New Book Examines Mental Health Stigma and Burnout in Faith Communities During Mental Health Awareness Week

91% of Christians surveyed say mental illness is stigmatised in church (Kintsugi Hope, 2022). New book says faith and mental health care can work together.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, May 11, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- New Book Examines Mental Health Stigma and Burnout in Faith Communities During Mental Health Awareness Week
91% of Christians in a UK survey say mental illness is stigmatised in church (Kintsugi Hope, 2022). New book explores how faith and mental health care can work together.

Elena sat beside her six-year-old daughter's bed, nine months into cancer treatment. The IV scars caught the yellow light. "Yo God, I'm losing it," she whispered.

Not the prayers she'd offered in church that morning. Just raw, exhausted honesty.

Her story reflects a conversation many believers are having quietly.

When Faith Feels Far: A Guide for the Weary, the Burned-Out, and Anyone Who's Given Up on Faith by Stanley Glancy (Notion Press), published this spring, explores the intersection of faith, burnout, and mental health inside religious communities. Its themes speak directly to Mental Health Awareness Week 2026 (11-17 May), whose theme this year is "Action."

A 2022 survey by UK Christian mental health charity Kintsugi Hope found that 91% of churchgoers believe mental illness remains stigmatised in their churches. 43% said they had experienced a mental health issue at some point, higher than commonly cited national estimates. The pattern is not confined to the UK. Lifeway Research, the leading US source on Protestant church trends, found that 35% of Americans believe mental illness can be overcome through Bible study and prayer alone, and 49% of US pastors say they rarely or never speak about mental illness from the pulpit.

"What I kept hearing in living rooms and over coffee wasn't doubt about God," says Glancy. "It was exhaustion. People still believing but worn out from smiling on Sunday while falling apart the rest of the week."

The book uses fictionalised composites drawn from a decade of cross-cultural conversations. Among them is Oliver, an autistic believer told for thirty-two years to "pray more" while sensory overload made church services unbearable, before a panic attack led to a diagnosis his church had never imagined naming.

"Mental health is a medical issue, the same as a heart condition," says Glancy. "We have medicines that work. The centuries-old reflex to hide it has no place in faith communities today. Prayer and medical care aren't rivals. They belong in the same hand."

The book offers practical guidance for when prayer feels impossible, permission to rest without guilt, and a framework for holding faith and mental health care together. Its emphasis on small, sustainable actions echoes Mental Health Awareness Week's 2026 call, set by the Mental Health Foundation, for individuals, workplaces, and communities to move beyond awareness into practical steps.

When Faith Feels Far is available now in paperback and eBook through Amazon and major retailers worldwide.

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About the Author
Stanley Glancy is a London-based writer and communications professional who has lived and worked in the UK, Germany, Switzerland, and India, and travelled extensively across Europe and Asia. He wrote When Faith Feels Far after more than a decade of conversations with believers in over a dozen countries who described the same exhaustion in different languages.

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MEDIA CONTACT:
Stanley Glancy
Email: stanley.glancy@whenfaithfeelsfar.org
Website: https://whenfaithfeelsfar.org

Stanley Glancy
When Faith Feels Far
stanley.glancy@whenfaithfeelsfar.org
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