new church life: march/april 2017
• Post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD): This is a condition that can
develop following a traumatic and/or
terrifying event.
There are other diseases or
conditions, including various sleep-
related problems and many forms
of dementia, including Alzheimer’s
disease. Alzheimer’s and certain forms
of dementia are sometimes classified as
mental illnesses, because they involve
the brain.
At the Centers for Disease Control
they say about 25% of Americans have
some form of mental illness. Also it is
estimated that 20% of teens and adolescents meet the diagnostic criteria for
mental health disorder.
So teens are struggling with this. Those with symptoms of mental illness
are often afraid to speak out about it for fear of being judged by their peers or
by their parents. If you are a parent of a teenager who you believe is affected by
mental illness the most important thing you can do is to encourage your child
to talk to you about the problem. Many teens attempt suicide as a means of
escaping those symptoms that they don’t know how to deal with. Suicide is the
third leading cause of death for adolescents in the United States.
No matter who you are everyone needs to feel there is someone they can
talk to. If we keep the issues bottled up inside it will only make the symptoms
of the mental illness worse. I think about this from a spiritual perspective. Hell
thrives under a cloak of darkness. When we are unwilling to bring what we are
struggling with into the light, that’s a victory for them.
You don’t want to talk about it? That’s a victory for them. We are too
embarrassed to talk about it? That’s
a victory for them. Can you imagine
someone in such a state of pain and
despair that this – suicide – seems like
the solution? Seems like that’s a better
choice – a better choice than even
trying to get help for it. It feels worse
for them to actually talk to somebody
because it’s too embarrassing. So
ending their life seems like a better
solution than sharing what they are
If you are a parent of
a teenager who you
believe is affected by
mental illness the most
important thing you
can do is to encourage
your child to talk to you
about the problem.
You don’t want to
talk about it? That’s a
victory for them. We
are too embarrassed
to talk about it? That’s
a victory for them.
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