“If ye are prepared ye shall not fear” (D&C 38:30)
In our
Personal Touch with Rebecca Cressman segment, she interviews M. Kirk Dougher, who is a clinical professor of counseling psychology and the director of the Counseling and Career Center at Brigham Young University. He helps clients change their behavior specializing in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy which guides people to better understand how addictive, anxious, depressive, or stressful thoughts influence our actions and how our thoughts, images, emotions, and memories can be perceived as what they are, not what they appear to be. Dr. Dougher has appeared on many episodes of BYU TV’s Living Essentials program educating the audience on the principles of mindfulness, self-awareness, and committed change to develop healthy thinking and behavior. Kirk Dougher and his family live in Utah County.
At ‘Mormon Doc’, Kevin Gardner, MD, has written for us his article “Depression and the Gospel.” In it, he first gives us clues on how to identify depression, then goes on to tell us the different kinds of depression there are, and how it can be treated. It’s an in-depth article, but it doesn’t drag and it gives hope, which is so important with this subject. Do you suffer from depression, or know someone who does? Is it hard to see them suffer while they go through life, trying to deal with it? If you do, give hope, offer prayer, and just love them.
One type of depression is what’s called Post Partum Depression (PPD), and it has given plenty of incentive for talks, and a lot of women from celebrities to regular folk have taken sides about it. There’s an article at ‘Segullah.com’ that was written by Laura Hilton Craner, it’s called “That Girl.” Ms. Craner talks about how she looks like the one that sits behind you in church. She says: “You know, the one with three kids who usually wears a jean skirt and button-down shirt that sits behind you in Relief Society. I also take a little white pill every morning to keep the crazies at bay.” She goes on to mention that a few months after she got married, she and her husband decided to get pregnant. She tells us that she spent a lot of time in bed during her pregnancy, and goes on to tell with detail how she felt after she had her baby. You have to read her account; it’s heartbreaking to know that she’s not alone going through this illness. It’s comforting to know that we have not only the know-how, but also the technology to make the medications needed to balance this illness.
From an address delivered at Brigham Young University in 1982, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland gave this talk “For Times of Trouble.” He is telling us about one thing that Satan uses, in Elder Holland’s own words: “I wish to discuss it because I know of nothing Satan uses so cunningly or cleverly in his work. I refer to doubt—especially self-doubt or discouragement, and of despair.” He teaches us how to defeat despair, saying: “The scriptures teach that preparation—prevention—is perhaps the major weapon in your arsenal against discouragement and defeat.” And let’s not forget that we also need courage to keep going. Read his talk, is very encouraging and full of hope.
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