There is some sort of misconception among Christians that faith and prayer to Jesus is some sort of cure-all for mental illness. Instead of viewing mental illness as a physiological illness, they treat it like a spiritual one that the mystic powers of Jesus alone can heal.

Now, I’m not knocking Christianity. Hell, I am a Christian. But these lies about Jesus and mental illness are harmful, dangerous, deadly, and just plain wrong. So, let’s address them. Let’s talk about the ways that Jesus isn’t an anti-depressant.

1- Jesus doesn’t change your brain chemistry.

Serotonin, dopamine, epinephrine, and other chemicals all help our brains to function the way they are supposed to. Sometimes, mental illness occurs when one or more of these chemicals becomes deficient. Sometimes, the other chemicals become over productive in response. The result is an off-balanced soup that can leave us in a panic attack, depressed, in psychosis, or a host of other states. Bottomline, when the brain chemistry is off something bad is happening.

People that believe in Jesus don’t have bulletproof brains. Jesus doesn’t balance out a mixed-up brain chemistry through simple belief or force of will. There are many, many, many Christians who love Jesus and believe what he says, yet still, need medication to help their brain chemistry balance out so they can contain and control the mental illness they live with. If an anti-depressant, SSRI, SNRI, anti-psychotic or other drug works and alters someone’s mood, that is proof that there is something that the drug is altering, correcting, addressing. Christian prayer and faith don’t seem to have the same effect on mental illness.

2- Jesus isn’t a shield from mental illness

According to NAMI, approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. experiences mental illness in a given year. That’s around 43.8 million people. Now, considering that there are around 173 million Christians in the U.S. (as if 2014), there is an undeniable fact that some Christians live with mental illness. Jesus isn’t some sort of vaccination from mental illness. In fact, As of 2014, it was reported that 1 in 4 pastors wrestle with mental illness.

So yes, Christians live with mental illness in spite of their faith in Jesus. This doesn’t make someone a weak Christian or somehow deficient in faith. This is just the numbers. I am one of these Christians that lives with mental illness, so I know the reports aren’t just making things up. I’ve been a Christian my whole life, volunteered in the church for over ten years, preached, led music, taught classes. I’ve studied the Bible and have faith in Jesus. But I still live with bipolar. Just like some Christians get cancer or diabetes, some Christians live with mental illness.

3- Jesus doesn’t always heal

Christians live with sickness, disease, hurt, and trauma just like everyone else. Having faith in Jesus doesn’t make someone immune to the ravages of life. Christians still get sick. Christians still deal with mental illness. Believing in Jesus, even believing that he can heal illness, is no sort of guarantee that healing is actually going to happen. There is simply nothing that means for certin Jesus is going to heal you.

But we know that anti-depressants and treatment work. The right treatment configuration will help someone live with mental illness, and in some cases get completely well. Sure, the science is hit or miss sometimes. There is a lot of trial and error. But it’s progress towards finding the righ medication, the right therapy, the right treatment for the mental illness you live with. There is hope that’s better than waiting for some capricious caricature of God to touch you.

We don’t need to treat Jesus as if he was some anti-depressant. That’s not who he is. That’s not what the Christian faith is about. Again, Jesus isn’t an anti-depressant.

Now religion and community may be things that help you deal with your mental illness is positive ways. That’s great. Keep at it. But Jesus doesn’t replace Prozac or Effexor or whatever drug your doctor prescribes. It’s ok to believe, but it’s not ok to ignore science and the mental health community. Believe in Jesus and take your meds.

Aaron is a father, a nerd, a Jesus follower, and lives with bipolar II and anxiety. He’s kind of a mess but doing the best he can. He’s been writing for over 10 years and focuses mostly on faith, mental illness, and where the two meet. Follow him on Twitter @CulturalSavage and find him at www.aaronjsmithwriter.com and www.culturalsavage.com

Originally published at stigmafighters.com on June 21, 2018.

To drink beer, you need to be thirsty.

Work up a thirst. Do a day’s worth of hard labor. Eat something extra salty. Avoid liquids for six hours. Whatever it takes, get thirsty. I don’t mean, “I need a drink” thirsty. I mean, “I’m going to die if I don’t get something to drink” kind of thirst. The dryer your mouth the better At this stage, cotton mouth is your friend. This is step one

Second, you have to order the beer. This is where things can get tricky. You’re dying of thirst, and you’ll be tempted to order anything off that giant wall of beer menu. Oh, did I forget to mention you should be in a bar, pub, or ale house for this? Because you should. Where else are you going to stare at a huge beer list (the bigger the choice the better) and feel that lovely feeling of the bartenders eyes piercing your head with a stare that says,”hurry up and order jerk.” while you stand there, mouth dry and a desert, and try to decide what to drink.

It’s important to know how you’re going to drink before you fire off your order. Is this going to be a session of drinking or are you in the mood for one glass? It’s important to decide this before you even arrive at the establishment. You have to be prepared. Write your plan down on the calendar. Commit to it. Decide how you’re going to drink far in advance and prepare your body and mind accordingly.

The less you are planning to drink the darker the beer you order should be. Darker beers have more substance to them and will fill you up faster. There’s nothing in the world worse than planning to drink three beers and getting full after one. Don’t let the beer defeat you. Make sure you plan so You can be victorious.

Drinking the Beer

Now we get to the thick of it. The gooey center of your experience. The reward for all the hard work and preparation. Now, finally, you get to enjoy your beer.

Remember your thirst. You have to quench it. However, you don’t want to simply gulp your beer down in mere moments. There’s an art to consuming the drink. Start off by taking the first drink quickly after presented with your beverage. Take a long, deep drink. This is not just a sip to get your lips wet. This is the life-saving gulp that is going to quench that thirst that drove you to get a beer in the first place. Don’t worry, you’re probably going to get a foam mustache. The larger the foam mustache the more proof that you took the first drink the right way.

After you have quenched your thirst with that first mighty big gulp, you may let your beer rest for a minute, not more than five though. Always take a drink within that five-minute mark, no matter how big or small. This is the body of your beer drinking, where you enjoy the brew. Notice all the flavors, how it feels in your mouth, the aromas. Engage in your conversations. Order some food. Do all the normal things you do at a pub.

Eventually, you are going to get near the bottom of your glass. When you have about an inch and a half left in the glass, you engage in the swirl. Twirl your beer around in the glass, slightly working up a small head. Then empty the remaining beer into your mouth.

Congratulations! You have successfully drunk your beer. If you are having seconds or thirds, repeat the process. You are now a master at the art of drinking beer, able to navigate any bar, ale house, or pub. No one will ever accuse you of drinking beer incorrectly. You have been given them passed down from generation to generation for as long as we have been brewing beer.

Go forth and drink your beer with confidence, technique, and heart. You are a champion beer drinker.

You’re a writer.

You write stories, articles, blogs, newsletters. You want your words to move people. You want to make people laugh and cry. You want people to take action because of what you say. Whether you’re starting down the writing path or you’ve been writing for years, we all want to write well.

How do we do this? How do we craft our words into sentences and paragraphs that matter? What’s the key, the secret of good writers? I’m going to tell you, to let you in on the writing secret that will make you a great writer. Let’s pull back the curtain and let you see what you’ve been missing. I’m going to tell you how to become a good writer.

The Secret

Write.

That’s it. That’s the magic charm the silver bullet. The big secret to becoming a good writer is you have to write. There’s no getting around it. If you want to be a good writer, you have to write.

And you have to write lots and lots and lots. I’m talking large quantities here. Manuscripts or blog posts, you have to write a lot to become a good writer. You have to write and write and write if you want to be a good writer.

You have to write a lot to become a good writer because it takes practice. No one is a good writer when they first start out. We all write things we don’t like, that we aren’t proud of. This is part of the process of becoming a good writer. You may not publish any of the work, these things you consider bad. That’s OK. The point is you are practicing your writing. The more practice you do the better you’re going to get at writing.

Getting to the Good Stuff

Eventually, you will start crafting word that you like, words that you would want to read yourself. Your practice will pay off. You will find your writing voice and style, and you will begin to write better and better.

This doesn’t mean that you stop practicing. Again, the more you write the better you’ll become. You can become as good (if not better) than your writing heroes. You have the capacity to become a great writer.

Some people say you need to write every day. Some say for at least an hour. Other people say you need to write 1000 words every day. Personally, I say write what fits you. I try to write 300 words on my personal projects every day. Some people I know write once a week. Other people I know crank out thousands of words a day.

However, you do it, develop a regular rhythm of writing. Keep practicing. Keep writing. The more you write, the more comfortable you will get with crafting words. The more comfortable you get, the more words you’ll want to write.

Get after it. Start writing today. All you have to lose is the self-imposed label of “bad writer.” Go ahead, write tons and tons and tons of whatever comes into your head. Get it out and learn to practice the art of becoming a good writer.

My son loves the book fair.

I can’t blame him. A certain high comes when you’re surrounded by book upon book. Even the accessories, the pens, paper, pencils, erasers in all shapes and sizes, all these contribute to the excitement.

I think it’s the possibilities of what could happen that gives such a thrill. In those books are stories, all sorts. Stories of thrills, chills, villains and heroes. Anything can happen when you open a new book. You don’t know what’s under that cover, what’s behind the next page. The adventure you are about to go on beckons you to enter into the story, use your imagination, and be enthralled.

These days, books come in different shapes and sizes, and different formats. Books can be the classic physical paper book (either hard back of paperback) or electronic e book. Some people claim that nothing is like a paper book, the smell, the feel, thetangiblee page. Other people prefer the e book, lightweight, readable at night, easy to carry. This is a debate among my friends, so I thought I would take some time and see which one actually is better.

Paper books

Paper books are classic. They’ve been around for thousands of years. There are historic, hand written books that scribes used to copy over and over. Then there was the revolution of the printing press. Ever since we’ve had physical books in one form or another distributed for people to read. I’ll admit, there’s something special about holding a book. Let’s look at the pros of physical books.

• Tangible: you can actual hold the book in your hands.
• Writable: you can write in the book if you want to.
• Collectible: you can build an impressive library to show off to your friends.
• The smell: a new book is almost intoxicating for a book lover.
• Long lasting: as long as you care for the book it can last for generations.

People love paper books with good reason. But there are drawbacks

• Bulky: the more pages a book has the more space the book takes up.
• Not easy to carry: if you want to carry more than one book you better have a good backpack.
• Costly: paper books cost more money especially for hardbacks.
• Damageable: toddlers, dogs, water and more can easily ruin a book.
• Space: the more books you have the more bookshelves you need.

E Books

Electronic books are relatively new in the history of literature, but their popularity has taken off. Every major book seller has an e book inventory. Even the library offers e book check outs. E books have great things about them.

• Cost: e books are usually cheaper than a paper book.
• Easy to carry: an e book is as easy to carry as the device you’re reading it on is.
• Backups: if you’re reading device gets ruined, you still have all your books saved.
• Night reading: With back lit devices, you have more hours in a day to consume your book.
• Choices: you can carry hundreds if not thousands of books all at once.

As fantastic as e books are, some cons to reading in a digital format exist.

• Availability: not every book is available in e book format.
• Nothing to hold: the tangibility and experience of a book that is missing.
• Need an e-reader: you are dependent on technology to read your book.
• Proprietary: different companies use unique formats for the same titles.
• Secret: you can’t show off your personal library or loan a book out.

Just Read

The debate rages on. Some people insist that paper books are the way to own a real book. E book proponents say digital is just as good. Personal… I don’t care. I have e books and paper books. I enjoy how easy the e book is to use and carry, but still love the experience of a paper book.

I think the point should be not about how you read but that you read. Reading is good for the mind and the heart. It cultivates our imaginations and fills us with knowledge. Just like my son gets so excited about the book fair, we should keep our excitement about book all throughout our lives.