Why a mental health warrior needs a creed

Since having a psychotic break in 2008, I have built a website that brought in over $300,000 in sales, founded a National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) affiliate in the fastest time ever in NAMI Ohio history, and won the 2020 Ohio News Media Association Hooper award in the original columns division. When people hear my story, they say I am “inspirational”. Despite my accomplishments, if I judge myself by the standards of this world, I feel like a failure. 

Daily we wrestle with mental illness stigma as well as self-stigma. As Terri Cheney writes in Modern Madness: An Owner’s Manual, stigma can be deadly:

“You remind me of myself” my father said to me once. Not only did my father unconditionally love and support me, but also, he treated me and my ideas with respect. Today, I am profoundly grateful. Even if we were arguing, I could see in his eyes that he saw “a bit of himself” in me. As a woman in this culture, I think that is one of the best gifts a father can give his daughter.

As a Christ follower, I believe we are created in God’s image. Genesis 1: 27 says, “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Our perception of God is formed in large part by our experiences with our earthly father and mother. My father had a profound impact on my perception of God. As a Christ follower, I believe that when God looks at us, He see Christ in us.

According to Google dictionary, a creed is “a set of beliefs or aims which guide someone’s actions”.

Mental Health Warrior Creed

1. I am created in God’s image. “So, God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27. I find my identity in Christ versus how the world views me.
2. I am designed by God. “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well,” Psalm 139:13-14. God understand how delicate my body works and what it takes to maintain my mental health. He promises to do so.
3. I am God’s temple. “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” 1 Corinthians 3:16. As a Christ follower, I enjoy the companionship of the Holy Spirit constantly. Christ Jesus empowers me to overcome the world.
4. I am God’s masterpiece. “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Ephesians 2:10. God is building His kingdom through people like me.
5. I believe God has a plan for my life. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future,” Jeremiah 29:11. God has a specific calling and purpose for my life not in spite of my mental illness but using my mental health challenges to bless others.
6. I strive every day to manage my physical, emotional, mental, psychological, and spiritual health. “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13. God is pleased by my efforts when I strive to manage every aspect of my life.
7. I don’t have to be perfect to be loved. “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.” Romans 8:38. God’s love transcends mental illness stigma.
8. I will do my best every day and give the rest to God. “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” Psalm 55:22. I start and end my day by praying to God. At the end of each day, I give my efforts to God and ask Him to bless them.
9. I will write and speak about my lived experience to bust mental illness stigma. “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.’ Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me,” 2 Corinthians 12:9. God gives me the courage to speak and write the truth based on my lived experience.
10. I choose life. “I have come to give you everything in abundance, more than you expect—life in its fullness until you overflow!” John 10:10. God wants me to enjoy a rich and fulfilling life.