The Dance Of Mental Illness - 2066 Words

What is the dance of Mental Illness? It is not surprising that with tragic events like ongoing wars, terrorist threats, and an uncertain economy that Americans are experiencing powerful emotions. It is appropriate and healthy for most people to have feelings of anxiety, sadness, anger, and grief. Some people however are having debilitating reactions to life. This is especially true for those who live with serious mental disorders like bipolar disorder, depression, substance abuse, anxiety, and or PTSD. Some of these people are disabled and caught in the Dance of Mental Illness. This paper will make known the Dance of Mental Illness, and will show that it is treatable through a biblical approach. The mental illness dance is a person who is†¦show more content†¦Downtrodden depicts the plight of ancient Israel meaning: â€Å"crushed, oppressed, persecuted, and tyrannized.† He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak: â€Å"But those who wait on t he LORD shall renew their strength† (Isaiah 40:28-31) . Jesus is the healer! Heal means: â€Å"to make sound or whole (heal a wound), to cause (an undesirable condition) to be overcome.† Mental Illness and its solution are as old as man. What is a crisis? â€Å"†¦crisis is a perception or experience of an event or situation as an intolerable difficulty that exceeds the person’s current resources and coping mechanisms.† According to the normal crisis pattern there are four phases to a crisis. They are the impact phase, the withdrawal and confusion phase, the adjustment phase, and the reconstruction reconciliation phase. This chart is primarily used in counseling situational crisis that are sudden and unexpected. The mental illness dance is strongly associated with phase two, withdrawal and confusion. The response to life by people in crisis is full of emotions like anger, guilt, fear, anxiety, and depression. Their thinking is clouded and indistinc t. Individuals who are stuck in this phase can develop long term mental illness, causing disability and a need for medication. Many of these individuals suffer with existential crisis that are related to things such as life purpose, direction, and spirituality. Here are two case studies that depict the mental illness dance. These case