Real Life Real Faith Men of Faith March 2016 | Page 14

Are you a
Swamp or a
River

I have a question to pose to you…
Are you a swamp or a river? I want
you to really ponder this question
for a minute. Let me help you put
this question in perspective. First
we must break down the two
bodies of water that are
referenced in the question and
get an understanding of what the
difference is between the two. A
swamp is created when water
collects in low lying areas
remaining trapped there with no
outlet. Being that there is no
outlet available there is no
constant flow of minerals and
oxygen in that water, which
ultimately leads to that collection
of water becoming stagnant and
absent of life. When you think of a
swamp you think of gloominess,
darkness, and unpleasantness.
You think of sadness and death. A
river on the other hand is full of
life. It constantly flows. When you
think of a river you think the exact
opposite of a swamp. Words such
as refreshing, invigorating, and
energy can be words that describe
a river. You think of happiness and
life.
Hopefully by now I have you
thinking of swamps and rivers, the
images of the two bodies of water,
and the vast differences between
the two. In all actuality a swamp is
like the antonym of a river. Take
that and apply it to the mind and
our lives. A swamp can represent
an unhealthy mind while a river
can represent a vibrant, healthy
mind. Now ask yourself….what is
an unhealthy mind? A mind that
is unhealthy is one that may be

suffering from a mental illness of
some sort. Let’s take it a step
further…what is a mental illness?
The Mayo Clinic defines mental
illness as “a wide range of mental
health conditions – disorders that
may affect your mood, thinking
and behavior”. Some examples of
mental illnesses are depression,
anxiety disorders, eating disorders,
schizophrenia, and addictive
behaviors. We all know someone,
if not ourselves, that have suffered
or is currently suffering from one
or more of these examples. Let’s
focus more on the definition of
mental illness; particularly the
part that says the illness “may
affect your mood, thinking and
behavior”. This part of the
definition is very important. By
affecting your mood, thinking, and
behavior in such a way that a
mental illness more than likely
will, your daily living/functioning is
impacted which leads you to
changing how you go about your
day-to-day life. Your actions may
become anti-social in a way. For
example with depression one may
become withdrawn from people
or activities; with anxiety one may
constantly worry which may cause
that person to avoid people or
activities. Think about the mental
illness of depression which in
many men of color goes
untreated. What effect does
depression have on your mind and
your ability to function normally in
day-to-day activities? We must be
very honest with our answers to
this question. Depression leads
people to be trapped in their own
mind and life becomes very ly
suffer than to seek the help that
will allow for normal functionality.

Hurley's

mental
note
complicated…especially if the
depression goes untreated. The
communities of people of color
often downplay mental illnesses
such as depression and we tend to
not seek the professional help
needed to manage the symptoms of
the illness. We prefer to silent
Hopefully by now I have you
thinking of swamps and rivers, the
images of the two bodies of water,
and the vast differences between
the two. In all actuality a swamp is
like the antonym of a river. Take that
and apply it to the mind and our
lives. A swamp can represent an
unhealthy mind while a river can
represent a vibrant, healthy mind.
Now ask yourself….what is an
unhealthy mind? A mind that is
unhealthy is one that may be
suffering from a mental illness of
some sort. Let’s take it a step
further…what is a mental illness? The
Mayo Clinic defines mental illness as
“a wide range of mental health
conditions – disorders that may
affect your mood, thinking and
behavior”. Some examples of mental
illnesses are depression, anxiety
disorders, eating disorders,
schizophrenia, and addictive
behavior
s
We all know someone, if not
ourselves, that have suffered or is
currently suffering from one or more
of these examples. Let’s focus more
on the definition of mental illness;
particularly the part that says the
illness “may affect your mood,
thinking and behavior”.
.