[Faith-Talk] Self-care, Being a Servant to God, and Mental Health in the Context of Faith

Thu Oct 24 00:53:47 UTC 2024

Well, said Ashley.
Ericka Nelson
KD9VBX

> On Oct 21, 2024, at 12:04 AM, Ashley Bramlett via Faith-Talk <faith-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hello Humberto,
> 
> This is a complex and loaded issue and question.
> It seems to me that the priest is being literal about the bible.
> I'd say if the priest did not put it in a balanced perspective and life activities, then yes that can be contradictory.
> 
> While we need to serve others and live a servant of God life like Jesus did, we also need to balance that with our own needs and this means taking time to rest and take care of our own bodies.
> I think the priest should have balanced this advice with remembering to rest. We should put others before us when its okay to do so.
> I doubt someone would run into a burning home to save people without protection.
> I am of a Protestant faith. The Bible also tells us  to rest, pray before decisions, and in many verses of the New Testament it talks about giving our burdens to God.
> We must take time to take care of ourselves since our bodies are like temples of the holy spirit.
> .
> A few examples are these.
> Romans 12 1-2 says
> "12 I appeal to you therefore, brothers,
> by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
> 2 Do not be conformed to this world,
> but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."
> 
> In 1 Corinthians 6  19-20
> It says,
> "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your
> own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies."
> 
> In Matthew 11 28-30 it says,
> 
> "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
> 
> So while we are supposed to serve others, we have to help ourselves too.
> 
> You are right in that people will get burned out if they constantly serve others without a rest.
> This is especially true
> In helping professions you mentioned such as
> Nurses, other Medical professionals, teachers, and your field of assistive technology.
> In the pandemic people quit because of the risk to their lives and the vaccine mandates.
> 
> As for mental health problems, I do not know of any studies comparing the prevalence and severity of mental health problems in blind vs sighted people.
> I can see why you'd say that blind people might be more at risk for them due to discrimination and the stress of barriers and advocacy to overcome such barriers.
> I feel my unsuccessful search for part time work was a good example of bias and ableism on the employer's part. I have some vision and looked at the interview panel and do not think I showed blindisms, but since I do things differently sometimes, I did need to mention my assistive technology and need for accommodations.
> So my low vision was seen as a barrier rather than an asset. It can be an asset because my listening skills and empathy are stronger, but they did not see it this way and may have felt I was a liability and could not successfully and safely lead activities. I was applying for activity leader positions at community centers and senior centers btw.
> 
> Indeed, I believe feeling the ableism attitudes can put us down leading to depression and questions of self worth.
> 
> Whomever has mental health conditions needs to address them with counseling, relaxation, and other interventions regardless of whether they can see or not.
> I would hope the church would accept someone with mental health issues.
> 
> So, it’s all about balance while we live out our faith and show Christ's love.
> 
> That is some of my thoughts there.
> 
> Ashley
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Faith-Talk <faith-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Humberto Avila via Faith-Talk
> Sent: Sunday, October 20, 2024 5:29 PM
> To: faith-talk at nfbnet.org
> Cc: Humberto Avila <humberto_avila.it104 at outlook.com>
> Subject: [Faith-Talk] Self-care, Being a Servant to God, and Mental Health in the Context of Faith
> 
> Hello, all,
> 
> I hope all is well. Happy sunday.
> 
> I just got done listening to my local Catholic mass online, and in the Cermon, today the father asked everybody in attendance, giving our Liturgical readings of the day, to always serve God, serve others, and serve no matter what it takes. In other words, put others' needs always before ours.
> I personally feel this is quite contraticting to what we are asking for instance, our employees and people in the education field to do. Also medical professionals. If we always put the needs of the neighbor before others, we can create many issues. There's a lot of burnout and compassion fatigue in my proffession. Same for nurses. Look what happened during the mere peaks of the COVID pandemic. Many folks quit their jobs weather nurses, teachers, ETC. But today, what the Priest is asking everybody to do, be a hero, love God, and always become a servant of God, is super confounding to me. I think this might even get a lot of people new to the Christian world very confused, and I feel many youth as well, especially with the many messages they get already in this crazy world.  
> So, I'm wondering, for fellow Christians / Catholics, do you believe there is a way forward when it comes to the acceptance of mental health issues within our communities? Because, personally, perhaps through my experiences within my own church, given the messaging I received today, is this is going to create so much stigma amongst Church goers. What has been your experiences?
> I also think it fits perfectly for our Blind community who also tends to be more at risk for mental health issues more than sighted people, due to the discrimination, ableism, and other treatments we receive.  But I'm just wondering if there is some kind of balance to these issues?  
> Thoughts?
> Happy sunday again and God bless.
> 
> —  Humberto
> Sent from my iPhone
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