I appreciate those who are responding to my last post with their own honest questions about, or experience with, mental health issues.
Before continuing with the second of three parts on this subject, I want to give you some of the backstory to my own interest.
In a December, 06 article I wrote,
“Soon after our marriage, my wife and I were faced with the needs of a family member whose inner world was deeply troubled.
Sometimes this loved one heard voices no one else could hear. Sometimes there were fears that the government was spying on her through her television set. Sometimes she accused us of trying to kill her.
For a while she lived in our home. On other occasions she was able to care for herself in government-subsidized housing. More than once she ran away in an attempt to avoid a world that frightened her.
With the help of local mental health services, we did everything we knew how to do. Through it all, we loved and laughed and prayed. Sometimes she went to church with us. One Sunday evening, she expressed a desire to accept Christ as her Savior. For a while, her state of mind improved. But within a few months the voices and hallucinations returned.
Over time, we developed a deep appreciation for the doctors, mental health community, and social workers who helped us. On occasion, we needed the help of law enforcement officers and judges to help us obtain involuntary admission to a mental health facility, or we needed the oversight of a financial conservator. Her troubled life ended in a state hospital.
In the middle of our experience, we became aware of other church and neighborhood families who were also dealing with similar heartbreak. They too were praying for spiritual help, while reading mental health literature for medical answers.
If you are interested in the rest of that article, you can find it at:
BTA December, 06 http://www.rbc.org/bible-study/been-thinking-about/2006/12/01/column.aspx
(+3 rating, 3 votes)
Loading...