us who was suffering we would get help. Yet often those who are suffering with
mental illness and those who are around them suffer in silence. So I hope we
can help to bring this issue into the open and help with the healing process.
Think about the 12-step program. Alcoholism in this country was a hugely
taboo subject many years ago. Not that long ago, really. But now it’s something
we recognize. We don’t shame people about it. We don’t blame them about it.
It’s been brought into the light. We can talk about it. “Oh, you go to a 12-step
group? So do I.” “I go for drug addiction.” Or, “I go for sex addiction” or “for
drinking” or whatever it is.
We recognize that people suffer from addictions and that’s something
we accept. In any case people need our support and understanding and our
compassion and our encouragement – the encouragement to seek help. For
the battle they are fighting is very real. It is overwhelming. And hell is real and
wants to destroy us. They are not nice. They won’t stop. I could bring all kinds
of passages to bear about that but let me just say they want to destroy us and if
they can find a way to do it they will.
Let’s bring this topic into the light and remove it from the place of shame
and blame, and recognize that people from all walks of life suffer from various
forms of mental illness. And let’s recognize that we can do much more than we
are doing to support one another.
One of the things I want to do today is just give voice to some of the
types of mental illness that are talked about. Because there are many different
conditions that are recognized as mental illness and some of the more common
types are these:
• Anxiety disorders: These include generalized anxiety disorder, panic
disorder, social anxiety disorder, and specific phobias.
• Mood disorders: The most common mood disorders
are depression, bipolar disorder and cyclothymic disorder. Psychotic
disorders: Schizophrenia is an example of a psychotic disorder.
• Eating disorders: Anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge-eating
disorder are the most common forms.
• Impulse control and addiction disorders: Pyromania (starting fires),
kleptomania (stealing), and compulsive gambling are examples of
impulse control disorders. Alcohol and drugs are often the common
objects of addictions.
• Personality disorders: Examples include antisocial personality disorder,
obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, and paranoid personality
disorder.
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): An example is a person with an
unreasonable fear of germs who constantly washes his or her hands.
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