Mental health challenges have seen greater emphasis in recent years, and it has become more common for people to talk about them, though the problems being talked about are not new. Famous people like Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill suffered from depression, Churchill calling his battle against depression the “Black Dog.” Countless people battle various forms of guilt, stress, worry, anxiety, and depression, and these maladies have affected modern celebrities including Robin Williams, Michael Phelps, Simone Biles, Dak Prescott, Lady Gaga, Prince Harry, and many more.
In 2017, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) reported that depression has become the leading cause of disability in the world, with an estimated 4.4 percent of the world’s population suffering from it, an 18 percent increase from 2005 to 2015. A May 17, 2023, Gallup poll reported that “the percentage of U.S. adults who report having been diagnosed with depression at some point in their lifetime has reached 29.0%” (“U.S. Depression Rates Reach New Highs,” Gallup.com). And these sobering statistics are specifically about depression, so they don’t include other forms of poor mental health.
Among the most tragic consequences of poor mental health is the scourge of suicide. A WHO fact sheet updated March 25, 2025, states that about 727,000 people worldwide commit suicide each year, and it is the third leading cause of death for people between 15 and 29 years old. Suicide has been a source of sorrow for mankind for millennia—and, heartbreakingly, it even touches those in God’s Church.
In recent years, I’ve talked to or known of many people struggling with mental health trials—severe challenges of this nature are more widespread than many of us might be tempted to think. Clearly, the battle for good mental health is an intense one, so it’s very important that we take it seriously—especially for the sake of our children, preteens, teens, and young adults. The New York Times best-selling book The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt, published in 2024, highlights how “the mental health of adolescents plunged in the early 2010s. Rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide rose sharply, more than doubling on many measures” (AnxiousGeneration.com).
Thankfully, as in all areas of life, God has given us loving guidance. In the booklet Biblical Principles of Health, Dr. Douglas Winnail wrote, “The Bible contains vital perspectives about mental health that have been overlooked and ignored in medical textbooks. Applying those perspectives could improve the lives of millions” (p. 43). Chapter five of the booklet is devoted to the mind and mental health. For more information about depression specifically, you can watch the very helpful Tomorrow’s World Viewpoint ten-part video series by Mr. Stuart Wachowicz. The title of the first video in the series summarizes the seriousness of these challenges today: “Depression: The Underrated Modern Plague.”
This article will highlight five of the Bible’s basic principles that help promote good mental health. It’s important to note that this isn’t an exhaustive list. Each of the following principles will be helpful in supporting good mental health, but while this article will focus on what individuals can do for themselves—and with the help of their family, friends, loved ones, and brethren—there are times when specialized help from trained professionals may also be needed.
1: Don’t ignore mental health challenges.
This is a simple but extremely important point, because poor mental health is a commonly ignored problem. If you or someone you know struggles with stress, worry, anxiety, or depression, it’s important not to ignore it.
In the past, mental health challenges were often brushed aside with advice like “toughen up” or “deal with it.” Yes, toughness is good—we don’t want to be mental “wimps” who fall apart easily over small challenges. But it isn’t wise to pretend that every mental health challenge can be overcome just by “toughing it out.” As in all things, biblical balance is the key.
The Bible shows us that mental health is important and that it’s common for people to have mental health challenges. Notice the following proverbs:
- “Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad” (Proverbs 12:25).
- “Even in laughter the heart may sorrow, and the end of mirth [gladness] may be grief” (14:13).
- “A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken” (15:13).
- “A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones” (17:22).
These proverbs describe anxiety, depression, sorrow in the heart, a broken spirit, and the role of a merry heart in promoting good health—and reveal that we all must, at times, contend with mental and emotional distress. Mental health challenges may be brought on by genetics, bad habits, and/or difficult experiences. Consider how many people suffer mentally and emotionally as adults because of abuse, neglect, and other trauma they suffered as children.
Mental health challenges are very real, and for many they are not easy or simple to overcome. Satan influences society to afflict mankind in any way possible, which includes creating an environment that encourages various forms of poor mental health. If you or someone you know suffers from severe stress, worry, anxiety, depression, or other such challenges, please take it seriously. Don’t ignore it. Acknowledge it and face it head on with God’s help and the help of loved ones, including your pastor and local ministry.
2: Maintain a close, personal relationship with your heavenly Father and Elder Brother.
Human beings are spiritual as well as physical. God created us with a “spirit in man” and a longing for eternity (Job 32:8; Ecclesiastes 3:11). Whether people realize it or not, we long for connection with our heavenly Father, just as a baby desires connection with its human father and mother.
The spiritual part of each human being is at the foundation of our existence—and our health. God designed each human being to receive His Holy Spirit as well—part of His essence and power—at baptism and to connect with Him and develop His holy and righteous character, which includes “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control” (Galatians 5:22–23). The foundation of mental health comes from a close, personal relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ.
So, how can we maintain a real, close, and personal relationship with the Father and Jesus Christ? Prayer, meditation, and reading the Bible are the primary daily keys to this, accompanied by occasional fasting—not just on the Day of Atonement. As Dr. Roderick C. Meredith wrote in Twelve Keys to Answered Prayer, “We need to spend a lot of time with Him and with the Father to become deeply acquainted. Remember, what we do in this life prepares us to spend eternity together with these two divine Personalities. This is a real relationship and, as with any other, it must be developed over time. So learn to pray regularly to God—spending enough time in prayer to become genuinely ‘acquainted’ with Him” (pp. 14–15).
The Apostle Paul explained to the brethren in Philippi, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6–7, New Living Translation).
These verses explain what we should strive for. We should consider nothing too big or too small to pray about, telling God our needs, worries, desires, and challenges—while also being very thankful. Praying to Him on a regular basis and with sincerity can lead to tremendous closeness with God. The result will be His peace, which will guard our hearts and minds.
Everything in our lives is built upon our spiritual foundation—our relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ—including our mental health.
3: Maintain close relationships with others.
Along with good spiritual health, we must strive to have good “social health.” Scripture says that it is unwise for us to isolate ourselves (Proverbs 18:1). Our relationships with God the Father and Jesus Christ come first, but we are also to have good relationships with our fellow human beings.
Christ set the example of prioritizing relationships, telling us that “whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother” (Matthew 12:50). He showed concern for His mother by asking John to care for her after His death (John 19:27). He called His disciples His friends (John 15:15).
Maintaining good relationships with people we love and who care about us benefits mental health in many ways. First, it helps to keep us from struggling alone. “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity” (Proverbs 17:17; Ecclesiastes 4:9–12). Loving relationships can help us as we deal with mental health challenges, as there is safety in having a multitude of counselors (Proverbs 11:14).
It’s extremely important that young children and teens go to their parents if they are experiencing significant stress, worry, guilt, anxiety, depression, or thoughts of self-harm. And it’s just as important for adults to go to people who care about them—whether parents, other family, or close friends and brethren. Your pastor can be very helpful, as God’s ministers strive to be “helpers of your joy” by being caring listeners, encouragers, and spiritual guides (2 Corinthians 1:24, King James Version). Don’t hesitate to talk to your pastor if you’re battling poor mental health.
Maintaining good relationships and spending quality time with people has a very strong effect on our happiness. Since 1938, Harvard University researchers have been conducting a study on adult development and happiness, and an article in The Harvard Gazette had this to say about a major lesson from this decades-long study: “‘The surprising finding is that our relationships and how happy we are in our relationships has a powerful influence on our health,’ said Robert Waldinger, director of the study, a psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital and a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. ‘Taking care of your body is important, but tending to your relationships is a form of self-care too’” (“Good genes are nice, but joy is better,” April 11, 2017).
Scripture confirms the importance of relationships with other people. The Fifth Commandment reveals the necessity to honor our parents, while the Seventh Commandment protects the marriage of husband and wife. Parents are to spend significant time with their children (Deuteronomy 6:7). Friendships are vital (Proverbs 27:6, 9–10, 17). The Apostle Peter explained the importance of having a sincere and fervent love of our fellow members of God’s Church (1 Peter 1:22). Much of striving to be disciples of Christ involves prioritizing our relationships by spending time with, helping, serving, and enjoying life with other people.
How can we build and maintain good relationships? Simply by spending time with people. In-person interaction is, of course, the best way of doing this. When in-person contact isn’t feasible, we can benefit from spending time with people through phone calls or video calls that let us have full, live conversations. Texting and social media can be used to keep in touch with people, but they don’t allow for deep interaction and quality time.
Friendship expert Marisa Franco told NPR that social media is like the snack food of connection, “and it’s like we’ve been subsisting on snacks of connection from social media rather than having the sort of nutrient dense meal of in-person connection” (“Why Americans are spending less time with friends—and what to do about it,” NPRIllinois.org, December 20, 2022). The rise of electronic communication has caused many to replace face-to-face time among friends, family, and brethren with screen time and shorter forms of communication.
Some of those forms are even addictive, drawing us away from direct human contact. We must fight to schedule and enjoy face-to-face time with other human beings, especially our brethren. And when we are face-to-face with other people, we must resist spending more time with our phones than with those people! God made us to be social and to enjoy life with those around us, so maintaining good relationships with other people is vital to our mental health.
4: Maintain healthy physical activity, sleep, and dietary habits.
Taking care of our bodies involves pillars of health that we hear about often—but, while these principles are in one sense very simple, they are not always easy or convenient for us to implement regularly.
Until the last 150 years or so, people moved and exercised their bodies out of necessity because modern conveniences such as cars, airplanes, computers, tractors, power tools, ovens, dishwashers, microwaves, washing machines, and indoor plumbing didn’t exist or at least weren’t widespread. Simple and routine tasks like obtaining clean drinking water, dealing with waste, washing clothes, making a pie, or planting seeds involved substantial physical work. Today, however, we live in what seems to be the most sedentary age in human history, and we face a challenge unknown to most of our ancestors—not moving our bodies enough.
The Bible indicates that movement, exercise, and physical strength are good for us. Paul told Timothy that there is value in exercising the body (1 Timothy 4:8). Numerous scriptures show that Jesus and the Apostles regularly walked miles as they traveled between towns. The book of Proverbs teaches that strength is of value to both men and women, explaining that “the glory of young men is their strength” (Proverbs 20:29) and that the virtuous wife “girds herself with strength, and strengthens her arms” (31:17). Many parents can attest to the fact that carrying children—especially as they become 30-, 40-, or 50-pounders—will strengthen the arms! Other verses portray obesity and gluttony in a negative light (Deuteronomy 32:15; Proverbs 23:21).
Moving our bodies has many benefits, including tremendous benefits for mental health. I’ve met more than one person who diligently exercises to help maintain a healthy mental state. Many sources explain these benefits of exercise: “Decades of research have established that movement has a positive effect on mental health” (“How Exercise Fights Anxiety and Depression,” New York Times, July 16, 2025). God tells us that there is value in simply moving our bodies—in fact, it is vital for our physical and mental health.
The Bible also teaches the importance of sleep and rest. Good, “sweet” sleep is a blessing from God (Psalm 127:2; Proverbs 3:24). One of the Ten Commandments instructs us to rest on the seventh day each week, and even God “rested and was refreshed” after recreating the heavens and the earth (Exodus 31:17). Jesus told His disciples to take a break and rest from their busy schedule (Mark 6:31). Scripture’s examples show that God teaches us the importance of sleep and rest—and we all know that importance from our daily experience.
Many studies show that sleep and rest affect our overall mood and mental health. A February 19, 2024, New York Times article titled “Your First Step Toward a Better Mood” stated in its subheading, “Poor sleep can make anxiety, depression and other mental health issues worse.”
An article published by Insights Psychology began with this statement: “Sleep is one of the most fundamental—yet often overlooked—pillars of good health.” It went on to explain how vital adequate sleep is for emotional regulation: “A study published in The Journal of Neuroscience found that sleep deprivation heightens the brain’s emotional centers, particularly the amygdala, which is responsible for fear and aggression. Lack of sleep can make you more reactive to stress, intensifying negative emotions” (“The Psychology of Sleep: Why Is Sleep Important for Our Mental and Physical Health?,” October 29, 2024).
Sleep and rest are restorative, and God designed our bodies to need both—in large part to help facilitate positive thinking, emotions, and hormones, all of which greatly affect our mental health.
God also teaches us the importance of nutrition to our health. The Bible warns against gluttony (excessive eating or drinking), drunkenness, and eating unclean animals, and it encourages moderation and maintaining a healthy weight (Deuteronomy 32:15; Proverbs 23:20–21; 25:16).
A Harvard Health Publishing article reminds us that “what you eat directly affects the structure and function of your brain and, ultimately, your mood…. Multiple studies have found a correlation between a diet high in refined sugars and impaired brain function—and even a worsening of symptoms of mood disorders, such as depression” (“Nutritional psychiatry: Your brain on food,” September 18, 2022). One specific example of how diet affects our mental health is that serotonin—a neurotransmitter that helps to inhibit pain and to regulate sleep, appetite, and mood—is produced almost entirely in the gastrointestinal tract.
It’s well known that diet greatly affects our physical health, but it’s important that we remember it also has a significant impact on our mental health.
5: Avoid behaviors known to worsen mental health.
Many behaviors are known to worsen people’s mental health. Habitual sin, addiction, substance abuse, overwork, and inactivity can cause a person to experience a range of negative attitudes and emotions. Let’s consider two common behaviors that damage mental health.
One is following news and politics in an unhealthy way. Avoiding this can be a challenge, because we often need to be informed about local and world news for various reasons. But it can be all too easy to fall into unhealthy habits of following too much news and politics, become caught up in current political issues, or follow bad sources of news and other information. Much coverage of news and politics is extremely negative, and it bombards us in a seemingly unending cycle that can tempt us 24/7. It’s no wonder that news and politics can increase stress, worry, anxiety, and depression. I doubt many of us ever feel that watching news and politics acts as a boost for our mood or mental health.
As Mr. Gerald Weston and other leaders in God’s Church have explained, it’s vital that we follow news and politics in a healthy way. Here are a few practical points that can help:
- Exercise moderation as you follow news and politics.
- Be careful not to get too invested.
- Take a break from news and politics on the Sabbath.
- Be careful with the sources of information you follow.
- Take notice if you become very passionate about certain political issues.
- Stay away from conspiracy theories and disreputable sources.
- Use the Bible and the Church as the lens through which you observe news and politics.
No matter what source of news we watch or read, we must remember that the true unspoken message always amounts to, “Here is today’s terrible news and politics in Satan’s world.” It’s important to be aware of the negative impact news and politics can have on our mental health so that we follow current events in a healthy, balanced, and self-controlled way—keeping our overall focus on the pure, lovely, good, virtuous, and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8).
Another common detriment to mental health is the misuse or overuse of social media. We’ll focus on social media specifically here, but other forms of technology, media, and entertainment can have similar impact.
Many reports and studies in recent years have highlighted the dangers of social media, especially for children and teens. Australia passed legislation that bans youth under 16 from using platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat—and other nations have followed suit. In 2024, the United States’ Surgeon General called for a warning label to be placed on social media platforms. Famous technology executives, including Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, have limited their own children’s use of technology.
The well-documented and widely reported fact is that misusing social media often leads to anxiety and depression. It’s not difficult to understand why, because misusing social media often causes people to violate biblical principles. For example, spending too much time on social media will likely decrease time spent on other important activities like prayer, Bible study, exercise, sleep, and in-person interaction with family and friends. It can be easy to let social media steal our most precious and fleeting resource—our time.
In addition to taking time away from activities that can improve our state of mind, social media can expose us to negative influences and effects on mental health, such as bullying, addiction, body-image issues, comparison to others (especially when confronted with the often false and unrealistic ideals of the online world), sinful content, laziness, reduced ability to concentrate, overstimulation of the brain, encounters with online predators, and more. All of this can cause a person to experience more stress, worry, guilt, anxiety, and depression.
As the Church has long taught, sin often lies not in “the thing” itself but rather in the wrong use of the thing. Social media can be used in a healthy and positive way, such as to keep in touch with family, friends, and brethren who live far away; to follow positive and helpful content; to watch, read, and listen to Church material; and more. But it must be used with great moderation and self-control, and we must always be aware of the danger it can pose to mental health—especially in the lives of young children and teens.
Modern society has brought many benefits, but also many dangers, especially to our mental and spiritual lives. We must be on guard against behaviors that harm mental health, and these include becoming too wrapped up in news, politics, and social media.
Christ’s Love in a Sound Mind
Satan is the god of this age. As he does his best to hurt and degrade mankind, one of the enormous dangers he inflicts upon modern, technology-saturated society is that of poor mental health. It is a plague and crisis of our time that we must take seriously.
But we’re far from alone in this struggle. God has given us principles that can help support good mental health. Ultimately, He wants us to have a healthy mind, a sound mind, peace of mind, and the mind of Christ—and He will help us.