown to the national economy is a staggering £48 billion annually - and its impacts on physical, mental and emotional well-being are life-changing for millions of children.

It is in the family that character and personality are developed. If family life is unstable or aggressive it will inevitably affect the children and their relationships with other children. It is no wonder that, with family breakdown so prevalent in Britain, half of all mental health problems are established by age 14, rising to 75% by age 24.³

Rise in Cyber-Bullying

It is quite incredible how cruel children can be to each other and sadly, social media now gives them even more opportunity to spread mischief, lies and hate messages. The other friend who contacted me this week is a single mother whose 15-year-old son is suffering from depression, brought on by migraines as a result of cyber-bullying. His condition has become so severe that he cannot face going to school and is having to be home-schooled in preparation for his forthcoming GCSE exams.

Social media often encourages aggressive behaviour by providing an anonymous environment in which cyber-bullies can operate. The faceless senders feel they can swear, insult, threaten and intimidate their victims, with no thought of the extreme damage and distress being caused. Victims often become frightened and withdrawn – not knowing for sure who is threatening them, and feeling powerless to prevent it. They often suffer depression and related mental health problems - their 'real' relationships suffer – and some are even driven to commit suicide.⁴

Pippa Smith of SaferMedia, in a statement for this magazine, said:

The Internet is a breeding ground for abusive trolls, pornographers and paedophiles, yet children are spending several hours a day on their mobile phones and have easy access to social media sites which is making them vulnerable to dangerous messages. From the comfort of their own bedrooms, unbeknown to their parents, they can be groomed for sex, bullied and even driven to suicide by anorexia sites, suicide sites, and by those who hide behind anonymity to attack and exploit. Facebook, Twitter and others need to act urgently to introduce tighter security settings such as proper vetting and a tougher registration process to protect the vulnerable.

Rev Lynda Rose, Convener of the Lords and Commons Family and Child Protection Group also gave us a statement:

It's a difficult crime to pin down and police powers are inadequate, while the social media has been notoriously slow to respond to complaints and protect victims. This is why the Parliamentary Group is calling for Parliament to strengthen the law governing social media. We want to see victims protected, with dedicated police units set up to deal quickly and efficiently with offenders.

Civilised Society?

Protecting children should be one of the chief objectives not only of government but of the whole population in a civilised society. Some of the hardest words Jesus ever spoke were directed against those who cause harm to children. He specifically spoke about those "who cause little ones to sin" (Matt 18:6). Clearly Jesus was speaking about those who harm the minds of children: what today we would call 'grooming', so that their understanding of right and wrong becomes blurred.

Some of the hardest words Jesus ever spoke were directed against those who cause harm to children.

Many of the different forms of depression afflicting millions of people in the nation result from the enormous pressures we put upon each other in a competitive, acquisitive and affluent society. The whole of our Western civilisation has become self-centred. We view everything from the standpoint of our own self-advantage, which affects all our human relationships. When sinful human relationships get into the family, family life breaks down.

This is where dealing with many forms of depression really starts. We should all be taking the family relationships test to discover how much we care for others. Paul describes ideal relationships within the family. He says:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

Does this describe your love relationship with each member of your family? When family relationships are right, righteous relationships in the nation are restored and so too are the health and welfare of each individual.

Finally, the widespread prevalence of depression in the nation should lead us to recognise how we have abandoned our Judaeo-Christian heritage and that only by embracing the word of God will we be brought into a right relationship with our Heavenly Father. The apostle John says, "How great is the love the Father has lavished upon us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" (1 John 3:1). Being firmly in the Father's love gives us the security to deal with anything that happens to us.

References

1 The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health. A report from the independent Mental Health Taskforce to the NHS in England, February 2016.

2 Counting the Cost of Family Failure: 2016 update, Relationships Foundation.

3 See 1.

4 The 2015 UK Annual Bullying Survey (Ditch the Label) reports that 43% of young people experience bullying, 62% of which have been cyber-bullied. That means that over a quarter of young people in Britain have been victims of cyber-bullying.

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.