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Jesus took mental health seriously. From setting aside time for himself, teaching about anxiety, feeling the complex range of human emotions, and being there for friends and neighbors who were struggling, Jesus’ life can teach us a lot about how to care for our neighbors’ and our own mental health.

Mental Health

<p>Jesus is often shrouded in misconception. He certainly was in his day and even more so now. There’s a tendency for some to think of him as a historical figure of the past whose sole mode of expression was stoicism. For others, it’s tempting to imagine him as some long-haired, hippy who spent the majority of his days hugging and loving everyone.</p>
<p>Neither of those pictures paints an entirely accurate representation of who Jesus was. Truth is, Jesus felt. Like you and I, he experienced a range of emotions. The good and the ugly. This is why He Gets Us. Scroll for a deeper dive into how Jesus experienced emotions below.</p>


Jesus Experienced Every Human Emotion

<p>Jesus was radically selfless. The love he showed others sought nothing in return; he gave his time and energy freely to anyone who asked for it and plenty that didn’t; he even humbled himself to the point of washing his friends’ feet — an act reserved for a servant. He was selfless.</p>
<p>But he didn’t run on empty. Over and over again in the Scriptures, we see him leave the crowds and his friends and find time in solitude to pray and recharge. And the timing of when he chose to steal away can give us a little insight into why this practice was so important.</p>
<p>One of the first examples of Jesus finding time alone might not sound like self-care to many of us — he spent 40 days in the wilderness on his own facing a grueling season of temptation. But as soon as he finished his sabbatical in the wild, he began his three-year ministry that included traveling all over the place, making disciples, preaching to large crowds, and the list goes on. It seems then that his 40 days served in some capacity as preparation — filling the tank for what was going to be an exhausting journey, making sure he was ready for it, and getting clarity on what exactly it would look like through prayer. Frequently throughout his ministry, he took little pit stops like this to rest and recharge as well. He even charged his followers to do the same.</p>
<p>Another time Jesus made space to be on his own came when he learned that his cousin and good friend, John the Baptist, had died. He went away to grieve. The result of loving others the way Jesus did — fully, selflessly, unconditionally — is that you end up really invested. That’s ultimately a very good thing, but it can make an already difficult loss even harder. A life lived for other people is one where you share in many more joys than you would otherwise, but it’s also one where you share in more sorrows, and Jesus made space for both. In this instance, he needed time alone to process and grieve before he could continue his ministry.</p>
<p>One last example of Jesus practicing self-care is an easy one to miss. There’s this time when Jesus and his disciples are en route to the next town to continue their ministry, and they’re simply walking on a road. Around noon they stop, and the whole group goes into town to find food for lunch — the whole group except Jesus. Instead, Jesus simply sits down beside a well and takes a break because he was “weary from his journey.” Jesus didn’t just practice self-care emotionally; he practiced it physically. He rested when his body needed it. It’s as simple as that.</p>
<p>The thing I think that connects all of these is the fact that we as humans have limits and capacities. Jesus wasn’t exempt from those — his many decisions to rest, pray, and take time alone are evidence of that. Jesus was aware of his limits and took a step back when he exceeded them. When we talk about self-care, we can take it too far in one of two directions. We can completely ignore it and give and give and give until there’s nothing left of us to give. That’s neither good for us nor the people we’re trying to care for — they don’t get our best because we’re running on empty. Or we can put self-care on a pedestal and use it to justify always putting ourselves first and never truly loving people selflessly. Jesus didn’t err in either direction. His life suggests that the best way to live, the way that is most fulfilled, is one where we give of ourselves right up to our limits and then recharge so we can do it again. We care for ourselves so we can better care for others.</p>


Jesus practiced self-care.

<p>It seems we live in a time marked by discontent. Each day some basic part of existence becomes more complicated and difficult, something new pops into frame that layers on anxiety, broken relationships tax us, sickness eats at us, politics discourage us, the financial and emotional costs of living weigh us down. Does any of that resonate with you? If it does, that means one of two things. Either this miraculously found the one person that feels this way, or (and we’re betting on this second option) it resonates because many of us share the experience. In a time of polarization and division, common ground is hard to find. <a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="https://development.hgu-staging.com/en/articles/discontent-by-the-numbers-are-we-all-sick-of-the-same-things">What if we can find unity in our shared discontent?</a></p>
<p>This is not a new thought—we stole this one from Jesus. We noticed that a very strange mix of people would all flock together around him—<a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="https://hegetsus.com/en/articles/jesus-befriended-tax-collectors">tax collectors</a>, sex workers, religious elite, fishermen, zealots, rich, poor, sick, healthy—on paper they had no business sitting together or getting along. But they all joined Jesus at the <a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="https://hegetsus.com/en/articles/jesus-invited-everyone-to-sit-at-his-table">dinner table</a>. Why? Our working theory is that they all shared one thing in common: they desperately wanted something about their lives to change. They were each sick of something.</p>
<p>And Jesus caught a lot of flack for sitting at a table with this mix of people, especially the part of the mix that others wouldn’t sit with. His response was so simple: “It is not the healthy but the sick who need a doctor.” And if you look at his life, Jesus played the role of doctor without hesitation at all times. He was always hanging out with people who felt sick whether it was with physical ailments or more hidden conditions affecting the heart and mind. And that got us thinking: what are we most sick of today, and what can we learn from Jesus that could maybe move us in the right direction?</p>
<p>To tackle the first part of the question, we sent out surveys and took a road trip across America and sat down with people to ask this question: <strong>what are you sick of?</strong> The responses made it clear: we are sick of a lot. You can take a look at the numbers <a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="https://development.hgu-staging.com/en/articles/discontent-by-the-numbers-are-we-all-sick-of-the-same-things">here </a>, but listen to these first hand responses:</p>
<div class="special-quote">I’m tired of being tired, I just want to be as active as I was 10 years ago.</div>
<div class="special-quote">I’m sick of chronic pain.</div>
<div class="special-quote">I’m sick of not being able to get a job that’s paying to train you, but companies don’t want to hire you if you have no experience.</div>
<div class="special-quote">I am sick of groceries being so expensive.</div>
<div class="special-quote">I am sick of divisive politics.</div>
<div class="special-quote">The gun violence around my house. I hear at least two shots everyday.</div>
<div class="special-quote">I am sick of everyone complaining. I just want everyone to be excited about life. Even on the bad days.</div>
<div class="special-quote">I’m sick of myself.</div>
<div class="special-quote">I&#8217;m sick of lots of things. Probably too many to list.</div>
<p>These are personal answers, but if you’re anything like us, as you read these, you start to see a bit of your own story in them, a piece of your own sickness, a piece of our collective sickness. And we think it’s fair to say <strong>we</strong> are sick, not only because we share the sentiment, but because this discontent affects our communities and relationships often as much as it affects us personally. So we might feel sick, but we’re sick together.</p>
<p>Where does that leave us? Well for starters, we’re in good company. If you feel sick, you are not alone, it seems that most of us do. And two, if you feel sick, then you are exactly the type of person Jesus sought out and exactly the kind of person he tailored his message for. How he lived and what he taught functions as a great model for how we can <u>help each other respond to the things that are weighing us down.</u></p>
<p>We’ll end with this. Jesus knew people felt sick and he offered some help. He outlined a whole framework for a healthy kind of living, a way to fight the different sicknesses, in a speech now known as the Sermon on the Mount. We’ve talked about pieces of the framework before—pieces like “<a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="https://hegetsus.com/en/articles/loving-your-neighbor-is-nearly-impossible-how-can-we-do-it">love your neighbor</a>”, “<a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="https://hegetsus.com/en/featured-videos/love-your-enemies">love your enemy</a>”, “<a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="https://hegetsus.com/en/articles/how-did-jesus-step-over-barriers-of-race-gender-and-stigma-on-the-side-of-the-road">do not judge</a>” or “<a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="https://hegetsus.com/en/articles/jesus-forgave-but-did-he-forget">turn the other cheek</a>”. But it’s how he ended the Sermon on the Mount that gives context to what this framework really does for us. He ended with a story about a man who builds a house on the sand and a man who builds a house on the rock. In this story, the rains come and streams rise on both houses, though only the house built on the rock survives the storm. A friend of ours, Ian Simkins, said it well, “Jesus is honest about the human condition. He doesn’t paint a flowery picture, suggesting that following him means life will become a walk in the park. The rain, wind, and floods will come. Hard times will come our way. We will encounter great, unexpected difficulties in our lives. The way of Jesus doesn’t lead you out of hardship, but through it.”</p>
<p>What are you sick of, and how could Jesus’ example help us move forward?</p>


We’re all sick of something

<p>It’s safe to say just about all of us have felt overwhelmed at one point or another. For many, being overwhelmed has even become the default. Pressure from relationships, finances, endlessly expanding to-do lists — even the pressure we put on ourselves pushes in on us. How are we supposed to bear all that stress? Would it surprise you to know that Jesus got stressed, too?</p>
<p>One night in particular, he experienced overwhelming stress. He knew his friend had betrayed him, and a series of events had kicked off that would culminate in a painful and unjust death. It was an unimaginable weight.</p>
<p>Like many people do when stressed, Jesus escaped to a quiet place. For some, that might be their car, for others, a particular park bench or maybe even the bathroom. For Jesus, it was a garden of old-growth olive trees on the side of a mountain. He brought a few friends for emotional support and prayer, but they weren’t a huge help as they couldn’t stay awake. He was dealing with this alone.</p>
<p>And the stress was intense. Jesus said his “soul was grieved to the point of death” — translation: the stress felt like it was killing him. He even reportedly suffered hematohidrosis, a rare condition caused by acute emotional stress where the sweat glands rupture, causing them to excrete blood. The weight of the upcoming suffering — and the resolve to bear it and exemplify his love for everyone through it — left him crushed and strained.</p>
<p>Later that evening, his adversaries captured him in the garden. Yet, despite his inability to find solace, Jesus found the strength to face his accusers and surrender to them willingly and without violence, knowing that his death would further spread his message of radical love.</p>
<p>Jesus wasn’t immune to stress. Nor did he expect anyone else to be. He sought out peace and quiet and company in the midst of stress, knowing those things can help immensely, but even Jesus still got overwhelmed. It’s OK if you do, too.</p>
<p>Scripture References: Romans 5:6-8</p>
<h2><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559731&quot;:0}"> </span></h2>


How did Jesus deal with stress?

<p>As the restrictions of the pandemic eased and the world appeared to be resuming to some normalcy (whatever that is), we were chatting about the impact COVID-19 had had on us. Some of the changes it created, we confessed, were positive — realigning priorities and work-life balances, for example. But we also realized that we couldn’t comprehend the grief, pain, and anguish millions had gone through with the loss of loved ones, friends, and co-workers.</p>
<p>Thousands had perished in isolation with nobody at their side. Now add to that the caregivers who risked their health and lives to tend to those who were suffering, and the sorrow becomes incalculable. This was a global catastrophe, but it was experienced on an individual level. These losses were personal. They cut to the core of people’s souls. The pandemic even made many question the existence of a god or ask why an all-loving, all-powerful being would allow this to happen. Difficult questions. And honestly, we didn’t try to formulate any answers. Crises will always drive some to faith and others to skepticism.</p>
<p>But through the dialogue, we eventually recognized that Jesus, a man who lived 2,000 years ago, also understood the depth of sorrow many of us, our families, and friends had or are still going through today. When Jesus received the news that his cousin, John the Baptist, had been executed by King Herod, he departed by ship and fled to the desert to be alone and grieve. The New Testament merely touches on it in a single verse, but we imagine the sorrow was deep, excruciating, and very real.</p>
<p>When Jesus heard the news of his good friend Lazarus’ death, he wept. The shortest verse in the Bible, yet maybe the most revealing. We’re quite certain there were more. At his crucifixion, there’s mention of his mother, Mary, but no mention of Joseph. One can assume he’d experienced the loss of a beloved father figure.</p>
<p>All of this led us to seek images powerful enough to reflect that heartbreak. Our ideas were merely on paper, so credit must be given to the artists that drew upon their personal experiences to bring this to life. While curating these scenes, the emotions were palpable. Tears welled up in our own eyes. And we must acknowledge the skill and talent of the editor and music composers who wove the images and sound score into a tapestry of solemn beauty.</p>
<p>Hopefully, it has touched you as much as it’s touched us.</p>
<h2><span data-contrast="none">Scripture References:</span><span data-contrast="none">  </span><span data-contrast="none">Matthew 14:6-14, John 11:17-44,</span> <span data-contrast="none">Matthew 26:36-46</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559731&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}"> </span></h2>


Did Jesus ever mourn?

<p>We live in a world of constant connection. Technology allows us to keep in touch with thousands of people. We are so plugged in that we never have to be alone ever again. But the reality we know often looks different. Headlines warn that an epidemic of loneliness is sweeping across the world. Many people feel more disconnected than ever, trying to navigate isolation, abandonment, and loneliness.</p>
<p>Did Jesus ever experience loneliness? As a man who spent three years traveling on foot with 12 of his closest followers, you might guess that he wasn’t familiar with the feeling, but he dealt with it more often than we might think..</p>
<p>24 hours after Peter’s speech, Jesus was taken prisoner and put on trial. When Jesus was arrested, everyone fled, except for one person: Peter. But when he was recognized by the crowd that had gathered, and they grew upset, Peter denied ever knowing Jesus. And he did so three times as he watched Jesus be mocked, beaten, and prepared for death.</p>
<p>In his moment of greatest need, Jesus was abandoned and left utterly alone.</p>
<p>Loneliness likely looks a lot different for us today, but that doesn’t mean it affects us any less. We feel it. We see it in our families, co-workers, and friends. And <a href="https://hegetsus.com/en/articles/were-all-sick-of-something">we’re all sick</a> of it.</p>
<p>But what can we do about it? Jesus&#8217; life and teachings left us with some valuable ways to overcome the things that trigger some of the loneliness we experience. He showed us how to create community by <a href="https://hegetsus.com/en/articles/what-does-it-mean-to-love-your-neighbor">loving our neighbor</a>, <a href="https://hegetsus.com/en/articles/how-do-our-priorities-line-up-with-jesus">what to prioritize in our lives</a>, <a href="https://hegetsus.com/en/articles/the-rich-life">how to be rich</a>, and so much more.</p>


Was Jesus ever lonely?

Anxiety

One night, he became particularly worried because he knew his adversaries were coming for him. He’d soon face arrest, torture, and even execution. It created an unimaginable weight. A weight so heavy he began sweating blood. 

Alone

As a man who traveled the world gathering fame and followers, Jesus knew how it felt to be surrounded by loving company. But like us, he knew how it felt to lose that love without warning. 

Mona’s Story: Learning to Say “Goodbye.”

Goodbyes are hard. Final goodbyes can be devastating. So, what was Jesus talking about when he said, “Blessed are those who mourn”? We sat down with Mona to talk about grief and goodbyes to see what she’s learned and how she’s grown from her own life experience. It’s a moving story and a testament to the power of learning to love the way Jesus did. His love is like a second language. It takes practice.