There are many different kinds of mental and emotional
sufferings, but I am only covering the most common for now. As anxiety and
panic attacks are most commonly associated with depression, much of what I
write will apply to these distressing conditions, also. These cover
generalities.
Taken from LifeWayResearch (2014)
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
DEPRESSION
- Illness most familiar to all of
the experts
- Depression was mentioned the most
often as being directly impacted by situations, personal care, friendships, and
spiritual life
BIPOLAR
- Experts placed a much higher
emphasis on the need for medication with patients who are bipolar than those
with depression
- Bipolar frequently causes a great
deal of strain on the patient’s closest relationships
- Advances in medicine provide a
hopeful outlook with a bipolar diagnosis
- Those dealing with bipolar face
challenges in areas that are their best avenues for making progress:
- Inconsistency
- Difficulty getting plugged into
groups
- Trouble making relational
connections
- Difficulty feeling connected to God
and others
- Actions can have strong impact on
community of faith
SCHIZOPHRENIA
- Is a brain disease
- Seen in all faiths, religions
- Found in all socio-economic strata
- 1% of population (all over the
world)
- Cuts across people groups
- Shows no preferential selection or
de-selection
- Has 3 categories of symptoms
- Positive (adds something to the
person’s personality)
- Negative (takes something away from
the person’s personality)
- Cognitive (lower functioning than
general population)
ON SHAME AND STIGMA
- People with mental illness or their families deal with a
large amount of shame and social stigma around the illnesses
- People assume the person has
“done” something to cause it
- Honest conversations that bring clarity to the topic are
needed
- Conversations about mental illness need to change in
frequency and in tone. Mental Health Experts on the Family
- Parents of children with mental illness deal with a substantial
amount of denial and grief
- Questions about suffering are common
- To move forward, parents have to learn to dream new dreams
for their child and their families
- Key tools for families
- Establish realistic time frames
- Understand illness isn’t going to
just “disappear”
- Let go of others’ expectations
- Make room in their lives to deal
with the illness
- Establish boundaries that lead to
success
- Understand that it’s not about
them Mental Health Experts on the Church &
- Community
- People with mental illness often
turn to the church first for help
- Church has an opportunity to be a
place of healing
- Pastors’ reactions to people
struggling with mental illness are varied
- Pastors need to understand their
own limitations
- Walking with the mentally ill can
benefit the congregation, not just the individual
- Prepare for the cyclical nature of
it and potential relapses
- Pastors are most likely to change their view on mental illness once they
are personally impacted by it
If you have been diagnosed with or are suffering from any of these potentially debilitating disorders, and you are "sick and tired of being sick and tired," please contact