The Crisis Beneath the Crisis
Recently I was doing some research on what is often called “mental health” in the United States. I don’t love that term, mostly because it’s so broad that it can mean almost anything, but the data behind it is difficult to ignore.
Roughly 1 in 4 U.S. adults (26.1%) have perceived themselves as having a mental health issue at some point in their lives. (SAMHSA, 2024)
About 18.3% of U.S. adults currently have depression or are receiving treatment for it. Depression under 30 doubled since 2017, (Gallup, 2025)
Around 46-50% of Gen Z (14–29yrs) Americans say they received mental health treatment (therapy, counseling, or medication) in the past year with 46% of them being diagnosed with a “mental health condition” and 34% currently on meds.
Since the year 2000, major depression has increased by over 200%, Anxiety disorders have increased by 175%, SSRIs for youth by about 140%, psychotropics prescribed by around 144%, therapy visits by 100%, and suicide rates up 40%.
Some people attribute these increases to COVID, social media, cell phones, diet, etc. One of the conclusions about this data is that we actually know more about mental health and we are better at identifying it now. Some people think we just need more education, more medication, and more therapists to help counsel people.
Whatever the multi-faceted reason for these numbers rising, something I know is that smartphones didn’t invent depression, fear, or anxiety, even if they may have industrialized them. If these emotions predate modern technology, then the problem must be deeper than our tools. It must be rooted in what it means to be human in a broken world.
What is especially striking is how concentrated this distress is among young people under the age of 25. With our overly therapeutic and hyper-individualistic society, we have essentially told an entire generation that they must discover who they are. They need to create their purpose, justify their existence, curate their image, and there is no God or purpose for life. Some people would say that this is “freedom.” I would say it is an unbearable burden that no person should carry. It is a theological problem. These are problems that we all face east of Eden. The question is not whether humans will experience distress, despair, anxiety, etc., but where they will go with it.
When people try to do all these things on their own, it inevitably leads to an existential crisis. Currently, “Religious 'Nones' are the largest single group in the U.S.” They now make up around 30% of the American population.
After spending a great deal of time talking about the toil and vanity of life, Solomon concludes Ecclesiastes by saying, “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind” (12:13b, NIV). This is the “duty of ALL mankind.” When people are not fulfilling this duty or living their lives Coram Deo, they inevitably struggle with their purpose. Kierkegaard calls this “sickness unto death.” A sickness that can’t even be cured with death, it can only be remedied by faith in God.
The Great Commission given to the Church is to “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Mt 28:19–20a, NIV). This is not to say that “if we believe in Jesus and obey him, we won’t be depressed, anxious, or fear.” It is to say that as believers we need to go into the world with the Gospel and teach people to obey all that Christ has commanded.
2 Corinthians 4 tells us that though we are “afflicted in every way…we are not driven to despair” (v8, ESV). To hope in God is to believe that He is good even when life is hard, that He is near even when we feel alone, and that He is at work even when our inner world feels chaotic. It is to believe that our worth is not measured by our emotional stability, our productivity, or our ability to cope, but by the fact that we belong to Him. Our confidence is not that we will always feel whole in this life, but that in Christ, we are already secure, and one day will be fully restored.
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” 2 Corinthians 4:16–17 (ESV).
Pastor Caleb
19. Why must the Redeemer be truly human?
That in human nature He might on our behalf perfectly obey the whole law and suffer the punishment for human sin; and that He might sympathize with our weaknesses (Heb 2:17).