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@eden-anderson

Haha, I wrote this late at night so I totally spaced out exterior causes for some reason. *facepalm*

So yes, I agree with you that when a mental illness is caused by something exterior to the person themselves, I think it’s probably less of our human nature popping in and more of our fight or flight instincts kicking in(Or…. whatever you want to call it. That was just the easiest example that came to mind. XD). However, I’d argue that things like PTSD and trauma are different than depression this aspect because they deal mostly with legitimate, real fears that were caused by real events, which is where I’d also say they differ from anxiety which(don’t quote me on this, pure my opinion) in my experience, deals more with fear about possibilities rather than things that have already happened. And due to that, I think the PTSD and trauam/etc. are probably more on the survival aspect of mental illnesses, rather than on the “self” side like depression/etc.

The problem with really nailing down causes for them, in my opinion, is because they’re so intertwined. I could have PTSD and get depression from having PTSD, or get anxiety. What matters though is if I develop a depressed mindset, or if I let my fear of what has happened to me overcome my trust in God. I’m not saying that people can’t struggle with mental illnesses, far from it. But what matters is whether we deal with the illness in a good way or a bad way. Trauma and the effects of said trauma come from things we often cannot control, and it’s perfectly normal if that effects us. We’re human, after all. But my point is is that while things like that can effect us, what matters is how we respond to those effects. Being traumatized over an event isn’t a mental illness–it’s a natural response. Letting yourself waste away from depression or abusing alcohol from that trauma, however, is a mental illness and a sin.

I hope that makes sense. And like I said, this is purely my opinion, but it’s based off of my own thinking, my pastor’s opinion, and several friends of mine who also struggle from this stuff’s opinion.