05/19/2026
MAY IS MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH
When Recovery Feels Like Super Mario: A Mental Health Awareness Month Reflection
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and it is a good time to talk honestly about recovery, relapse, faith, and healing. Life is not a game. Addiction, depression, anxiety, trauma, grief, and emotional pain are serious. The consequences are real. The tears are real. The healing process is real. But sometimes, the journey through recovery can feel a little like playing Super Mario.
You start with hope. You move forward. You jump over one obstacle, dodge another, collect a little strength, and then suddenly something hits you that you did not see coming. The screen says, “Game Over.” For many people in recovery, relapse can feel just like that. You were doing better. You were praying more. You were going to meetings. You were trying to stay sober, stay stable, stay calm, stay focused, or stay emotionally healthy. Then one bad day, one trigger, one loss, one argument, or one moment of weakness makes you feel like you are back at the beginning.
But here is the truth: a setback is not the end of your story. As the famous Donnie McClurkin gospel song says, “We fall down, but we get up.” That line is powerful for both recovery and mental health. Falling does not mean you are hopeless. Falling does not mean God has left you. Falling does not mean you cannot heal. It means you are human, and through God’s grace, you still have another chance to get back up.
Mental Health Awareness Month reminds us that healing is not always a straight line. Some days you feel strong. Some days you feel tired. Some days you feel like you passed a level. Other days, the same obstacle shows up again. Recovery from addiction, emotional pain, or mental health struggles often works the same way. You learn as you go. You begin to notice your triggers. You learn what drains you, what strengthens you, and what situations put you at risk.
In Super Mario, every time you lose, you learn something. You learn where the pit is. You learn when the enemy jumps. You learn which blocks have power-ups. Recovery teaches us the same thing. You may learn that isolation is dangerous for you. You may learn that stress makes cravings stronger. You may learn that certain people pull you backward. You may learn that skipping sleep, prayer, therapy, meetings, or medication can affect your mental health. That is not failure. That is awareness. And awareness is part of healing.
One of the biggest lessons in recovery is that we cannot do it alone. The 12 Steps begin with admitting powerlessness and recognizing that life has become unmanageable. That honesty is not weakness. It is wisdom. Mental health recovery also requires honesty. We have to be able to say, “I am struggling,” “I need help,” “I feel triggered,” “I am not okay today,” or “I need support before I relapse emotionally, spiritually, or physically.”
Step 2 says we came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. For Christians, that Power is God. He is not ashamed of our struggle. He meets us in it. Psalm 46:1 says God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Not a faraway help. Not a judgmental help. A present help. That matters for mental health. When your mind feels heavy, when your thoughts are racing, when shame is loud, when depression whispers that nothing will change, God is still near. By: TD Ariyo
