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616-447-9064 Heartbeat # 65 Mental Illness Highlight
The DSM-IV-TR defines this disorder, "Hypochondriasis," is a somatoform disorder[ and one study has shown it to affect about 3% of the visitors to primary care settings.
Hypochondriasis is often characterized by fears that minor bodily symptoms may indicate a serious illness, constant self-examination with self-diagnosis, and a preoccupation with one's body. Many individuals with hypochondriasis express doubt and disbelief in the doctors' diagnosis, and report that doctors’ reassurance about an absence of a serious medical condition is unconvincing, or un-lasting. Additionally, many hypochondriacs experience elevated blood pressure, stress and anxiety in the presence of doctors or while occupying a medical facility, a condition known as "white coat syndrome." Many hypochondriacs require constant reassurance, either from doctors, family, or friends, and the disorder can become a disabling torment for the individual with hypochondriasis, as well as his or her family and friends. Some hypochondriacal individuals completely avoid any reminder of illness, whereas others frequently visit doctors’ offices. Other hypochondriacs will never speak about their terror, convinced that their fear of having a serious illness will not be taken seriously by those in whom they confide. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypochondriasis
Quotes Worth Quoting & Bereavement.
Christ our Advocate, Intercessor and High Priest.
I John 2:2 – My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous ; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins ; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
They used to say that the Holy Spirit intercedes within us and Christ is interceding for us. The Holy Spirit is within us, building us up in Christ, teaching us and guiding us and showing us what to do and what not to do. And there the Lord Himself is making intercession for us and on our behalf, representing us always to the Father. It is a glorious and sublime conception. Is there anything that can be more comforting and more consoling than to know at this very moment, and always, the Lord of Glory is concerned about you, is watching over you and is concerned about your interests and is there representing you? We are frail and we are weak and we fall and fail, but we have an advocate with the Father. Therefore, when you begin, at the suggestion of Satan, that you cannot turn back to God and face Him, remember, beloved friend, you are not alone. I agree with you; I know the sensation but too well, the feeling that I have no right to approach God, but remember that you have an Advocate and He is there to represent you. (David Martyn Lloyd Jones, Life in Christ, Studies in I John, Volume 2 (1993) by Elisabeth Catherwood and Anne Desmond, Cambridge: Crossway Books, p.38, 39).
…We have an advocate, says John with the Father. Now that word “with” is a most important little word; “with” means face to face with. It does not mean that He now and again enters in and is allowed to represent us, but rather that He is always there. And it means that He is always, as it were, looking into the face of the Father. We have a suggestion here of the great doctrine of the Trinity, the three persons yet one substance. He is face to face with God, not having, as it were, to make an application to God to plead for us to the Father; He is always looking into the eyes of the Father. What a wonderful idea, that the One who represents us is always there in there in that absolute intimacy with God. (Ibid 39).
Pastors, practitioners and pundits.
I can honestly say that I would prefer death to an episode of severe depression. The anxiety, the deep sadness, the whole body fatigue and the inability to sleep are truly horrible. Depression makes a person feel detached from the happy world around him. The affective disorders, especially, bipolar and major depression, are episodic. You may be minding your own business and wham! You are hit with mania of all sorts or with deep depression.
This begs the question: is the awareness and delivery of services equal to the pain and suffering it warrants? Many people who have suffered cancer and depression or heart disease and depression, say depression is far worse. It seems to me if those who are involved treating the
mentally ill could experience the awfulness of it for a little while; they would reach out with great compassion and a sense of urgency to give timely, skilled treatment to them. (More)
I have seen a psychiatrist have his severely depressed patients admitted for electro/convulsive therapy and then he go on vacation, without designating another psychiatrist to take his place. I have had outpatient psychiatric office personnel stop a process which was initiated by me and deny approval for free medications from a drug company, simply by saying to the provider something to the effect of, “we don’t really handle that aspect of his care,” and not saying anything about it until I enquired about it.
Why do you think that peer support in the management of mental illness has been so popular and effective in our times? I would sum it up with one word, empathy. I think every person who applies for any job which involves being a part of the therapeutic milieu of the mentally ill should, during the interview, be grilled on their empathy toward the mentally ill. This includes pharmaceutical, office staff and the like. To be sure, it must be a skilled, guided empathy but the treatment should be done with great compassion. In regards to pastors, I have seen them laugh at the mentally ill suffering. I have heard so much of their unfeeling advice to those with depression, that I could scarcely believe it. You can also put in the identification of our Lord in such things. Many pastors have censorious attitude toward the mentally ill and it is fueled by their ignorance of biblical theology and science. http://www.biblestudytools.com/ezekiel/34.html
Persecuted Church -The Voice of the Martyrs www.persecution.org Hebrews 3:3-- Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.
From the Voice of Martyrs
An average of 171,000 Christians worldwide are martyred for their faith each year.
 Location: Iran (Islamic Republic of) Arrested: October 2010 Days Imprisoned: 265 Youcef Nadarkhani, a 34-year-old pastor from Rasht, about 750 miles northwest of Tehran, was arrested in October 2009 after he protested a government policy that required children, including his 8 and 9 year-old sons, to study the Quran in school. Youcef told school officials that the Iranian constitution allows for freedom of religious practice. As a result of his protest, secret police called him before a political tribunal and arrested him for protesting. The charges were later amended to apostasy and evangelism of Muslims. Youcef was tried on Sept. 21–22, 2010 by the 1st Court of the Revolutionary Tribunal and sentenced to death on Nov. 13 for apostasy. The pastor is imprisoned in Lakan prison, where authorities have used various methods, including medication, to convert him back to Islam. After Youcef refused to convert to Islam, his wife was arrested, put on trial without an attorney and sentenced to life in prison. She was later released after an attorney appealed her sentence. The Nadarkhanis’ children were cared for by a relative while they were both in prison. Death Sentence Upheld The Iranian Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence of Pastor Youcef. He has been in prison since October 2009, and the appeal of his death sentence was rejected by the Iranian Supreme Court on June 28, 2011. He is to be executed by hanging. If the death sentence is carried out, it will be the first court-ordered execution of a Christian in Iran in 20 years.
For more information http://www.prisoneralert.com/pprofiles/vp_prisoner_214_profile.html
Other current prayer requests for the persecuted church
http://www.persecution.com/public/pray.aspx?clickfrom=bWFpbl9tZW51
http://heartfeltcounselingministries.com/persecution.aspx
Again, I want to thank you for taking the time to read about these issues which revolve around the painful suffering of others. Our emphasis at Heartfelt Ministries is to mercifully care for others and look for ways to counsel, educate and advocate for them in their afflictions. May God bless you as you partner with us to advance His Word with loving kindness and truth.
Steve Bloem
Executive Director, Heartfelt Ministries
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