Churches and a new mental health report

Written by David Fletcher 08 Dec 2017
Churches and a new mental health report

The Christian mental health organisation Livability called for churches to be more honest about life's difficulties. A survey found that half of UK adults (26 million people) would feel uncomfortable or unsure about telling others if they experienced a mental health problem. The director of Livability said, ‘It's about creating communities where we talk about our well-being. There's a real need for us to start normalising the level of conversation that we have in our churches. There's a negative impact when we don't talk about these things.’ He encouraged churches to move away from criticism and adopt a culture of honesty, with leaders talking about their own emotional and mental well-being. The survey found that people aged between 16 and 24 are most likely to experience mental health issues. To be called a ‘snowflake’, implying that you are easily offended or hurt, is damaging to mental health.

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