The Lasting Impact of Mission Trauma: Understanding Post-Mission Mental Health
For many former LDS missionaries, the effects of mission-related stress and trauma don't end when they return home. Madelin Pepper's 2025 mixed methods research study offers valuable insights into how mission experiences continue to shape mental health long after service concludes.
The Silent Struggle
Pepper's research reveals a troubling pattern: 24 out of 39 survey respondents reported that mission-related stress negatively impacted their mental health while serving. More concerning, when asked if this stress continues to affect their mental health today, 24 respondents agreed that it does. This suggests that mission-related trauma often persists well beyond the mission itself.
As one research participant shared: "I struggled so much with toxic positivity. As a member of the church, I was always taught to 'choose happy.' I was struggling so much after my mission and I was just trying to be happy about my mission… but I wasn't."
From Stress to Mental Health Challenges
The research identifies several pathways through which mission experiences contribute to longer-term mental health difficulties:
Unprocessed Trauma: Many missionaries experience what Pepper describes as "small t trauma that kept compacting." These experiences may not register as significant traumatic events at the time but accumulate to create lasting psychological distress.
Perfectionism That Persists: The culture of perfectionism and obedience instilled during missions often continues long after returning home. Of Pepper's survey respondents, 29 out of 39 reported struggling with perfectionism, with 25 indicating this negatively impacted their mental health.
Delayed Recognition: Some participants only recognized the impact of their mission experiences years later. As one participant noted: "I didn't realize that I was experiencing or feeding/entertaining suicidal ideation... I actually had an attempt a year or so after my mission."
Common Post-Mission Mental Health Challenges
Pepper's research identified several mental health conditions that former missionaries frequently developed or saw exacerbated following their service:
Anxiety disorders
Depression
OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder)
PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)
Suicidal ideation
Self-harm behaviors
Disordered eating
Four of Pepper's twelve interview participants reported continuing to struggle with their mental health for months or years after their mission concluded. More alarmingly, three experienced suicidal ideation, and two attempted suicide after returning home.
Barriers to Healing
Several factors make post-mission healing particularly challenging:
Lack of Preparation: Many missionaries report not being adequately prepared for the stressors they would face. In Pepper's study, 21 out of 39 survey respondents indicated they did not have a general sense of how stressful their mission would be.
Limited Support Systems: The research found that 41% of respondents who didn't attend therapy during their mission never sought therapy to address mission-related mental health issues after returning either.
Cultural Expectations: Many participants described pressure to portray their mission positively, regardless of their actual experience. This cultural expectation can prevent honest processing of difficult experiences.
One participant described how this pressure affected her: "I made the really hard choice to leave the church. All of my previous companions and other missionaries that I served with, essentially told on me to my mission president... I felt so depleted and I kept having the thought that I wanted to kill myself."
Paths to Healing
While Pepper's research highlights significant challenges, it also points to potential paths forward:
Psychoeducation: All twelve interview participants expressed that increased access to mental health education would have significantly helped them manage stress during and after their missions.
Therapeutic Support: Former missionaries who found appropriate therapeutic support reported better outcomes in processing their experiences.
Systemic Changes: Pepper recommends that the LDS Church adopt more standardized approaches to mental health care, including pre-mission assessments, monthly check-ins during service, and follow-up care after returning home.
Moving Forward
Understanding the lasting impact of mission trauma is crucial for both individuals and institutions. For former missionaries struggling with mental health challenges, recognizing the connection between these difficulties and mission experiences can be an important step toward healing.
As Pepper's research suggests, addressing these challenges requires both individual support and broader institutional changes to better prepare and care for missionaries before, during, and after their service.
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