Is mental health a taboo in religions? | Do You Belief? - video Dailymotion

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As more people raise awareness on mental health, does religion have a part to play or could it be counterproductive? Can faith alone cure all mental illnesses?

Transcript

00:00 In my religious context, there's really no talking about mental health

00:05 because they will feel like it's a shame or something that

00:10 they don't even acknowledge.

00:12 Hi, my name is Xiaowei and I represent my family temple, Ji Zhen Gong

00:26 and I'm also the director of Singing Memorial

00:29 where we house Ancestor Palacio.

00:31 Hi everyone, I'm Morty Miller, a member of the Jewish community

00:35 here in Singapore and the founder of Shalom Point.

00:38 We're going to talk about a really exciting topic

00:41 and it's actually one of my favourite topics to talk about with religion.

00:44 It's actually about mental health.

00:46 Yeah.

00:47 So you can see that more and more people right now

00:49 they're actually made aware of the importance of mental health and wellness.

00:53 So actually, why do you think that it's happening?

00:56 First, I'll just say that we in Judaism have a special prayer for mental health.

01:04 We pray for healing of the body and healing of the soul.

01:10 To have mental health is something that without it, it's so hard to function.

01:15 I think today, people are becoming more and more aware of it

01:19 but when I look at the Bible, I see it there.

01:21 So the Bible shows already awareness.

01:24 I think that more people now, they're actually talking about mental health

01:27 because there are actually a lot of young people now

01:30 they're being more outspoken about it.

01:32 I didn't even know it was actually an actual thing

01:36 until I heard, you know, years later when I was maybe 17, 18

01:40 when I hear friends talking about it.

01:42 I thought about, "Oh, there's actually a term for it."

01:45 But if let's say religion-wise

01:48 I have never heard any, you know, Taoist priests or masters

01:53 actually share with me about the word "mental health"

01:56 but they always say things like, "Oh, you have to take good care of yourself."

01:59 "You have to make sure that you are good first before you do anything else."

02:03 But of course, at the temple, we actually have encounters about

02:06 when some of them actually feel that their mental health is at a really bad spot

02:11 but they only look for help in religion.

02:14 You can just see it on their face that they're not at a really good spot.

02:19 Even my dad, as a Taoist priest, right

02:21 when he sees many people come to see him and ask him for help

02:25 when it comes to mental health, my dad would always tell them that

02:28 "Oh, you have to look for a professional in mental health"

02:32 "because religion is not the answer to everything."

02:35 "You have to make sure that you are good first"

02:37 "then, you know, you actually go forward."

02:39 But if you feel that, let's say if you're sick

02:42 you cannot just look for a Taoist master.

02:44 I think religion obviously can be so encouraging and comforting

02:53 for people who are sad, had a bad day or even a tragedy in their life.

03:01 Where is help going to come from? From God.

03:06 So, obviously, yes, religion plays a very important role

03:10 but having said that, I agree with you that we have to distinguish

03:16 between mental health that needs a professional treatment

03:23 and a person just having a bad day.

03:26 And I think this is part of also the question why today

03:30 there's so much awareness, I think also science

03:33 because scientists know more about mental health.

03:36 They're telling us the book that describes different kinds of mental issues

03:42 and it's becoming thicker and thicker

03:45 because there are more and more discoveries

03:48 and religious leaders have to be very careful

03:51 and not try to solve everything by themselves

03:54 but also to detect when a person needs help, professional help.

04:00 Do you think that having a mental illness is a flaw in character or chemistry?

04:06 Some mental illness can be just a flaw in character

04:11 and some can be chemistry, it can be genetic,

04:18 some things we do not control and it's not their fault

04:22 and like people can be born disabled physically,

04:27 they can be born disabled mentally and we don't judge either of them.

04:32 We don't judge either of them and we try to help as much as we can.

04:37 We're not professionals in the field of mental health.

04:40 I'm not at least.

04:43 Let's say for me, I actually do speak to therapists.

04:46 Sometimes I'll feel like it's a bit too much

04:49 and then why not I actually look for help and then it'll make me feel better

04:53 and then I can keep doing what I'm doing

04:55 which is my work to serve people and to do good.

04:59 Religion itself has some elements such as community.

05:05 So you're not alone and when somebody has someone close to him passed away,

05:13 he's not alone.

05:14 Seven days, they'll be at home with people coming every day,

05:19 praying together with them and then the person will come to synagogue

05:23 and the congregation will surround him and say words of comfort

05:28 and there are many traditions and customs in Judaism to ensure that a person

05:34 that is now in a very sensitive, mentally sensitive state

05:39 will have support from the community.

05:43 Of course, you know, in my religious context,

05:45 there's really no talking about mental health

05:49 because they will feel like it's a shame or it's something that...

05:53 or they don't even acknowledge it.

05:56 So actually when it comes to religion,

05:58 I think it's just more of our perspective to it

06:01 or we should show more care and concern,

06:04 actually normalise talking about mental health.

06:09 One voice inside of me trying to represent my religion,

06:14 Judaism says, "Yes, of course, I want the world to be a healed world,

06:19 a whole world, a perfect world."

06:22 However, there's another voice that is saying,

06:26 and I'm not talking here now about the professional depression,

06:32 anxiety terms that I do not want to refer to because I'm not a professional,

06:38 but let's maybe use more of a subtle word.

06:42 Let's say deep sorrow, sadness.

06:46 It's a sacred text in Judaism.

06:49 I would say that these emotions play a very important role

06:54 in approaching God and teaching us to be humble,

07:00 to be modest, that not everything is in our hands,

07:04 not everything is in our control.

07:07 And God is there to help.

07:09 And I think this really is a very powerful emotion.

07:13 You know, there was a debate amongst the sages in Judaism

07:19 whether we want to get rid of evil inclination.

07:23 Do we want to be like angels that don't have any physical desires?

07:28 So they eradicated temporarily evil inclination, according to Jewish texts.

07:35 The following day, they couldn't find a single egg.

07:39 And then they said, "Of course, obviously, in order for the world to be fruitful,

07:45 in order for us to have children,

07:47 we need also the physical desire."

07:50 So the physical desire just has to be used in a way that is positive, that is fruitful.

07:56 And the same, I would say, also some emotions that aren't maybe as pleasant as we wish

08:03 can really help us to see others around us that are in similar situation

08:08 and be more merciful, more caring, more kind.

08:12 I cannot imagine myself not struggling with mental health.

08:16 Honestly, when it just puts in the factor of religion,

08:20 every morning when I reach the temple, I would do the prayers.

08:24 It means I would bring the jawstick to all the urns and I would pray and put it down.

08:29 Why I do that, it's 10% religion and 90% psychological.

08:35 I tell myself that whatever I'm being thrown today,

08:39 I can handle it because they believe in me.

08:42 That's why they gave me this challenge in my path.

08:45 I think that it actually makes a big part of myself.

08:50 I can't say for people that have been diagnosed,

08:54 but for me, this is just how it comes hand in hand.

08:58 And I think that the happiness will actually come with a bit of sadness.

09:05 And through the sadness, I will appreciate the happiness.

09:09 It's like the rainbow after the rain.

09:11 Thank you so much for watching.

09:13 If you have any questions or comments, you can comment down below.

09:18 Bye!

09:19 (Music)

09:22 (Music)

09:26 (Music)

09:29 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Is mental health a taboo in religions? | Do You Belief?

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