Well does the scripture say that in the last days the hearts of men would fail them.
But what do we do about it? What do we do in the face of such depression, and even suicidality?
Many have already tried the mainstream advice: anti-depressant drugs, professional counselors, and various me-first-philosophies about letting your child do what they want so you don’t offend them and push them toward scarry actions.
If you’d like some other ideas which may be more helpful, take a look at these principles and applications.
The Root Problem: Satanic/Worldly Influences:
Whenever a person feels like life is of no use, or of using suicide, it is the Devil communicating that message. So the solution is typically to decrease and eliminate the influence of the devil.
Mainstream mental health treatment is severely limited as they refuse to even recognize the reality of Satanic influences. A typical psychologist today will council a person to do things their way rather than changing to Christ’s way. “What works for you?” is their go to question. This can help on some level, but in reality is entirely insufficient for real change. The youth doesn’t know what’s best for them! You can’t leave them to figure this out on their own!
What’s the solution? Eliminate evil influences which destroy mental health, and increase holy influences which mentally uplift.
The Basic Principle: Make Your Home A Standard of Truth:
The key is this: make your home a sanctuary of faith and protection. If your children reject that, they may do so, but have strict standards in your home which will not be crossed. Show by example where you stand. The prodigal son returned home knowing full well the laws and expectations of his home. His return home meant that he was willing to accept those rules in order to benefit from what the home had to offer. Let your home be the standard. Sometimes a child may need time on their own, being a prodigal, before they will recognize the goodness that was offered in their home. By keeping it clear about what is good and ok vs what is not, we will be doing our children the greatest service, much more so than if we were to allow bad things to take place in the home. In the short term this can be hard, but you know the band aids aren’t working.
Here are some practical ideas:
-TEACH CREATION: Teach truths such as the true creation against evolution. People need to know they are made by God with a purpose are literally his direct offspring, and they have a divine eternal destiny which involves them becoming family leaders like God.
-INCREASED WORSHIP: Get closer to God by increasing the holiness of the home with more hymns, more religious media, more time talking about doctrine and doing holy things. Make the gospel a subject of interest, not just an end of the day checkoff. Demonstrate how the gospel influences all social issues and teach against ideas which contradict gospel truths (such as homosexuality and socialism, to name a few).
-LIMIT SOCIAL MEDIA & INTERNET: Limit youth exposure to media, internet, social media, electronics. It is generally wise to not give youth cell phones, or any other private access to electronics. Some parents deem it appropriate to increase access to these things, but for the mentally unstable child, these influences are particularly potent and to be avoided. They have demonstrated poor boundaries and susceptibility to be attracted to false philosophies (which are often cunningly crafted as good, and this child likely struggles to discern between these things). These false philosophies they encounter during this media use allows evil spirits to whisper to them things which bring them down! Who can endure this constant negative false whispering? No one can!
-LIMIT & DIRECT FRENDS: Limit youth self-selection in friends and time with those friends. Siblings should be the primary friend group. After that, one’s church group should be used for friends. Homeschooling is also often helpful in finding good friends for your kids as so many diverse personalities are encountered there, and the child is off for 8+ hours a day without parental supervision regarding these choices.
-HOMESCHOOL: for better education, to shield against evil influences, and to strengthen family ties, passing on the family values and culture which they no longer have access to in the public sector. Even if there are some good teachers in public school, which there most certainly are, the peers they will encounter will offer all manner of weakness, rebellion, and cunning philosophy to turn your children against you and your family culture of excellence and righteousness.
-USEFUL MOVIES: Only show movies which teach important life lessons, particularly realistic movies, not overly fantastical, and movies which demonstrate healthy families and relationships. Eliminate all television and movies which show any hints of rebellion, etc. Beware, the adversary is cunning, you must take every precaution. Typically, it is best to completely eliminate television programs and only show specific pre-approved movies.
-WHOLESOME MUSIC: Popular music today is completely inappropriate as it encourages rebellion to family and Christian wholesome culture in general. Elimiate pop rock and rap music. Do not allow these in the home! Inspect any devices to ensure this standard is met. If it isn’t met, eliminate the devices. Music is one of the most powerful tools of the adversary, one of the easiest ways to make good look evil, and evil look good.
-HEALTHY DIET: God has revealed that we must limit or eliminate meats, and increase the use of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and healthy herbs. Clearly processed and junk foods contribute to poor health all around. The impact between mental health and nutrition is stunning and should not be ignored.
-AVOID DRUGS: Psychotropics often do more harm than good. Seriously consider getting your kids off of them, and research the possibilities in this regard. Many have safely come off of these drugs and learned stability and gained increased health. Many say “oh, they are overused, but they do help some”. I suggest we need to rethink this philosophy seriously, as the ‘chemical imbalance’ theory is not substantiated in the scientific literature. If we want to keep playing Russian-Roulette and trusting money driven corporations, let’s keep trying with these drugs. Otherwise, lets be wise and completely eliminate them.
If someone were to chose to continue using mental health drugs or subscribing them for their children, I would insist that they be well informed on the dangers of these things, aware that when doses are changed extreme behaviors are likely to occur, and that they have tried the plethora of other possible solutions to their problem first.
