A Call to Confront the Mental Health Crisis
October 10, 2025
By Dr. Cindy H. Carr
"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."
— Psalm 34:18 (NIV)
Today is World Mental Health Day — a day when we pause and recognize that mental health is not just an individual issue; it is a global crisis.
Mental illness touches every part of our world. It fills our prisons, strains our healthcare systems, fractures families, and contributes to needless loss of life. It affects every community, every profession, and every family — often in ways we do not see until the damage is already deep.
To begin to truly understand mental illness, we must acknowledge that it is a disease — just like heart disease or diabetes. The brain is not a mystery of emotion; it is a physical organ, intricately designed by God, and deeply tied to every thought, feeling, and action. When the brain is unhealthy or injured, it affects a person’s stability, behavior, and even their ability to connect with others.
Dr. Daniel Amen has dedicated his career to studying the brain and demonstrating that many struggles labeled as “mental” are actually brain-based illnesses — measurable, diagnosable, and treatable. When brain illness goes untreated, it spills over into families, communities, and society at large. None of us are untouched by it.
In my doctoral work, I explored how faith communities, civic leaders, families, and mental health professionals can work together to address this crisis. Healing doesn’t happen in isolation; it happens in collaboration.
A person struggling with mental illness needs:
- A psychiatrist or physician to address medical and neurological realities,
- A psychologist or counselor to guide emotional and behavioral healing,
- A faith or community network to surround them with love, prayer, and belonging, and
- Family and friends who are educated about the illness and know how to support without shame.
One of the greatest barriers to healing is stigma — the belief that mental illness reflects weakness, sin, or lack of will. Nothing could be further from the truth. Mental illness is a disease that deserves the same research, funding, and priority as any other medical condition.
It’s time for churches and community organizations to see mental health as part of their mission. We must:
- Make space in our budgets and ministries to support mental health resources.
- Stop labeling emotional or neurological suffering as a spiritual failure.
- Offer compassion instead of condemnation.
When we embrace mental illness as a humanity-wide crisis, we empower healing. When we lead with compassion, we begin to transform lives — one person, one family, one community at a time.
Healing through compassion means looking beyond judgment and choosing to see people through the eyes of grace. It means reminding every person — no matter how deep their struggle — that they still have purpose, value, and worth.
If we, as people of faith and conscience, can see mental health as a collective responsibility rather than a hidden shame, then healing becomes possible. Together, we can restore lives, rebuild communities, and reflect the love of God in one of the most practical ways imaginable: by caring for the mind as tenderly as we care for the soul.
— Dr. Cindy H. Carr, D.Min.
Healing Through Compassion Series