How to Share the Burden of Mental Health
Many years ago, I woke up with the words “share the burden” on my mind and heart. I knew it wasn’t just three little passing words but a message from the Holy Spirit to my heart. “That’s a bible verse,” I immediately thought, or at least it’s a biblical concept.
The night before, I fell asleep praying and thinking about a friend who had confided in me regarding the dark season of depression she was going through.
I knew how she felt and had been in her shoes not too long before. I had felt the pain, held the guilt, and hidden under the shame— all the things that come with depression; I had experienced it. And so I prayed with her and then for her as we parted ways.
Before climbing out of bed that morning, I grabbed my phone and searched for those three little words, and Galatians 6:2 popped up.
Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2, NLT
The Greek word Bastazo—a verb—is translated as bear, carry, take up, or share, depending on the version you read. This word has the idea of removal by lifting, literally or figuratively, a load off of another and putting it upon oneself.
Once I read this, I couldn’t get the image out of my head of lifting the load of depression from my friend and carrying it to the cross for her.
Sharing an unseen burden
As I’ve shared here so often before, anxiety and depression are something I am familiar with. And sadly, suffering in silence is also something I’m familiar with. Mental health struggles are, in my opinion, the most challenging burden to help carry for another person. How do you take a burden that can’t be seen? Whether it’s grief, depression, anxiety, fear, or despair, helping another walk a road that often has no directional signs is extremely difficult.
Bringing others into our pain
Later that morning, while brushing my teeth, I thought more about those three words that implied one big concept. As the water rushed out of the faucet, so did the memories of my darkest days of depression and anxiety. While scrubbing diligently at my teeth, I acknowledged that, yes, Jesus had been with me in that dark place, but I couldn’t escape the fact that even Jesus brought humans into his painful hours. He took his closest friends to the garden, where he wrestled with the assignment from his Father.
So, shouldn’t we do the same?
With a mouth full of toothpaste and water cascading, I saw a vision of what Share the Burden could be—something tangible I could share with my friend, something she could wear as a daily reminder that I am beside her. I wanted her to have something beautiful to look at and remember that not only did Jesus love her, but so did I, and I was lifting her before him, even as life pushed her down.
Giving the tangible
In a well-meaning way, we tell those we love we’ll pray for them, but the person needing the prayer doesn’t see this, and truthfully, we often forget. Life is busy and chaotic. Our struggling friends must trudge through their day-to-day lives without the reassurance that they are seen, heard, and loved.
What if we could have something near us to remind us to lift our friend? And what if that friend could wear a reminder that we are sharing in the heavy load she has been asked to carry?
Having a tangible reminder in a struggle that often feels lonely, isolating, and invisible is so very important. Share the Burden isn’t just a bracelet; it’s a declaration that we are with them when we can’t be physically beside them. Yes, with fear, anxiety, and depression, but also grief and so many other faceless, often nameless struggles that we all endure.
Sharing our Burdens
It took humility and vulnerability for my friend to share her mental health struggles with me. Reaching out at our weakest is no easy task for many reasons: We don’t know how someone will respond, and it can feel awkward and uncertain.
When we know someone is going through a dark valley, we often don’t know what to do. How do we come alongside them? What if we say the wrong thing? Sometimes, it feels easier to do nothing when we feel unsure how to help. But, friend, we were never meant to be powerless when it comes to loving one another; we have the power of love at our fingertips:
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:34-35
We simply need to be willing to show up.
Showing up in mental health struggles and sharing a burden through prayer is the greatest gift we can give. You may not do it perfectly, and no, you might not have the ideal words, but just showing up is a start. Commit to being the one who will lift those who can’t possibly lift themselves. After all, we know there will be a day when we will need the lifting.
Perhaps, Friend, you’re the one carrying a heavy burden today. Won’t you reach out and share with someone you love and trust? I am convinced this is where we find victory—in vulnerability. We do our Father’s will by acknowledging our weaknesses before God and allowing others to enter them.
I know the Share the Burden bracelet is small when hurts are larger than life. But I fully believe that starting small leads to significant change. Let’s commit to loving one another as Jesus commanded by sharing the unseen burdens as much as the seen.
As always, Friend, thank you for stopping by,
