“Would you be willing to tell me your mental health story?”
—“Yes.”
One of the greatest privileges of developing The Sanctuary Youth Series was asking this question and receiving so much in return. Young people from diverse backgrounds and cultures shared their mental health stories with me and gave me permission to share them with you. These stories offer us hope without pretending to have everything resolved. They are a moment in time in an ongoing recovery journey.
Below is Nick’s story, which is shared in Session Two: What Does the Bible Say About Mental Health? The text is only about five minutes long—a mere snippet of the hours that I spent with Nick, hearing his story. Sadly, we just couldn’t fit everything in the film! But, as you read his words, and as you listen to the other seven stories in the series (which will be fully released in 2025!), I hope it spurs you on to ask those around you, “Would you be willing to tell me your mental health story?” It will be a gift to you and to those you ask.
Amy Yeung
Sanctuary Youth Advisor
Nick’s Story
My name is Nick. I’m from Australia. I grew up in a Christian home, went to church every Sunday, and attended youth every Friday. From the outside, home life looked pretty good. However, the reality was home wasn’t a place where I felt safe. It was a place I always dreaded being because my mother was emotionally abusive. Any time that something went wrong, it was always my fault which led me to believe that there was something inherently wrong with me. My self-esteem was really low, and I was always on edge.
In high school I developed some unhealthy coping mechanisms, and the content that I regularly consumed online really affected me emotionally and mentally. I experienced depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts. My understanding of mental health at the time wasn’t very good. I knew some of the terms, but I didn’t know I was experiencing a mental health challenge. And I didn’t know that my experience was different from what other people were going through.
My understanding of mental health changed quite significantly when I started having conversations with people who’ve had experiences with mental illness and hearing other people’s stories at church. As I chatted with older adults whom I trusted, they were able to identify the connection between my feelings and emotions and my mental health. We were able to chat about what a mental health challenge actually is and how it can present itself.
For the most part, sharing what was really going on with me was a positive experience which always took me by surprise. Close friends, youth leaders, teachers, and other trusted adults took my situation seriously. They tried to understand what I was going through and didn’t judge me. They loved me and showed me Christ’s love. Their support has been vital not just in helping me manage my mental health, but in pointing me back to God.
But friends and trusted adults can only do so much. In my final year of high school, there was a lot going on for me, and I was putting a lot of unrealistic pressure on my friends to be there for me. I realized that I needed to seek some professional help. So, I started seeing my school counselor which was a really positive experience. They became part of my support network. And then a few years out of school, I started seeing a psychologist who helped me think differently about my mental health. I’m so grateful that I actually sought this help because it has taken me on this incredible journey of learning so much more about who I am and about how I can notice different emotions and deal with them in a healthy way.
My faith has been really helpful in my recovery journey. At the start I really struggled with going to God because I feared he was going to react the same way as my mum if he knew what was really going on in my life. If I did pray, I would just pretend that everything was okay. But one day I was chatting with one of my youth leaders and they said, “It’s okay to say to God, ‘Hey, this mental health challenge that I’m going through, it sucks.’ Genuine relationship with God involves sharing the highs and the lows.” So that really shifted how I approach prayer, and I’ve become a lot more open and vulnerable because I know that God just wants me to come to him as I am. And as I’ve started being more genuine and open with God, I found him to be a really big part of my support network.
Want to know more about mental health, faith, and youth? Learn about The Sanctuary Youth Series and pledge to run the series. Please share this resource with a youth ministry leader you know and be a part of making an impact for youth like Nick.
Cover photo by Papaioannou Kostas on Unsplash
AMY YEUNG, MC, MATS
Amy has a passion for seeing young people thrive and has been working alongside them voluntarily and in paid positions in Australia and Canada for fifteen years. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, a Masters of Social Health and Counselling, and a Masters of Theological Studies (Applied Theology). She is the primary researcher and developer of The Sanctuary Youth Series and now lives in Australia.