Integration of Faith #1

Mental illnesses and religion are two different subjects but in a way the two are very similar. As a matter of fact these two subjects have been around for a very long time. We all know religions can be dated back to the beginning of time and mental illness came on the scene almost as soon as sin did. In the book of Genesis chapter 4 Cain killed his brother Abel. Now what would make him do such a thing against his brother? I can only think of one and that is sin. Only sin will put hatred in your heart and twist your thoughts to think the right thing to do is to kill your own brother. Another story that comes to mind when talking about mental illnesses is the story of Legion found in Mark 5 and Luke 8. Jesus encountered a demon-possessed man and asked for his name and the man replied by saying my name is Legion for I am many. Jesus cast the demons out into a group of swine that ran into the lake and drowned. After Jesus cast those demons out the man was like a new person. No one recognized him and he was free from having the title demon-possessed of “crazy”. Generally Occupational Therapist have to deal with mental illness and religion, so as a Christian the best way I can help my patients is to first pray for them. Prayer is one of the most underrated things in the world nowadays and prayer only work when you believe and have faith. So if you don’t believe how can you change lives? Not just talking about the patient’s lives but also your own. Without prayer how can a person keep their hopes up if their patient does not reach their goal for the day or a patient has jus giving up hope and doesn’t have the will to go on? Everyone has their own opinion about mental illness, but as a Christian it’s hard to deviate from the original laws, which is the Ten Commandment. This should be the guideline for everyone to determine normal and abnormal behavior. Through Jesus Christ we can be healed and be made whole again. So religion and mental illnesses are definitely related to each other. No matter what happens do not give it on God because he is always there and never leaves us. Religion is a big