Barely a day goes by without some kind of mental health reference in the media. The latest one is the Surgeon General's recommendation that social media should display some kind of warning label.
I suspect there was a time when very few people had mental health issues. There could be a few reasons for this. Mental health conditions may be internal and invisible much of the time. Modern science has gained considerable understanding of the human psyche. More and more conditions previously hidden are now recognized for what they really are.
Somehow many of us have come to see life as hard and the world as a hostile place. It has always been like that. Even the Old Testament writers recognized it and came up with the explanation that Adam and Eve disobeyed God who banned them from the Garden of Eden.
Life is hard and the world is a hostile place, but it doesn't have to be that way. The hope that gets us through the day is that Jesus gave us the solution, a way back to the Garden. First, he said, you shall love God with everything you've got (Matthew 22:37) and second, you shall love your neighbor (Matthew 22:39). The trouble is that we have failed to do any of that either due to lack of understanding or outright defiance. He promises that if we follow his direction, there will be nothing left to worry about (Matthew 6:33).
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