The Many Sides of Mental Health: Apathy & Passion
When was the last time you said, “I just don’t care”?
Maybe it was when you were 14 years old and your mama told you to talk nice in response to your angsty-ness. Maybe it was yesterday and you found some freedom in taking one more to-do off your plate.
The word “care” comes with a lot of baggage, doesn’t it? Is it OK not to care sometimes? Is there a place for apathy, a place for stepping away from intense care and concern, in our lives? What does Jesus think of apathy?
The Google dictionary defines apathy as:
“a lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern.”
Merriam-Webster also acknowledges the place of disinterest in apathy, but then broadens that to include a lack of feeling or emotion alongside a lack of concern or interest. Apathy, while usually given a negative connotation, isn’t necessarily negative on its own. I think there is a place for having a lack of interest in one thing or another. Apathy becomes a problem when a) it’s directed toward God and/or b) when we become apathetic about many things and tune out from those around us with alarming consistency.
There is an abundance of information out there in our world, and an abundance of things to do. Our time on this earth is limited. We are mortal, which impacts our energy for this day as much as it impacts our longevity long term. It is healthy to find some things in life to which we can respond with a polite version of “I just don’t care.”
You have my permission to embrace a small bit of apathy.
Find the spaces in life where you can disengage.
If I jump to attention at every difficult newscast, my mental health will go to pot in this very broken world. If I ignite my internal alarm every time a friend needs help, I end up interrupting my ability to truly be helpful to them. If I respond to every criticism someone blurts out, every poorly made comment I see on social media, or every sideways stink eye in the supermarket, I end up giving my energy to those things, rather than to the stuff of life I truly want to invest time and energy into.
We need both a bit of apathy & a bit of passion for healthy mental health.
That said, Jesus does call us to passion. God Who is passionate for us. If this God, Who Created us, Who loves us, Who came down to this earth to save us and restore us, and Who heals us daily, doesn’t spark some passion, then we need to look around us and ask what is getting in the way. I do think it’s detrimental to our mental and emotional health when we squelch the spiritual in our lives. As Christians, in particular, we believe in God-given, Holy Spirit-driven passion. Biblically the Spirit appears as a soft whisper, but also fire. Passion in our relationship with God is part of the experience of our faith, and the Bible is clear that we should not throw it out the window (1 Thessalonians 5, Revelation 3). Sometimes, without meaning to, we let cultural expectations, traumas from our past, or language handed down, yet not quite biblical, to stand between us and our passion for God.
Passion is part of living and part of faith in Christ.
Apathy about the things of this world, occasionally, is a good thing.
We daily, moment by moment, decide what we are going to take in and engage with, and what we are going to let sit or disengage from. In Christ, there is freedom and a space for both of those things.
Apathy: a lack of interest, not complete disinterest.
Passion: intense emotion toward something.
Apathy: a lack of enthusiasm for a moment or for a thing.
Passion: ardent affection for or deep interest in.
What are the things you can be apathetic toward? What things or issues in this life have you not been called to? What are things that you can maybe care about, but which also aren’t your burden to bear in this life?
What are the things in life you are passionate about? What manifestations of grace and the Gospel has God given you to share and by which you bring Him glory?
Apathy & Passion, giving space & investment, disengaging & engaging … this is one of the many sides of mental health.
Up Next - The last article in this series comes out next Tuesday…
The Many Side of Mental Health: Age 4 & Age 40.
In the Meantime - Listen in to the latest podcast episode…
The Truth about Mental Health: It’s Complicated (Part 2)