Here at Tria Corda Ministry, we believe strongly in the importance of mental health, defined here as the degree to which our minds conform to the truth, is essential. When our minds are not conformed to the truth, we are more susceptible to sin and stress, may struggle to find healing after trauma, and may struggle to live the lives God intended us to. In short, we are unable to be resilient without good mental health.
Here at Tria Corda Ministry, we often talk about the importance of resilience. Resilience is an ability that helps us heal after trauma, manage stress well, and thrive in the face of adversity. It is an essential ability for living our lives as disciples of Jesus.
We also often discuss the five things we need to be resilient and the importance of forming habits that consistently form us in these areas. These five building blocks are:
- Mental health: Conforming your mind to the truth
- Physical health: Having good friendships and taking care of your body
- Spiritual health: Consistent prayer and reception of the sacraments
- Virtue: Striving to live virtuously and to uproot vices
- Vocation: Striving to live out your state-in-life vocation, career, and other endeavors the Lord may call you to.
The thing is, these five building blocks of resilience aren’t independent of each other. Struggles in one area can drag down the other areas, keeping us from being resilient.
In this and upcoming articles, we’ll discuss the relationships among these five building blocks of resilience. Today, we’ll discuss how mental health can affect the other four building blocks of resilience, both positively and negatively.
This page may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support of Tria Corda Ministry!
The Connections Between Mental and Physical Health
How Our Minds Impact Our Care for Our Bodies
Part of our definition of mental health is knowing the truth about God and ourselves. One thing we must believe, if we are to have good mental health, is that God created us with immense dignity and made us dwelling places for Him (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
When we know that our bodies have great dignity and are dwelling places of God, we treat them differently. We become stewards who want to care for this great gift.
When we don’t view our bodies in this way, we won’t have this stewardship mentality. Instead, we will go to one of two extremes. On the one hand, we may not care about our bodies at all and do nothing to care for them.
Or we may go to the other extreme and become obsessed with fitness, nutrition, and sleep, not to care for the great gift, but to conform to earthly standards of beauty and to seek worth in the eyes of others. Ultimately, striving for physical health for the sake of earthly standards will not make us truly healthy or resilient.
How Our Minds Impact Our Relationships With Others
Other beliefs important for good mental health include knowing that we are lovable, trusting others, and viewing others as important for our lives.
When we are wounded in our relationships with others, we may stop seeing ourselves as lovable, stop trusting others, and believe we can live our lives without relying on them.
When we have these beliefs, they will impact how we relate to others. We may avoid vulnerability in relationships, avoid approaching others, or avoid spending extended time with them, which ultimately prevents us from having the virtuous friendships we need for the Christian life and resilience.
The Connections Between Mental Health and Spiritual Health
In his book 13 Powerful Ways to Pray, Fr. Eamon Tobin extends the ideas above to our prayer lives and relationship with God.
Fr. Tobin writes that one key to effective prayer is to reflect on the beliefs we hold about God and ourselves, especially whether we believe that God loves us and that we are lovable.
If we do not believe that God loves us or that we are lovable, we may unconsciously distance ourselves from God and His grace, putting up barriers in our relationship with Him.
The Connections Between Mental Health and Virtue
Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a popular model of therapy. It uses the following model to explain how beliefs impact our actions:
- First, a situation (or antecedent) occurs (for example, someone cutting you off in traffic).
- Second, the antecedent triggers certain emotions or actions (referred to as consequences in the model). In the example of someone cutting you off in traffic, you may become angry and begin yelling.
Those who ascribe to cognitive-behavioral theory believe that our beliefs are the connection between the antecedent and the consequences.
This model helps explain the connection between mental health and virtue. If we are subconsciously holding false beliefs, they may guide our reactions to different circumstances and lead us to sin. Uncovering our beliefs is an important step for uprooting vices in our lives.
The Connections Between Mental Health and Vocation
If we don’t believe that God is intimately involved in our lives and has a unique calling for our lives, it will be difficult to listen for our unique calling(s) from God and live them out.
Additionally, our state-in-life vocations are often very relational, so, just as in our physical health, false beliefs about ourselves and others may keep us at a distance from those our state-in-life vocations bring us close to, whether it be community members, a spouse, children, or parishoners.
Finally, if we hold false, limiting beliefs about ourselves and the unique gifts we have from God, it will be difficult to use those gifts and live out God’s call for them.
Conclusion
Throughout this article, we’ve demonstrated how knowing the truth about ourselves, God, and others is important for the other four building blocks of resilience.
To learn more about mental health and resilience, check out the articles listed below.