The Cruciality Of Mental Health

If one type of health is more important than another, any society that seeks to operate in a way that acknowledges reality should treat the former as if it is in some sense a higher priority than the latter.  However, American culture is structured in a way that, if anything, encourages inverse priorities: though mental health surpasses physical health in importance, physical health is often given more overt attention.  An emphasis on mental health does not have to entail trivializing physical health, but mental health is more foundational to individual wellbeing than its physical counterpart could possibly be.

A person can psychologically thrive even when afflicted with intense physical disorders or discomforts, but a healthy body alone does nothing to soften the potentially devastating consequences of mental illness.  Physical health is not necessarily accompanied by mental health.  The presence of one form of flourishing does not necessitate the presence of the other.  Thus, someone whose body is in optimal condition might nonetheless experience deep suffering on a regular basis.

Unfortunately, some in both secular society and the church tend to regard mental illness as if it is not present in a person's life just because it cannot be physically observed, which helps reinforce norms that discourage people with mental health issues from coming forward to obtain the help they need.  When mental health is not addressed openly, those who suffer from its absence might keep their trials secret, perhaps fearing that they would be misunderstood if they revealed their struggles.

Christians, of all people, should be among the first to emphasize the cruciality of both physical and psychological health, as well as the cruciality of receiving medicational help when necessary.  The importance of mental health exceeds that of physical health, and it deserves to be treated as such.  A person cannot enjoy a thoroughly fulfilling life when their own consciousness is a cauldron of suffering.  A collective society cannot thrive in the deepest sense if psychological health is neglected in favor of physical health--even so, to champion one does not mean that one must disregard the other.