Summary of On Getting Out of Bed

There are also medical treatments available. While they certainly help in many cases, our expectations of medical treatment are too high. It is not an objective science. There is still a lot of uncertainty. There will rarely be clear answers. That can be very unsatisfying.

Techniques and medical treatments both fail to get at the core of how to approach suffering. Nothing replaces the choice of why to get out of bed, why live. This is an essential question. It is an existential question. Why prevent suicide? Why is it good to live? It can seem rational and ethical to commit suicide if there is no hope.

Why Get Out of Bed?

This leads to the main point of the whole book. Noble claims that life is a witness. Our lives have value because we are all made in the image of God. Our actions communicate the idea that life has value to others. Getting out of bed is a witness to the objective reality that it is good to live. We can affirm to ourselves and to others the goodness of God’s creation.

We should fulfill our responsibility to act faithfully as a witness to the value of life, others and your own. How can we live before God for his glory? We are not valued for our usefulness but for our existence. We are not our own, but have an obligation to live in the truth. There is hope that we will be made whole in the fullness of time.

How to Live

Noble also offers additional insight and advice on living with mental health conditions. Firstly, we need to accept that life is hard and that is normal. Your suffering is unique but not special. It is the burden of life.

Next, our life is always experienced inside of us. In practice, we experience choice, but it is not just a question of will. Our choices are impacted by factors that are beyond our control, but it is impossible to discern where our agency/free will ends and where our external factors (like mental health conditions) take over. This can lead to conflict and guilt when someone who is dealing with a mental health condition struggles to meet commitments (as a parent or spouse for examples). Loved ones may question how much mental health really impacts the situation. Those experiencing mental health ask the same question and feel guilty because they don’t know either.

Secondly, there is risk and uncertainty in life. Every action is a wager because we don’t know what will happen next. All we can do is follow Paul (Romans 12) and offer our body as spiritual act of worship.

Next, Noble says we should try to do the next right thing in the present. The habits of living can create momentum, but that isn’t enough. Taking the next action is an act of worship.

Next, don’t court suffering. Mental health can become a convenient excuse in our meritocracy. Noble reminds us that our suffering doesn’t make us valuable.

Get Help

Lastly, get help. Pride and selfishness lead us to refuse help and refuse to help others. While there is no cure, treatment can be helpful. When you are experiencing a mental health crisis, you need to surrender control. You are unfit to judge, so you must trust the judgement of those you love you.

Life is a Burden and a Gift

Noble concludes with a reminder that it is God who brings peace. He knows us and loves us. There is no condemnation through Christ. We receive a peace beyond understanding. This peace is an action we take based on faith. Take courage. Life is a burden and a gift.

My Top Takeaways from On Getting Out of Bed

Why Live?

The question “why live?” is a core existential question that we all must answer.

A solely therapeutic approach without Jesus is hollow and empty. We cannot just rely on an underlying assumption that life is worth living. That will not suffice when living feels like a struggle and it doesn’t seem worth the effort to keep on living.

Our choice to go on living is a witness to us and to others about the value of life, a life lived before God for his glory. Not valued for our usefulness but our existence.

The only truly compelling answer must be an external validation of existence itself. This can only come from God, who transcends creation and attributes value universally and unconditionally.

Embrace the Tension

There are no easy answers when it comes to mental health. There is no cure or treatment guaranteed to work, or even help. This creates a tension that could be articulated in many ways. I like how Noble captures it. He says that the world needs you whether you want it and the world doesn’t stop for you. God created you and your existence is of immense value in itself and to the world, but often it seems like life keeps going for everyone else and no one notices you are barely holding on. We must learn to balance this tension.

Sometimes Just Getting Out of Bed is Enough

From a practical perspective, living with a mental health condition forces us to change our plans and goals in life. There are times when the gap between our capacity and our ideal is too much to overcome. This comes up most in the closest relationships we have. As a parent, there are times when just being present is enough. This is helpful to remember in those moments because just being present is all we can manage.

My Evaluation of On Getting Out of Bed

Mental health has become a greater focus for many of us in recent years, but has escalated even more since the COVID -19 pandemic. While much of the mainstream focus on awareness and treatment has helped, especially with reducing stigma and inviting open conversation, it lacks a solid foundation. Noble makes a helpful and compelling argument that live is worth living because life is a witness to the objective reality that it is good to live. It is good to live because of the inherent value life has as given from God. Without God, the recent focus on improving mental health rings very hollow and hopeless.

On Getting Out of Bed is powerful because it clearly comes from a perspective of someone who has lived the reality and suffering that comes from severe mental health issues. The book is not a detailed story of the author’s experience, but still comes across as deeply personal. There are many examples that come from the author and others that adds meaning and weight to the narrative. The author has the credibility to make claims that can only comes form someone with firsthand experience. He isn’t judging, critiquing, or evaluating from the outside.

If you have ever experienced mental health issues, you will relate to some or most of the book. If you have a loved one who has struggled with mental health problems, you will also benefit from reading this book. It will share a perspective that many will agree with but struggle to articulate as well as Nobel has here.

Conclusion