If you were to take an informal survey, you’d probably find that the majority of people would like to have better mental and emotional health. 

No one wants to live their lives dealing with depression, anxiety, guilt, and other negative feelings. 

The question is, what is the best approach to achieving a healthier state of mind? How do we go about bettering ourselves so that we can live our best life? 

There is certainly no shortage of self-help gurus out there, waiting to give you their advice on how to improve your life (and usually at a price). They promise the latest and greatest, newly-discovered secrets to a better, more fulfilling life.

While people like this may indeed offer us some valuable psychological insights on managing our emotions and putting ourselves on a better track for life, we have to be careful. 

We can easily wade in too deep to the psychological approach and completely neglect the spiritual aspect of our lives.

I’ve always had the mindset that there’s nothing inherently wrong with using psychology to improve our thought processes and better ourselves.

The Bible gives us a number of psychological insights, around which most of the modern day approaches to positive thinking, cognitive therapy, etc., have been tailored (either knowingly or unknowingly).

I see it much like the field of medicine.

Even though the Bible doesn’t offer a wealth of information about treating physical ailments, God gave humans the ability to research, discover, and learn. That’s how we’ve developed our knowledge of treatments and medications over thousands of years. 

The same is true with psychology. We can take the principles God gives us in scripture about how to face mental challenges, refining and enhancing our approach to give the best results. 

Psychology should work with biblical principles, not against them.

That’s why when we get too far into the realm of modern pop psychology, we can find ourselves on the wrong track. 

Too many people today focus on “I” when trying to climb out of depression or eliminate anxiety in their lives. 

God tells us in Philippians 4:4-7:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

This is the basis for how we should approach mental healing. The answer is not about us — empowering ourselves, feeling better about ourselves, being proud of who we are. 

While it’s fine to take pride in our accomplishments, our true worth and purpose come from God. Committing our time and energy to His purposes is where we’ll find fulfillment in life. 

When we’re feeling down and depressed, looking to God will take our focus off ourselves and help align us with His thoughts and His will. Giving all our fears and anxieties to Him relieves us of the burden of dealing with them on our own.

Another way to help renew our minds (Romans 12:2), is to serve others.

Recently, I heard pastor Rick Warren speak on this subject. In a nutshell, he said that we should look outside ourselves and seek to serve God by serving others. 

We’ll never be happy or content, he said, as long as we’re consumed in our own affairs and wondering what’s wrong with us. By looking for ways to help others, we’ll find true joy and happiness in life.

Psychology would tell us to look inward and focus on what’s wrong inside of us. 

There’s nothing wrong with introspection, as many people deal with deep trauma in their past, but becoming too focused on ourselves can make us feel even more despondent.

The point is to balance the psychological approach to self-improvement and healing with a firm understanding and application of biblical principles. 

Using modern psychology can certainly be beneficial, but it should never overshadow God’s word and the wisdom He has imparted to us through it.

If we take time to search the Bible and look for the nuggets of truth God has left for us there, we can then meditate on them and let these words sink down deep into our soul.

These treasures will be in our heart when we need them most — during that next season of depression or anxiety, or simply when we’re facing a stressful day.