BY HANNAH BARR

“The Bible contradicts almost everything I say about myself. It says I am worthy of love; it says I am unique and valuable. It says I am of incomparable value to God.” (Katharine Welby-Roberts.)

It’s World Mental Health Day today and I’m going to let you all in on a secret: I struggle with anxiety.

It began when I was reasonably young, but by the time I became a student, it stopped being manageable and being able to be passed off as run-of-the-mill nerves or shyness, and became this secret shame I thought everyone else could see when they looked at me.

When anxiety made it difficult to leave the house, I felt it would be better to have my friends view me as flaky, as a last-minute bailer on plans, than actually admit the truth: I have anxiety, I’ve been ploughing on through the day, and right now, I just need the safety and security of staying home this evening because I’ve done a great job of being Hannah Barr today, so I would like to reward myself by putting on Netflix and pretending to be CJ Cregg.

It’s difficult to admit to having anxiety. I feel the embarrassed urge to tell you that it’s not as bad as it used to be, that I’m pretty fine now. (As I write this, I’m still not sure if I’ll have the guts to keep this in by the time this gets sent to Viva’s head of Comms.)

There are two reasons for this. First, there is the fear that if people know I have anxiety, they will take responsibilities away from me, not trust me to do things well, not give me the opportunities to be pushed and allow me to push myself.

Second, it is the fear that people won’t believe me and they’ll tell me to get a grip. In the six years since my formal diagnosis of anxiety, I have achieved three degrees, lived and studied abroad, won some awards, been consistently employed, taken lots of risks, made friendships, sustained friendships, done lots of public speaking (which is one of my favourite things to do), and a whole host of other things. This isn’t to brag (although this week I was shortlisted for Tweeter of the Year and I am way more proud of that than I should be!)

It’s just that sometimes, those things have been bookended by anxiety attacks and, of course, I would far rather you see my public achievements than the treading water in the background. But there is also a third reason I’m often reticent to admit all this and it’s to do with being a Christian.

Word of advice: quoting Philippians 4:6 to someone with anxiety has the same effect as telling someone who isn’t calm to calm down, it doesn’t work and it just makes them more annoyed!

The overarching narrative of gospel is wholeness. We begin with one God who is perichoretic in character, which means that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are in perfect harmony and communication with each other, mutually indwelling. This God makes the world and human beings in it and God and humankind are in a perichoretic embrace. A fracture happens. God and humankind are separated.

This breaks God’s heart so he does the extraordinary: he sends his son to make a way for that fracture to be healed, for God and his children to be reunited forever. And now we wait for the fullness of that, for that day where there will be no more tears and no more pain.

But that day might not be today. A lot of damage has been done by Christians, however well-meaning, suggesting to those who struggle with their mental health that they are being tested by God, or they are not praying hard enough, or telling people that they are broken. We are all broken; but it’s because of our sin, not because of our health, mental or physical.

As Christians, we have the best thing you can say to anyone who is struggling whether it’s due to a formal or severe mental health diagnosis or whether it’s in the day-to-day struggles and triumphs which impact on all our mental health. Because as Christians we can say ‘God is with you.’

At Doorsteps, we are really passionate about raising awareness around the growing mental health crisis amongst children and young people. In Find Your Fire last year, one of the peer education projects was on raising awareness of mental health issues and myth-busting the stigmas around it.

We are also building partnerships between local community groups, churches, and schools to develop the capacity of these groups to support young people and build their resilience and are looking to put on a conference on this subject next year. Please do get in touch if you would like to find out more or partner with us in this.

Let me finish by telling you a tale of two Psalms. I have prayed these two Psalms throughout my struggles with anxiety. I’ve prayed them when it’s just been that horrible heavy feeling of tar wrapping itself around by chest; I’ve prayed them when it’s felt like I just can’t breathe.

The first is Psalm 50 which features the great verse ‘weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.’ This Psalm has brought great comfort to me because it points me towards hope, that this anxiety is ultimately temporary, God will take it and all the shame I’ve felt from it away from me on that amazing day.

The second is Psalm 88. It is the only Psalm to not finish on a message of hope. Rather, it ends ‘darkness is my closest friend.’ And sometimes I have just stayed in that Psalm, in the darkness, not seeing a way out. But that doesn’t mean God isn’t there with me, quite the opposite.

If you are struggling with mental health, God is there with you, in the dark and in the flickers of hope. If you are journeying with someone through this, be patient with them. The cross event was over three days: a day of visible agony, a day of hidden anguish, a day of joy.

God is with you in whichever of those days you find yourself in. He is with you even if it feels like it has been a lifetime of unrelenting agony or anguish and tasting joy before being plunged back into despair doesn’t make you a failure.

God is with you. He’s got you. He’s not letting you go. He loves you and he is proud of you. God is with you.