Faith, Mental Health and the Saints: The Catholic Call to Care for Mind, Body and Soul

Holiness and mental health are not mutually exclusive — in fact, God meets us precisely in our struggles.

(Photo: Denver Catholic design)

By Dr. Michelle Connor Harris, Psy.D.

Executive Director

St. Raphael Counseling, a ministry of Catholic Charities

Picture someone who is mentally ill. Who comes to mind?

Did you picture the weather-worn man on the corner, holding a cardboard sign and asking for money? Or the woman at the bus stop with unkempt hair who is talking to herself ? You probably didn’t picture your first-grade teacher or the deacon at your church, and definitely not a saint like Mother Teresa!

After all, mentally ill people are not like the rest of us, and they couldn’t possibly make it to sainthood… could they?

Us vs. Them

This sort of dualistic thinking is all too common — those people are so different from people like me.

Thanks in part to René Descartes (“I think, therefore I am”), the modern concept of the mind and body being distinct became part of Western thinking. We can’t totally blame Descartes because humans are naturally good at separating people into groups and categories, primarily so that we can quickly make decisions about whether someone is a friend or foe.

The problem is, even when our survival doesn’t depend on putting people into categories, we just can’t help ourselves. The default thinking we fall into is putting people into two groups: the “other” and then “people like us.” If there is a negative stigma attached to a group, say those with mental illness, then they go into the “other” column, and we stay far away, in the “people like us” category. The normal people. But what if normal people can become mentally ill?

We Are One

In fact, many so-called normal people do develop a mental health disorder during their lifetime. According to researchers at Harvard Medical School, 50% of all people worldwide will. Fifty-percent. That’s five times higher than the number of people who get a cancer diagnosis!

In the US, we hear about the warning signs of cancer; we screen for cancer; we try to avoid known carcinogens. Yet, 80% of us will never get cancer. But flip a coin and you might end up with a mental illness. Do you know the warning signs? Are you getting screened for mental health issues? Do you avoid things that negatively impact your mental health?

If you are like most Americans, your answer to these questions is probably “no.” We are far from accepting the reality that our minds and our bodies are not two separate things. The body impacts the mind, and the mind impacts the body because they are part of a unified whole.

Many diagnosed mental health conditions have physical criteria — too much or too little sleep, weight gain or loss, agitated or slowed movement, and difficulty thinking or concentrating. For example, the National Alliance on Mental Illness found that people with depression are 40% more likely to develop cardiovascular or metabolic diseases. Likewise, it was found that 25% of people diagnosed with cancer experience anxiety and depression.

Mental illness and physical illness are not two separate and mutually exclusive states of being unwell. They are connected, just as our minds, bodies and souls are. Just as we are called to honor our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit, we are called to care for our minds — seeking support, prevention and treatment for this category of illness in the same way we would for a physical ailment.

Mind, Body and Soul

As Catholics, we believe that humans are body and soul united (Catechism of the Catholic Church 362-368), which is the perfect foundation for moving away from dualistic thinking. We know sinful behavior can impact our souls, so we engage in Confession and the sacraments.

Even still, we too can fall into the dualistic thinking of separating soul and body. At St. Raphael Counseling, my colleagues and I often hear people over-spiritualize mental health issues, believing that their lack of faith is the cause of their troubles or that prayer is the antidote to all of their symptoms. With this view, they may not see the need for professional treatment, opting for spiritual direction or more intense prayer regimens instead. Yet, these same people would never suggest that a person diagnosed with cancer not see a doctor or rely on prayer as their sole form of treatment.

If half of us will develop a mental health condition, then it could be anyone, even faithful Catholics who strive to lead holy lives. Piety and prayer do not exempt anyone from experiencing mental health problems. Saints like St. John of God (1495 1550), St. Oscar Romero (1917-1980), St. Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997) and St. Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897) all experienced mental illness. This tells us that while prayer, spiritual direction, regular Confession and receiving the Eucharist are crucial for holiness, these helpful habits are not cures for mental health problems.

Look to the Saints

Consider St. Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897), who lived for 9 years within her cloister in Normandy, France. Her entire life was a total and complete surrender to God! Yet her experience of mental illness began in childhood with anxiety and severe scrupulosity, a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder where a person is hyper-focused on their imagined sinful behavior, whether or not it exists. Toward the end of her young life, St. Therese was diagnosed with tuberculosis, which was accompanied by a deep depression. Her experience of depression was so great that she told her nurse that she understood the temptation for non-believers to contemplate suicide as a means to escape suffering (see Joseph F. Schmidt, Walking the Little Way of St. Therese of Lisieux: Discovering the Path of Love, p. 201). If a saint and doctor of the church can experience mental illness, then none of us is exempt.

The human condition is one of being made in the image and likeness of God, complete with a wide range of emotions — the comfortable and uncomfortable ones. Feelings are really helpful pieces of information about our experiences. What makes the difference when it comes to having a diagnosed mental health condition is intensity, duration and impact that those feelings, as well as thoughts and behavior, have on our day-to-day life.

While St. Therese didn’t have the advantage of a trained therapist, she did talk to her sister and received helpful guidance and some relief. Just as physical illness is best treated by a medical professional, so mental health symptoms are best addressed by a mental health professional. And just as you don’t have to have cancer to benefit from seeing a nurse or doctor, you don’t have to have a diagnosed mental illness to benefit from seeing a mental health professional.

Living in this broken world is hard. Suffering is part of our experience on this earth. And yet, we don’t have to suffer alone. God expects us to turn to others for help, which is why he has given each of us gifts to serve the body of Christ. Fortunately, the Archdiocese of Denver is blessed with many Catholic mental health professionals who can help you find a way through your suffering so that you can live a life of joy and peace.