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

Elena sat beside her six-year-old daughter's hospital bed, nine months deep into cancer treatment. The IV scars caught the yellow light. "Yo God, I'm losing it," she whispered. These weren't the polished prayers she'd offered in church that morning. Just raw, exhausted honesty. Her story captures a conversation many believers are having quietly, away from Sunday services.

Stanley Glancy's new book, When Faith Feels Far: A Guide for the Weary, the Burned-Out, and Anyone Who's Given Up on Faith, published by Notion Press this spring, examines the intersection of faith, burnout, and mental health inside religious communities. The book arrives during Mental Health Awareness Week 2026, which runs from May 11-17 with a theme of "Action."

The Numbers Tell a Difficult Story

A 2022 survey by Kintsugi Hope, a UK Christian mental health charity, found that 91% of churchgoers believe mental illness remains stigmatised in their churches. The same survey revealed that 43% had experienced a mental health issue at some point, a figure higher than commonly cited national estimates.

The pattern extends beyond the UK. Lifeway Research, a leading US source on Protestant church trends, found that 35% of Americans believe mental illness can be overcome through Bible study and prayer alone. Nearly half of US pastors, 49%, 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," Glancy says. "It was exhaustion. People still believing but worn out from smiling on Sunday while falling apart the rest of the week."

Stories from the Margins

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

Glancy argues that mental health is a medical issue, comparable to a heart condition. "We have medicines that work," he says. "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."

Practical Guidance for Weary Believers

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.

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.

For more information, visit whenfaithfeelsfar.org or contact stanley.glancy@whenfaithfeelsfar.org.