Getting—and Giving—Help with Mental Health
When it comes to mental health, you can ask for help and offer it to others too.
Illustration by Simona Love
What should you do when you’re feeling sad, discouraged, anxious, worried, or depressed?
You might expect the answer to be something like: Live the gospel. Pray. Read the scriptures. Take the sacrament. And continuing to do those things is good and necessary and does solve (and prevent) a lot of problems. But some problems require additional efforts.
Everyone feels anxious or sad sometimes, of course. That’s part of life. There are many healthy ways of coping with those things. But if the anxiety or depression is so severe or long-lasting that it’s interfering with your life and preventing you from feeling the Spirit, then you might be at the stage where it’s not realistic to expect it to get better without additional help.
Mental health is physical health (see For the Strength of Youth: A Guide for Making Choices [2022], 29). Chemicals in our brains help regulate our emotions, and the brain is part of the body. Anyone who says depression or anxiety is “all in your head” is right only in the literal sense: your head is, in fact, where your brain is found. But the problems are no more imaginary than a broken leg or appendicitis.
Get Help
The Book of Mormon says the Nephites were blessed by “the excellent qualities of the many plants and roots which God had prepared to remove the cause of diseases” (Alma 46:40). Today, we might call these things medicine.
Today, God has prepared even more ways of fighting illness and injury, including mental and emotional pains. We have treatments now that the Nephites—and our grandparents, for that matter—only dreamed of. We live in an age of miracles! And Heavenly Father wants us to use them.
That doesn’t mean that everyone who struggles with depression or anxiety needs medication or therapy. Everyone is different. But no matter what your situation is, one thing is certain: There’s no reason to suffer alone. Your Heavenly Father is eager to help.
Your Heavenly Father knows what will help you. Whether your struggles can be resolved through prayer and faith, or whether you also need to seek His blessings through some combination of medication, therapists, parents, friends, bishops, youth leaders, teachers, fresh air, and exercise to get you through hard times, ask for His help. Don’t worry too much about how others with similar problems solved them. Heavenly Father will help you find solutions to fit your circumstance.
Be Helpful
The gospel is all about helping others, mirroring the way the Savior helped us through His Atonement. You should always try to “reach out to those who feel lonely, isolated, or helpless. Help them feel Heavenly Father’s love through you” (For the Strength of Youth: A Guide for Making Choices, 12). You may not be a doctor or a therapist, but you are a disciple of Christ, and disciples of Christ “mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort” (Mosiah 18:9).
One of the most important things you can do when someone you love is struggling with depression, anxiety, or other mental health problems is to listen.
Often, all that someone struggling with emotional health wants is for you to sympathize and share your love. They don’t expect you to have a magic answer that will solve everything. They may just need to vent. They want someone to be with them, listen to them, and show sympathy—to say, “I agree, what you’re going through sounds really bad. I’m sorry. I wish I could fix it. Please let me know how I can help.”
And Remember …
Whether you’re the one giving help or the one who needs help, remember that there are some things only God can do. Let Him do them. In the meantime, do what you can to take care of yourself and the people around you.