Skip to Content

It’s time for some real talk, okay? Let’s just cut to the chase here:

Members of the Duggar family should not give advice to anyone.

The Hollywood Gossip Logo

Do the controversial, conservative and constraining Duggar rules that this family unit practices work for them? Perhaps.

One could argue that it’s not healthy for anyone to be banned from wearing pants or simply kissing their boyfriend or girlfriend, but, hey, we’re not here to judge how parents raise their kids.

This is different.

ALL THE DUGGARS
(TLC)

We ARE here to judge how those kids grow up, gain a significant social media following and then dole out dangerous words of non-wisdom to these strangers on the Internet because they can.

In other words, right now… we’re here to judge Jinger Duggar.

The Hollywood Gossip Logo

On Tuesday, the reality star uploaded a new photo of herself in a red dress, which you can see above.

She included a caption along with it that initially references the stressful chaos going on around the country; specifically, we assume, the COVID-19 pandemic and the nationwide push for police reform and social justice.

Wrote Jinger:

The Hollywood Gossip Logo

"Ahhhhhh! There’s so much going on around us that can make us worry. Anxiety could be a serious struggle every day if we let it be!"

So far, mostly harmless and pretty good, right?

However, Duggar then continues as follows:

The Hollywood Gossip Logo

But believe it or not, the Bible has a lot to say about it. One of my favorite Scriptures is Philippians 4 where we are told to “rejoice always” and “never be anxious.” The obvious question is, how?

Indeed, how does one deal with overwhelming anxiety?

This is certainly a pertinent and important question.

The Hollywood Gossip Logo

And here is the way in which Jinger answers it:

The answer is thankful prayer:

“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.”

"So beautiful! Our God’s got this."

The Hollywood Gossip Logo

To be fair, Jinger – who is pregnant with her second child – never tells anyone here NOT to visit a doctor or take medication.

But the advice she’s giving sort of implies this just the same.

She’s saying that those with mental health issues ought to pick up a Bible, as opposed to the telephone or their computer to make an appointment to speak with a mental health expert.

And, holy f–k, is that a dangeorus thing to advise.

The Hollywood Gossip Logo

Society has definitely come a very long way with how it views mental health, which can be as debilitating as any physical ailment.

For the most part, these sorts of problems are less taboo than they used to be and are considered medical struggles.

As they should be.

The Hollywood Gossip Logo

There are all sorts of medications out there that one can safely take in order to calm one’s mind, help one focus and/or merely assist with whatever is going on inside of one’s head at the moment.

Would Jinger encourage followers to just pray away Diabetes?

No? Then should she tell followers to just pray away anxiety?

The Hollywood Gossip Logo

Fired back an Instagram user named "mar_walh" in response to Duggar’s message:

"Remember anxiety is a mental illness that affect millions. Kind words don’t cure mental illness. Please don’t downplay people’s suffering."

"If I could pray my mental illnesses away wouldn’t you think I’ve already tried…"

Well said, mar_walh.

The Hollywood Gossip Logo

Adds someone named "paniemilia":

‘Doesn’t necessarily help if you have an anxiety disorder.

"If anything you just feel like you’re out of God’s favor if you can’t just happily stop the anxiety by remembering a few comforting passages from the Bible."

The Hollywood Gossip Logo

The commenter continued:

"I say this with respect to you both."

"[I] hope that other sufferers of GAD, PTSD, panic disorder, etc know that they’re not bad, ungodly people if they can’t stop those awful feelings."

Photo via Instagram

Jinger, to her credit, believes the sciences behind preventing the coronavirus and has often been seen these days in a mask.

That’s terrific and we applaud her for it.

But we really need her to also believe the science behind mental illness and to not tell millions of people to pray it away.

Okay, Jinger? Sooner the better, please.