Are you mentally stable? Would you be a good judge of your own character to determine this appropriately?
Or would someone have to examine or watch you to give you an objective analysis of yourself? Most people would never dare think they are mentally unstable unless they’re in the habit of being brutally honest with themselves, which many people are not.
Sadly, there are many Christians who deal with mental health issues when they appear completely normal to everyone else around them. Someone who can be mentally unstable doesn’t have to exhibit characteristics of depression or craziness because mental instability comes in many different forms. Oftentimes, it’s caused by a person’s personal life experiences or their current state of life.
People who deal with mental instabilities may think they’re generally happy. But being happy is based on your circumstances and it’s not the same as having the joy of the Lord. Happiness is temporary so as soon as the situation, event, person or thing that is making you happy changes or is removed, you find that you don’t have any real joy. The joy of the Lord is not based on circumstances. It’s joy that comes from God himself and changes your heart and attitude about everything, no matter what circumstance you’re facing, whether it’s good or bad, you remain joyful.
So I ask the question again, are you mentally stable? When you’re alone and you have nothing going on and nobody to talk to, do you get depressed? Sad? Do you get down on yourself, hard on yourself, mistreat yourself or other people around you for no reason? If you were left alone with your thoughts, could you handle that or do you always create “fillers” to block out your deepest thoughts? Do you intentionally try to start arguments or yelling matches with other people to find ways to release your frustrations? Do you fight with strangers on social media in the comments section just to have someone to argue with? Do you perpetrate as if you’re happy to everyone around you but moments later you feel down? These are all manifestations of an unhappy person who lacks joy.
If you’ve exhibited any of these traits, don’t expect that getting a husband is going to fix these things about you. They’ll likely make it worse because marriage will magnify everything about you and your husband will be on the outside looking in at this behavior, which he’ll likely be the brunt of.
What causes mental instability? Based on what I’ve observed and researched, it’s often associated with traumatic events that have happened in someone’s life. Properly healing from a traumatic event by the power of God or using effective counseling to assist is very important to eliminate any mentally unstable behaviors. Bottling something up and not discussing it to heal properly is not the best way to be delivered from it.
I’ve seen that mentally unstable behavior can even be caused by something a person desires very strongly and things don't turn out the way they expected or planned in their mind. Allowing the devil to readily attack your mind can also cause these behaviors. It can also manifest in ways where a person almost seems to have a split personality. Like a light switch they’re up and then the next moment they’re down and it appears to be for no good reason, but it’s triggered by whatever they allow to go on in their mind that no one else can see.
According to neuroscience research, certain experiences are so profound, so extreme, that they can impact brain biology from one generation to the next. Neuroscientist Bianca Jones Marlin, PhD at Columbia University studies how your ancestor’s experiences might control how your brain is wired today and how trauma affects the brain, body and generations.
She states that, “People in the world suffer traumatic events and these traumatic events aren’t just a one time change in their brain and their body, but it actually continues seemingly for their lifetime.” This research shows that trauma, which can cause unstable behaviors in people can be genetically passed down even if a person themselves hasn’t even experienced any traumatic events.
Notice she says, “People in the world.” We are not of this world, we are Christians so we should not be allowing any mental instability to affect us for a lifetime, no matter what the cause of it is. Some people might think, “What do you mean? She said trauma can be passed down genetically, you can’t control that.” If you truly understand the power of God and your authority over the devil, yes you can.
Here’s the thing, Christians have the power of God and some understand their authority and exercise it in different ways, but can still exhibit characteristics of mental instability. How? In my opinion, I believe people like this have not taken the first step to admit they might be dealing with a mental instability because oftentimes they can’t see themselves as others do. If you can’t acknowledge there’s a problem, you’ll never get rid of it because you don’t believe it’s there.
Once a person acknowledges they are dealing with some form of mentally unstable behavior, however it manifests, I would advise them to pray and ask God for wisdom on what the root cause of it is. Is it genetic, caused by a traumatic event, etc.? If you’re able to pinpoint the root cause of it, then you can attack it in the most effective way.
Mental health issues, however severe or minor, are often spiritual and have to be handled in prayer. To help yourself get rid of these behaviors outside of Christian counseling as needed, you’ll want to get stronger on the doctrines of healing according to Isaiah 53, “by His stripes we were healed.” You'll also want to get stronger at learning how to command things in your body to leave and be healed because you have that authority as a daughter of God. Many Christians beg God to heal them but Jesus told us we’re supposed to be healing the sick and raising the dead in Matthew 10:8. Jesus already did the work on the cross for our healing, you just have to believe it and take it.
If you recognize you may be dealing with a form of mentally unstable behavior for whatever reason, that’s the first step. You want to address it right away because you do not want to put that burden on your husband or pass these traits down to your children.
I suggest checking out a minister named Andrew Wommack who specializes in teaching healing to Christians so they can be delivered. If you need counseling sessions, find a good Christian counselor who believes in the doctrines of biblical healing. Joyce Meyer is also an excellent teacher who specializes in women’s emotional issues and how to be delivered in those areas. I pray that you will receive the help you need and be full of the joy of the Lord, Amen!
Finally meet and marry the man God has for you. Marriage preparation and Godly relationship advice for Christian women. Order the book here: Irresistible: The Ultimate Guide to Marriage Preparation.
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