Having a church community keeps me grounded

Morchis Xiong

By Morchis Xiong, North News Intern

Teenagers are engulfed by anxiety and stress. I think many of my peers overlook the possibility of religion as a remedy.A truly caring religious or spiritual community is beneficial for teenagers and people of all ages. Being in a religious community myself, it helped me to become more vulnerable, have a more open mind and help to overcome struggles.

“A large volume of research shows that people who are more [religious and spiritual] have better mental health and adapt more quickly to health problems compared to those who are less [religious and spiritual], ” Harold G. Koenig, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University, said. 

Religion can help teenagers relieve stress. It has helped me, and I have seen it help other teenagers around me.I went to a church youth camp, and the number of vulnerable people I saw was astounding. They were crying, telling people about their problems, anxiety, addictions, and other things on their minds.

The youth camp became a safe space to share these things. I never saw anything like it where almost everyone asked for some guidance or sought help with their internal struggles.

There was a lot of sadness, but also so much relief setting in. It felt very freeing, and it taught me that a good religious community is so valuable.
Religion has made me a more curious person. I now dig deeper for the truth, and I want to keep on learning.

I know youth are naturally curious, and they should not stop being curious.My peers and relatives I’m around always tell me to stop being nosy, but when I hear something interesting, I just want to go deeper. Religion allows me to do that.

I went through a tough time that impacted how I saw my self-image, and religion helped me through it. I know that in my religious community, I have many people willing to help me. 

 My peers always talk about their mental health problems to other people. But they just talk about it, without discussing how to release those negative emotions. Sometimes they resort to drugs and violence.
My religious community helped me overcome mental health struggles and showed me that there is a way out of it without relying on vices like drugs. They ensured that I was not stuck in it, and they were open to helping me.

I have heard countless testimonies from church members, my family, and online about how their lives have been transformed.

Online channels like Delafé Testimonies share some of these powerful stories, showing how religion can transform people from a life of mental health issues, crime, and addictions.

I know you could be very skeptical about religion, because it could feel weird and outdated. But as a young person, I see that religion could help to improve your mental health and contribute to shaping you into a better person.

Youth should be involved in some type of religious or spiritual community. I’ve seen how much youth struggle and stress about just life in general, and even in myself, I see it.

I've had stress and anxiety myself, and through religion, it has helped me massively. 

Give religion a try.