A family friend has been out on his mission about 4 months... - Page 4 - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

NorCal Cat · 03-12-2008, 08:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Archaea

Mental illness is serious, but it appears depression is thrown around loosely to excuse any time somebody feels badly for himself. As malapert stated, many of these are simply, coddled and soft middle class kids who can't hack it.

Agree with what you say regarding they way depression is thrown around these days.

Real mental illness though, is serious. Bipolar disorder, or manic depression....this is something that does need medical attention. I have seen its effects on people first hand, and in severe cases the person acts like a completely different person. There is no way someone just snaps out of something like this simply by coming home from a mission.

"Other bipolar disorder symptoms
In addition, some people with bipolar disorder have rapid cycling bipolar disorder. This is the occurrence of four or more mood swings within 12 months. These moods shifts can occur rapidly, sometimes within just hours. In mixed state bipolar disorder, symptoms of both mania and depression occur at the same time.

Severe episodes of either mania or depression may result in psychosis, or a detachment from reality. Symptoms of psychosis may include hearing or seeing things that aren't there (hallucinations) and false but strongly held beliefs (delusions). "

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/bip...356/DSECTION=2

DrumNFeather · 03-12-2008, 11:51 AM

I think there are a few inherent problems to missions that don't really allow for depression to be correctly addressed.

1. Resources - For some reason, there hasn't been much of an investment in the overall mental health and welfare of the missionaries (my opinion). In the MTC, a missionary is likely to get one, maybe two meetings with a "counselor" (if you can call them that) and then subsequently put on medication. In reality, the medication is only half the battle when dealing with depression.

2. Time - The mission president simply does not have time to deal with missionaries dealing with depression. As such, the missionaries don't get the right amount of treatment to give themselves a shot at getting better.

3. Schedule - The missionary schedule does not allow for a missionary to properly "heal" from the health related problems that he or she can face when dealing with depression. Depression can run the gambit of health impacts from not eating to not sleeping to everything in between. Depression is not something that someone who is dealing with can just "get over."

If I were to add a fourth, it would be that there is in fact a generational problem that leads to a lack of understanding by mission presidents, parents, family members, of the true impact of depression on a young person, particularly a missionary. Some parents think that since President Hinckley's father told him to "unpack your suitcase and go to work," that that should work for their child...maybe he'll become prophet some day.

Depression is really an individual case by case basis. Are there some looking for the easy way out? Probably. But for those who actually have problems, it is a serious issue, and if you think that for one second, that Elder or Sister would rather come home because it is "easy" just to face the social pressure and judgments of other members who think they are "pussies" then you've got another thing coming. Nobody wants to face coming home to an unsupportive ward or family...and that just compounds the problem and is likely to cause more depression.

It's a vicious and very real problem.

minn_stat · 03-12-2008, 12:38 PM

I'd summarize what I'm reading here as
1) depression is real in missionaries, and
2) it is sometimes "mis-diagnosed" to cover up general whimpiness.

I agree with this sentiment. I think a whole bunch of the "new mental health diseases" (ADHD, depression, autism, sexual and gambling addiction, to name a few) are to some degree created by the mental health experts to give themselves more clients and hence more money. To a large degree, it seems that today, kids are raised with a serious disconnect with the reality that life is a struggle, and parents think it is their duty to protect their kids from any misfortune or hard edges. P.J. O'Rourke refers to this as the "whiffle life" in his book "Parliament of Whores". (Which is very entertaining political satire, BTW). And these parents love their kids, so don't EVER accuse them of not being good parents. Their kid has <name your disease>, that is the problem.

This does not, however, invalidate that there really is something wrong in some, maybe even a majority, of these cases. And since I rarely have enough information to make an informed judgment of a particular case, I tend to assume that the above applies sometimes in a general sense, but in individual cases, I try to assume <name your disease> is real.

BYU71 · 03-12-2008, 07:28 PM

If they were living all the mission rules and were praying sincerely, they would have no problems with depression. If you do what the leaders tell you, all will be well.

MikeWaters · 03-12-2008, 07:29 PM

I am gratified to learn that the stigma of mentall illness is now less than the stigma of coming home early.

That's progress for acceptance of mental illness.

RC Vikings · 03-12-2008, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BYU71

If they were living all the mission rules and were praying sincerely, they would have no problems with depression. If you do what the leaders tell you, all will be well.

Can you be single and still be a mission president? You make it so simple to understand that I think you would do a great job.

il Padrino Ute · 03-12-2008, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RC Vikings

Can you be single and still be a mission president? You make it so simple to understand that I think you would do a great job.

No. Who would use the Spirit to tell the Elders to keep their apartments clean?

BYU71 · 03-12-2008, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RC Vikings

Can you be single and still be a mission president? You make it so simple to understand that I think you would do a great job.

The very foundation and structure of the church would fall apart if the idea was floated around that older single men are people that can be looked up to.

MikeWaters · 03-12-2008, 08:02 PM

They don't allow people who say they will give a person a hot dog and then don't do so, to be mission presidents.

Indy Coug · 03-12-2008, 08:03 PM

They don't let single men be MPs for the simple reason that the church strongly believes there should be as many reasons as possible for its membership to piss and moan about something.

03-12-2008, 11:51 AM	#32
DrumNFeather Active LDS Ute Fan Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Nantucket : ) Posts: 2,566	I think there are a few inherent problems to missions that don't really allow for depression to be correctly addressed. 1. Resources - For some reason, there hasn't been much of an investment in the overall mental health and welfare of the missionaries (my opinion). In the MTC, a missionary is likely to get one, maybe two meetings with a "counselor" (if you can call them that) and then subsequently put on medication. In reality, the medication is only half the battle when dealing with depression. 2. Time - The mission president simply does not have time to deal with missionaries dealing with depression. As such, the missionaries don't get the right amount of treatment to give themselves a shot at getting better. 3. Schedule - The missionary schedule does not allow for a missionary to properly "heal" from the health related problems that he or she can face when dealing with depression. Depression can run the gambit of health impacts from not eating to not sleeping to everything in between. Depression is not something that someone who is dealing with can just "get over." If I were to add a fourth, it would be that there is in fact a generational problem that leads to a lack of understanding by mission presidents, parents, family members, of the true impact of depression on a young person, particularly a missionary. Some parents think that since President Hinckley's father told him to "unpack your suitcase and go to work," that that should work for their child...maybe he'll become prophet some day. Depression is really an individual case by case basis. Are there some looking for the easy way out? Probably. But for those who actually have problems, it is a serious issue, and if you think that for one second, that Elder or Sister would rather come home because it is "easy" just to face the social pressure and judgments of other members who think they are "pussies" then you've got another thing coming. Nobody wants to face coming home to an unsupportive ward or family...and that just compounds the problem and is likely to cause more depression. It's a vicious and very real problem.

03-12-2008, 12:38 PM	#33
minn_stat Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Minnesota Posts: 283	I'd summarize what I'm reading here as 1) depression is real in missionaries, and 2) it is sometimes "mis-diagnosed" to cover up general whimpiness. I agree with this sentiment. I think a whole bunch of the "new mental health diseases" (ADHD, depression, autism, sexual and gambling addiction, to name a few) are to some degree created by the mental health experts to give themselves more clients and hence more money. To a large degree, it seems that today, kids are raised with a serious disconnect with the reality that life is a struggle, and parents think it is their duty to protect their kids from any misfortune or hard edges. P.J. O'Rourke refers to this as the "whiffle life" in his book "Parliament of Whores". (Which is very entertaining political satire, BTW). And these parents love their kids, so don't EVER accuse them of not being good parents. Their kid has <name your disease>, that is the problem. This does not, however, invalidate that there really is something wrong in some, maybe even a majority, of these cases. And since I rarely have enough information to make an informed judgment of a particular case, I tend to assume that the above applies sometimes in a general sense, but in individual cases, I try to assume <name your disease> is real.

03-12-2008, 07:28 PM	#34
BYU71 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 5,084	If they were living all the mission rules and were praying sincerely, they would have no problems with depression. If you do what the leaders tell you, all will be well.

03-12-2008, 07:29 PM	#35
MikeWaters Demiurge Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 36,365	I am gratified to learn that the stigma of mentall illness is now less than the stigma of coming home early. That's progress for acceptance of mental illness.

03-12-2008, 08:02 PM	#39
MikeWaters Demiurge Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 36,365	They don't allow people who say they will give a person a hot dog and then don't do so, to be mission presidents.

03-12-2008, 08:03 PM	#40
Indy Coug Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Between Iraq and a hard place Posts: 7,569	They don't let single men be MPs for the simple reason that the church strongly believes there should be as many reasons as possible for its membership to piss and moan about something.