Five ways to get treatment for depression and/or mental illness. Part 2

 1. You should never give up on your self or a loved one. Good treatment may be hard to find,  If your psychiatrist or doctor gives up on you, or you loved one, fire him/her. Do the same with therapists, who do not help you . They may discourage you  telling you that you should stay away fromantidepressants and mood stabilizers.. If you need a referral, ask me.

2. You need to address your depression, bipolar, or even schizophrenia because mental illness is a neuro-degenerative disease.  Many people don't realize this,  and some say it is not so. It is easy for friends and family to  discourage you from getting psychiatric help.. There needs to be a sense of urgency on your part, your caregivers, and your doctors. to find out why treatment is not working. 

3. You must not let others "blame the victim" and try to discourage you from getting good treatment. There are still  are  certain counseling theories which blame mental illness on the victim.  Many will not dare come out against using antidepressants or anti-psychotics but their clients are made to believe there is something else deep within them that is wrong. This has  Sigmund Freud written all over it. I knew one Christian psychiatric hospital which actually used"truth serum" on a a patient to get to the "real problem."





4. This generation is faced with the important task of destroying the stigma that  people who have mental illness and their families face. One of the most used phrases in the media is the term,
"lunes," which  stands for lunatics.  It is not user friendly to call them out but we must do so.  Many churches don't even recognize that  mental illness is something to be talked about.  Millennials are much more open about having a mental illness and getting the right treatment than baby-boomers.






5. Pastors and Missionaries do should not lose their jobs,  because they have bipolar disorder or depression or panic disorder. If they are not getting treatment for their disorder,  is likely that the symptoms will become more intense.

 Mission Agencies continue to remove missionaries from the field, some at the first hint of problem with the brain.I have written a book which should be a great help to pastors on the subject. The editors are now working on it. It is coming out in the summer of 2018!

I close with this thought.  I have been a counselor for many years. I counsel people with marriage problems, people who are depressed, sorting out what is spiritual depression, and what is  and is not biological depression.

I have been a children's therapist, a clinical case manager and a pastor.  and I have worked with State Penitentiaries in helping identify those who have a mental illness and to help them reintegrate into society. I aslo have used a modified DBT to counsel those with borderline personality disorder.  Heartfelt Counseling Ministries offers therapy on a sliding scale. We counsel using the telephone, Skype and other media  that facilitates good contacts..  Please go to our website:
 http://heartfeltmin.org/what-we-do.html