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Report Card - February 2005 - Mental Illness |
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The Problem “In the United States there are slightly more than 30,000 suicides annually (83 suicides per day; or 1 suicide every 17 minutes), with 12 of every 100,000 Americans killing themselves.” (American Association of Suicidology, website 2003) If we assume the LDS Church’s 12 million members kill themselves at the same rate as the general population in the U.S., then every year 1,440 members of the Church kill themselves! This is equivalent to over 3 complete wards (of 400 members each) committing suicide each year! Research has taught us that the most common factor associated with suicide is mental illness. Although there are no official statistics on attempted suicide, it is generally estimated that there are at least 8-20 attempts for each death by suicide. (American Association of Suicidology, website 2003). Given that the worth of a single soul is “great” in the sight of God, we should take time to ponder the impact mental illness has on each of us. One of the problems in dealing with mental illness is discerning the difference between normal negative emotion such as feelings caused by sin and tragic life events and the negative emotion related to the chemical imbalances of mental illness such as symptoms of schizophrenia and bipolar. Thousands of LDS families have a dire need for help and hope on this important topic. Alexander Morrison Emeritus General Authority Alexander Morrison has created awareness about LDS families and mental illness in his book |
Valley of Sorrow: A layman’s Guide to Understanding Mental Illness. His book first published in 2003, created enormous interest and has assisted in educating thousands of members of the LDS Church about mental illness. In his book and lectures Elder Morrison addresses myths and misconceptions about the causation, course, and treatment of mental illness unfortunately found among Latter-Day Saints. He speaks to such harmful and destructive attitudes like: All mental illness is caused by sin; Someone is to blame for mental illness; and All that people with mental illness need is a Priesthood Blessing. He recently spoke at the BYU conference 2004 Families Under Fire. A copy of his talk can be located on the Foundation website.
And I Will Make Thee Whole This book has been in the making for over five years. It overviews common mental health concerns and provides illustrations from the lives of such people as Donny Osmond, President Harold B. Lee and many others who have experienced mental health concerns. Several chapters are written by mental health professionals to explain mental illness to the layperson. |
And I Will Make Thee Whole: Helping Families with Mental Health Concerns is edited by Rex D. Pinegar and Dr. Rick H. and is published by the Mental Health Resource Foundation. It will be available next month at local bookstores and at our bookstore: www.mentalhealthbookstore.info Foundation Website The Foundation website has resources on various mental illness related topics tailored for LDS as well as members of other religions. Literally thousands of resources can be located on depression, bipolar, schizophrenia, anxiety and other types of mental illness on the Foundation website. Excellent books from other faiths like Why Do Christians Shoot Their Wounded? By Dwight L. Carlson and In the Shadow of Our Steeples by Stewart D. Govig provide education for faith communities about how Christians can help those with mental illness. In addition, to the dozens of Ensign articles some of the favorite mental health educational materials are provided by LDS Family Services Professional Development Program. LDS Family Services has provided resource booklets like: Clinical Application of the Scriptures and Suggested reading in LDS values and human behavior. Foundation Donations We would like to express thanks to Junior E. & Blanche B. Rich Foundation & The United Way who became a member of the Millennial Club by contributing to the Foundation in December 2004. |
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