"My mental health struggles are punishment for past sins or secret failures."
How it sounds in your head: I know what I've done. The porn, the drinking, the lies, the way I treated that girl - this is karma catching up. God is making me pay for what I did. I deserve this.
"But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed."
-- Isaiah 53:5Old Covenant punishment mindset applied to New Covenant believers, creating false cause-and-effect between sin and suffering.
The timeline seems to match - struggles started after certain sins. The guilt is so heavy that punishment feels deserved, even righteous. Suffering feels like appropriate payment for secret shame.
Jesus told the woman she'd had five husbands and was living with a man not her husband - fully exposing her sexual sin. Then He offered her living water and called her to worship, not punishment. No condemnation, no waiting period, instant access to abundant life.
Jesus offered the woman at the well living water while she was STILL in sexual sin, not after she cleaned up her relationships. The Father offers you healing NOW, in your failure, not after you've served your sentence.