Participants: Jennifer Jill Schwirzer Robert Davidson (Host), Christina Cecotto, Paul Coneff, Shelly, Wiggins
Series Code: MOC
Program Code: MOC000008A
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00:28 Welcome to A Multitude of Counselors.
00:32 My name is Jennifer Jill Schwirzer 00:34 and I am so thankful that you chose 00:36 to tune in today to our program. 00:39 We devote this program to raising awareness 00:41 about mental health and we also like 00:44 to provide viable practical solutions 00:46 as well as deeply spiritual answers 00:48 for some of life's most difficult questions, 00:50 those that pertain to emotional 00:53 and behavioral and psychological issues. 00:55 So today, I'm going to first introduce 00:58 my treatment team. 01:00 I wanna welcome each one of you, 01:01 joining us today for this show. 01:03 First of all, we have Paul Coneff. 01:05 He's from Texas. 01:06 Paul is a marriage and family therapist. 01:09 He has a ministry, he operates a ministry called, 01:13 "Straight to the Heart." 01:15 It's a prayer and discipleship ministry 01:17 and he likes to take a special method 01:19 that he's developed, that leads people to the Cross 01:22 and he likes to take that method 01:24 and help people cope with loss, suffering, addiction, 01:27 abuse recovery and so forth. 01:29 Marvelous program, so glad to have you here, Paul. 01:31 Then there's Christina Cecotto from Georgia. 01:36 She works at Wildwood Lifestyle Center. 01:40 She is a licensed Masters in Social Work 01:43 and she likes to help people with anxiety 01:46 and disorders and phobias, 01:48 and we're so glad that you're here to offer 01:50 what you have to offer, Christina, which is so special. 01:53 And we also wanna welcome Shelley Wiggins. 01:56 My friend and colleague, she's from Michigan, 01:58 runs a ministry / counseling practice called, 02:02 "Driftwood Counseling." 02:04 And Shelley likes to work with people on issues 02:07 such as addiction, anxiety and abuse recovery, 02:11 where she uses not only traditional 02:13 counseling / talk therapy 02:15 but she uses Equine therapy with horses, 02:17 which is very unique and very special. 02:19 And you are very unique and special person 02:22 and I'm glad to have you here. 02:23 And I also wanna welcome my co-host, Rob Davidson. 02:26 Rob is from the DC area and he does counseling with me 02:31 in ABIDE Counseling Network and he has a private practice 02:34 and he likes to help all kinds of people 02:35 with all kinds of things 02:37 including coaching men in servant leadership, 02:40 biblical integrity and that kind of thing 02:45 and that's such a great need that we have today, 02:47 because the world is going crazy 02:49 and we need more men that are servant leaders 02:52 in a true sense of the word. 02:53 Today, we're going to be talking about OCD 02:55 or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. 02:59 I don't know if any of you had that experience 03:01 with obsessive compulsive disorder 03:03 but let me just give symbolic points. 03:04 First of all, let's define OCD. 03:07 OCD is a disorder characterized 03:09 by intrusive unreasonable thoughts 03:11 which provoke anxiety 03:13 and compulsions used to control the anxiety, 03:15 so let's look at the symptoms of OCD again. 03:19 Intrusive, unwanted thoughts, generally not perceived 03:22 as real or true 03:24 and those are called obsessions. 03:25 In other words, the person has these thoughts, 03:28 kind of appear in their mind and in general, 03:31 they don't perceive those thoughts as true 03:33 and they don't like those thoughts 03:34 and they don't want those thoughts 03:36 but they just seem to come in, unbended. 03:38 It's really very sad. Those are called obsessions. 03:40 And then often, not always but often the person responds 03:43 to those obsessions with repeated behaviors 03:46 engaged in for the purpose of alleviating anxiety 03:50 and those are called compulsions. 03:52 So OCD is an anxiety related disorder 03:55 involving these invasive thoughts 03:57 that raise the anxiety level 03:59 and then the person typically acts out with compulsions 04:03 that temporarily lower the anxiety level. 04:05 However, there's a principle in psychology 04:09 and that is that the more we avoid something, 04:11 the more afraid we become of that thing. 04:14 And so the compulsions are an avoidance behavior 04:17 where people are actually afraid 04:19 of the thoughts themselves 04:20 and engaging the compulsions to lower the anxiety level 04:23 about the thoughts, but the more they avoid, 04:26 the more the anxiety takes hold and so OCD compulsions 04:31 don't really work to alleviate the anxiety at long term. 04:36 So some of the common themes we see in OCD are things like 04:40 fear of contamination, constant checking or counting 04:44 and fear of harming or being harmed, 04:47 so classic presentation of OCD is hand washing, 04:52 out of fear of contamination 04:54 and sometimes people wash their hands 04:56 until they are raw and red 04:58 and it can be a very sad thing, very sad and deep. 05:01 What about the prevalence of OCD? 05:03 World wide life time prevalence rates at about 1-2%, 05:07 that's quite high actually. 05:09 And it's among the top twenty causes of disability. 05:13 What about the cause of OCD? 05:14 Of course, that concoction of genetics and environment, 05:18 raised with a certain genetic mix, 05:21 I mean, you're born with a certain genetic mix 05:23 and then you're raised in a certain environment, 05:24 sometimes those things can work together 05:26 to produce a disability but I think often OCD 05:30 is also triggered by a life event. 05:34 I would say that, the trauma or something very disturbing 05:37 can kind of trigger an episode of OCD. 05:39 The prognosis for OCD 05:42 as with all our prognosis, is what? 05:44 Good. Good. 05:45 Because Jesus heals and we wanna give you 05:47 some practical steps that will help assist 05:49 in that recovery process. 05:52 The treatments are many, lifestyle changes can help 05:56 because lifestyle changes 05:58 can may bring chemistry more healthy 06:00 and that can help a word off 06:01 or take the edge off many disorders. 06:04 Sometimes medication is necessary, 06:06 we're chatting about medication, 06:09 sometimes people just need medication. 06:11 What would you guys say? 06:12 In what cases is medication really called for? 06:16 I think in the situation of suicide ideation. 06:21 Yeah. 06:23 If people are having compulsive thoughts 06:26 that are leading to plans 06:28 that potentially could lead to actions 06:29 or they have the means, they have, you know, guns 06:32 or, you know, they've been gathering the tools, 06:35 so to speak. 06:36 It's a very dangerous life threatening situation. 06:44 Yeah, I think that's probably are... 06:45 Medications have side effects 06:48 and they don't do the whole job. 06:50 We were talking a bit ago, about the fact that 06:52 often people will just take the medication thing 06:54 and this is the magic pill and I'm gonna be fine 06:56 but what we need to do is couple that medication 06:58 with treatment, with counseling 07:01 and maybe other forms of treatment 07:03 to help balance that out 07:04 and often people will be able to get off of their medication, 07:06 a lot of these medications 07:08 really work best in the short term. 07:09 To help a person cope, so if a person is extremely, 07:12 really down for the count suicidal 07:14 or sometimes people just have brain disease 07:17 and they really can't function. 07:18 The brain is a physical organ, 07:20 just like any other organ in the body. 07:21 And there can be imbalances and deficiencies, 07:24 just in brain chemistry. 07:25 Postpartum depression. Right. 07:27 Okay. 07:28 You know, it can be another one 07:29 and if they're not getting a lot of sleep 07:31 because they're wound up 07:32 and their brains going, going, going. 07:34 They may need to medicate him for a while 07:35 before they'll often, you know, when they check them in, 07:38 if they have to put him in a psychiatric ward 07:40 or, you know, in-patient for seven to ten days, 07:42 they're gonna give him medication, 07:44 just so they can rest, 07:45 so that when they begin reasoning with him, 07:47 counseling and they can talk to a person at rationale, 07:49 'cause the brain is worn out. 07:51 Right. That's right. 07:52 You can't reason with them, not because they don't want to 07:55 but they're not able to. 07:56 When people will say, "Well, you know, 07:58 the whole medical industry's all about money 07:59 and there's all this corruption and that may be true 08:02 but God also gave wisdom to people, 08:04 to be able to come up with these ways 08:06 in which we could cope, 08:07 sometimes pass the point of suicidal ideations, 08:10 so the person lives into the future 08:11 and let's thank God for that and use it appropriately. 08:13 I don't know anybody in the counseling field 08:16 that never, never we'd consider medication, 08:19 I think most of us 08:20 have a certain amount of caution toward it 08:22 and we wanna make sure the person is a replacing, 08:24 learning good coping mechanisms with medication. 08:26 So the classic treatment for OCD is what we call, 08:30 Exposure and Response Prevention. 08:33 Exposure and response prevention 08:35 is simply having that person face this trigger, 08:39 be it germs or the iron is still on 08:41 or whatever it is and not respond 08:44 with the compulsions and often if they can learn 08:47 how to refrain from that compulsion, 08:48 they realize, "Hey, this isn't gonna do the damage to me 08:53 that I thought it would." 08:54 These racing thoughts about how afraid I am at these germs, 08:57 they don't kill me, it's uncomfortable, 09:00 I don't like it but I can get passed 09:02 and I eventually do calm down. 09:04 Right, so it's correcting the belief system once again. 09:07 That's why I have been talking about as well, yeah. 09:08 Okay. 09:10 And then also, of course, 09:11 developing the appropriate response. 09:12 How do they want to respond to, 09:14 instead of how they have been responding to it. 09:17 And now we're having a good base 09:18 of those positive coping skills before they're out. 09:21 They go out and are exposed to that challenge 09:23 so that they can overcome it and continue to. 09:26 Now, what did you say a little while ago, 09:28 there's a certain patient you had, 09:30 realize that she did not have to obey her emotions 09:33 and when she realize, 09:35 she could use reason instead of emotions. 09:37 That was sort of the turning point for her. 09:39 Right, many times, I find that, 09:41 that is a huge turning point for patients, they realize that 09:44 their emotions don't have to be, 09:47 sometimes entirely trusted and also that 09:51 they don't have to allow their emotions 09:52 to control their lives. 09:54 And so once they realize, they can actually decide 09:58 how they want to feel, 09:59 they can decide what they want to think, 10:01 that is a huge turning point for many people. 10:03 It's empowering. 10:04 Yeah, and I know for me, like getting past depression 10:07 and some of the stuff I've dealt with, 10:08 I had to realize that I was engaging 10:11 an emotional reasoning 10:12 where I thought the emotions were evidence of something 10:14 and I had to learn how to take a step back 10:16 for my emotions and say, 10:18 the emotions themselves are not evidence. 10:20 I have to look to external evidence 10:22 to know what's true. 10:23 Right, right. 10:24 Evidences are very, very huge 10:26 and with anxiety, as well depression, 10:30 many of the mental health issues. 10:31 That's great. 10:33 So what do you think is going on? 10:34 You're kind of the resident pastor, Paul, 10:36 so what do you think is going on with OCD, 10:38 on a spiritual level? 10:40 I'm sorry to spring that on you, 10:42 but you always seem to have million of those. 10:43 I'm shocked. 10:46 You know, Christina already mentioned the thoughts 10:49 because we know, "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he." 10:51 So we have these thoughts raising, 10:52 they build on each other, 10:54 they'd come up four lane and free way. 10:56 And they just take as, it's like a train, you know, 10:58 run away train but I also believe 11:00 that some of the thoughts our own 11:01 but, you know, Jesus said Satan is the father of lies. 11:03 So there can be spiritual warfare, 11:05 in the sense that we're getting hammered from the outside, 11:08 that these thoughts are coming but, I mean, 11:10 a lot of this is we're trying to protect ourselves 11:12 from facing something, right? 11:15 This is really diversionary tactic. 11:16 I'm gonna wash my hands 10 times, 20 times a day 11:21 to avoid dealing with something. 11:22 So for me, I wanna know, you know, 11:25 what is it that they would really like 11:26 for their life to be like? 11:27 I mean, what is their preferred future, 11:29 so to speak and what is keeping them from that? 11:31 Because if they can learn to face what they're afraid of, 11:34 like you were saying and deal with those thoughts 11:38 and feelings, you know, 11:39 it can be a big difference in your life. 11:42 For example, you know, 11:44 if we're gonna talk about helping them understand 11:46 that their feelings and thoughts 11:48 may not be consistent with reality, 11:50 where does that come from? 11:51 And, you know, did Satan attack Jesus to... 11:54 Bible says, He was tempted like us in every way, 11:57 suffered being tempted, 11:59 which means there were real temptations. 12:00 I mean, he's being hammered throughout his life 12:02 especially to get some recovery. 12:04 So if we can help them begin to see not only or not alone, 12:08 but they've got, Jesus is going through it, 12:10 maybe as they begin heal, 12:12 maybe God can retransform in their minds 12:15 and thoughts and they can see a bigger picture. 12:17 Do you think also there's an element 12:19 of depending on self, 12:21 apart from God to regulate emotion 12:23 and part of the battle is a person learning 12:26 how to depend on God to regulate their emotions, 12:29 in other words, OCD is an effort for me, 12:32 to make my emotions positive 12:34 all the time using these rituals and so forth. 12:36 Don't you think there's a pendency issue 12:38 there and you have to kind of accept negative emotion 12:41 and then give it over to God 12:43 and let Him take it from that point. 12:45 I have a very good discussion 12:46 because we're trying to do something in our own strength 12:48 to solve a problem. 12:50 And like you said before, 12:51 when we're trying to solve our own problems 12:53 at our own strength, guess what? 12:54 I make it worse. Worse, exactly. 12:56 And I guess... 12:58 I've tried to do many things in my own strength 12:59 and it's never worked out. 13:01 You know, I was talking to Rob really, 13:02 I've tried to help God out more than once 13:04 and it never works. 13:05 Now look at the classical example of that, Abraham, 13:08 who thought, "Well, you know, God isn't coming through 13:09 on His promise to give me a son, 13:11 so I'll just, you know, I'll do God's will, man's way. 13:14 I'll fix this thing that God can't seem to fix." 13:17 And then he got himself in to all that trouble 13:19 and you're so right that the trend is for us 13:22 to try to solve our problems in our own human strength, 13:27 apart from God. 13:28 It's not that we shouldn't use our will, 13:30 it's that we use our will apart from God 13:31 and that's the problem. 13:33 And when we do that or really effectively living 13:35 under the Old Covenant, 13:36 all that thou said we will do 13:38 our whatever I need to do 13:39 in terms of regulating my emotions, I will do. 13:41 Yes, scripture says, 13:43 "I can do all things through Christ, 13:46 through Christ who strengthens me." 13:48 So I need to turn to Him and have Him help me navigate, 13:51 face what I need to face, 13:53 instead of trying to comfort myself, 13:55 distract myself, create that sense of safety 13:58 or security in my own strength. 14:00 And to me freedom is continued. 14:02 To the degree I'm depending on Christ, I'm free. 14:04 To the degree I'm depending on myself 14:06 and I'm developing pattern, just to have protection, 14:08 I'm moving away from freedom. 14:09 Amen. Can I just add to that, Paul? 14:13 When we're talking about moving towards our fears, 14:16 step by step, we have to be very careful 14:18 to move toward our fears with Christ, as you're saying. 14:20 Exactly. Amen. 14:22 And He's walking step by step towards this 14:23 and sometimes as we see that Footprints poster 14:27 or you'll see that one set of footprints on the sand, 14:29 it's sometimes Jesus is actually carrying us, 14:32 even closer to our fears. 14:33 But we've mentioned too before hypnosis is not good 14:36 because one of the reasons I don't like hypnosis 14:38 is it bypasses your human will. 14:40 That's right. 14:41 And then you could open the door to them 14:42 facing traumas, they're not ready to face. 14:44 So if we're walking there, like Rob said, 14:46 the point you're making is very good. 14:47 If you're walking with them and it may seem slow 14:50 from a human perspective 14:52 but if we're walking with Him, with Jesus, 14:53 it may take a little while but here is the thing, 14:55 Jesus is not going to retraumatize him 14:58 and moving faster than they can go. 14:59 That's right. 15:00 When you try and, you know, 15:02 manufacture things like hypnosis, 15:04 you'd have to get past that, to move along, 15:07 you can open the door and they can be really retraumatized 15:10 and all of the sudden, 15:11 now this pain they've been avoiding is there 15:13 and it can be totally overwhelming to them. 15:15 I think God gave us an unconscious mind 15:17 for a reason in the Garden of Eden 15:19 because we couldn't face all of our stuff, all at once. 15:22 We had to learn to abide in Christ 15:23 and trust in His righteousness 15:25 before we could face it 15:26 and that's the sanctification process. 15:28 And so these methods that unnaturally, 15:31 unleash the unconscious mind, like you said, 15:33 can traumatize people, I think of psychoactive drugs. 15:37 And when I was a teenager in high school, 15:39 everybody's doing LSD. 15:41 And I think LSD just opened the gates 15:43 of the unconscious mind 15:45 and would come flooding into people's conscious mind 15:47 and they would experience what they call "The bad trip" 15:50 and some of them never recovered from it. 15:52 That's really scary, so I think 15:54 what you're kind of zeroing in on 15:56 is the need for patience in working with people 15:59 and I think some of these methods 16:00 are born of really in-patients. 16:02 You know, again to biggy pattern 16:03 what Rob was saying, we need to honor the process 16:07 and the speed at where's the person is going 16:08 and not hurry it. 16:09 Exactly. Yeah. 16:11 It's not my job to get somebody from point A to point B, 16:13 it s my job to walk with them in that journey. 16:17 So I'm not turning the person into an agenda 16:20 where I've got a few or better as a therapist or a pastor 16:23 because I'm moving them along. 16:24 That's awesome. 16:26 What I've noticed... 16:27 Oh, go on. Sorry. 16:28 What I've noticed is that patients tend to move 16:30 quicker toward healing 16:32 when they allow God in the process 16:35 and the more attuned they are to His voice, 16:37 actually the quicker they are able to recover. 16:41 Are you very ready get into the presenting problem 16:44 or do wanna throw in a comment before he jumps in. 16:47 Oh, I'll add it later if it fits. 16:49 Okay, is that all right? Oh, absolutely. 16:50 We wanna give you a chance to shine, girl. 16:52 No, no. We're good. 16:53 All right. 16:55 All right, the presenting problem 16:56 is an African American William, 16:58 is a high school senior from upper middle class family 17:02 presenting with symptoms of what he believes is OCD. 17:05 His girlfriend broke up with him 17:07 because he was completely obsessed with body building 17:10 and had no time for her or inclination to engage 17:13 in any kind of normal relationship. 17:15 With her gone, 17:16 he doubts the value of his perfect biceps, 17:19 his perfect triceps and perfect quads. 17:21 Yet cannot seem to let himself be a normal person. 17:24 The psychiatrist prescribed an SSRI drug 17:27 and can you explain that? 17:28 SSRI drugs. 17:30 Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor drug 17:32 which allows more serotonin to remain in the synaptic gap 17:38 which basically raises the level of the mood 17:40 elevating serotonin in the brain, 17:41 so people feel better. 17:43 Go ahead. 17:44 Okay, so the psychiatrist prescribed it 17:46 but it did little good, a few weeks into counseling, 17:48 the psychiatrist prescribed Vyvanse for ADD. 17:51 And it did revolutionized William's life. 17:54 He said he could focus for the first time in years 17:56 and was starting to actually 17:58 be able to have conversations with people. 18:00 So what was going on with William? 18:02 Interesting situation... 18:04 Now this could go into another full hour discussion. 18:06 Yeah. 18:07 You know, as we look at the chemistry of the brain. 18:09 Yeah. 18:11 And sometimes people have a chemistry 18:13 that's just going so fast, 18:16 that they need a stimulant to slow it down. 18:21 Isn't that weird? It is. 18:22 Isn't that weird that ADD medication is a stimulant. 18:25 But apparently it gets people there, 18:27 more circulation going in the cerebral cortex, 18:29 the fore brain and that helps them focus. 18:33 Right. 18:34 I think the most important note on medication 18:36 whether your pro medication or against medication 18:40 is to make sure you're taking it in compliance 18:44 with how the doctor has prescribed it 18:46 and to never go off with these medications abruptly. 18:49 Yes. That's right. 18:50 I've lost a personal friend 18:52 to that when they went off drastically 18:56 and you just don't wanna play with it, 18:59 so if you're gonna go the medication route, 19:02 be committed to it and make only the changes 19:04 that you're doctor is gonna make. 19:07 And never go off abruptly 'cause, you know, 19:09 half life can kind of coast 19:12 and then all of a sudden without you knowing it, 19:13 it can drop off. 19:14 That's right. 19:16 So, you know, go into the medication issue educated. 19:19 So... 19:20 You be educated but also 19:22 none of us are prescribing physicians, 19:24 so when we encourage our client to go on medication, 19:26 we always work through a prescribing physician, 19:29 either a psychiatrist or a primary care doctor 19:33 and they understand those medications, 19:34 and we encourage the client 19:36 to comply with what the doctor is doing with them. 19:40 And we also encourage them, 19:42 if we're gonna encourage them to try alterative methods, 19:45 we encourage them to run that by their doctors will 19:48 because we can't prescribe herbs 19:50 and supplements and so forth. 19:51 But I have found with OCD, I know a couple of people 19:54 that have benefited from Inositol, 19:56 which is a B vitamin and it's, you know, it's a powder, 20:00 they put it in a liquid and they drink it 20:02 and they up the dose gradually 20:04 and it seems to take the edge off 20:05 and I've had that happen, 20:07 a three times now with people that I've been aware of. 20:10 I'm not prescribing and I'm not saying to try it, 20:12 I'm just saying to consider it and go to your doctor and ask, 20:15 if maybe this would be an appropriate thing to try. 20:18 I have another loved one who's using inositol 20:21 and St John's-wort, a combination of those things, 20:23 it seems to take the edge off and he does. 20:25 He can stay off of medication 20:27 which he wants to do if he possibly can 20:29 'cause medications do have side effects 20:30 and he doesn't notice any side-effects 20:32 from those supplements and herbs, 20:34 so, I think there's a lot of things we could try 20:36 but I don't know if you've run into this with medication, 20:39 it's different for each person, not everything works. 20:40 Absolutely. 20:42 Think I've learned a perfect science. 20:44 Seriously tried one serotonin, 20:46 it didn't work and they tried another one 20:48 and all of the sudden, he's able to focus, 20:49 concentrate and start connect with people. 20:51 Amazing. 20:53 Lifestyle changes also help with OCD and ADD, 20:57 so depending on whatever they're experiencing, 21:00 that can also help with developing self control 21:02 when it comes to thoughts. 21:04 So do you have any experience 21:06 in the Lifestyle center with ADD, OCD? 21:09 Have you treated anyone for those things? 21:11 Not so much ADD but with OCD, yes. 21:15 But one of the primary... 21:17 PA's there, 21:19 had experience treating ADD and he says lifestyle changes 21:22 is something that really works with ADD. 21:24 With OCD, 21:25 I have found those simple eight laws of health, 21:29 actually, help a lot with that. 21:31 And then I know a thing is simply surrendering, 21:34 surrendering those thoughts, 21:36 deciding I'm not going to worry about those things anymore 21:39 and allow and be able to trust in God. 21:45 Christina, could you remind us 21:46 what those eight laws are, really quickly? 21:48 Sure, yeah. 21:49 Nutrition, exercise, water, 21:53 sunshine, temperance, air, 21:57 trusting God, did I miss one? 21:58 Rest. 21:59 Rest, okay, and that one's important, right? 22:01 Can't forget that one. 22:02 'Cause sleep deprivation can send a person into psychosis. 22:04 It's just everything. 22:05 Yeah, crucial. 22:07 Everything goes wrong with sleep deprivation, 22:08 so basically you're talking about good body care 22:10 and good brain care, 'cause guess what? 22:12 The brain is part of what? The body. 22:14 So it's a physical organ, we've got to care for it 22:16 like we care for the rest of our body, 22:18 so whatever helps the body be healthier 22:20 is gonna also help the brain, that's awesome. 22:23 And sometimes just those simple things 22:24 will turn a person around. 22:26 What do you guys do with ADD apart from medication? 22:31 How do you help people with ADD 22:34 if they're not gonna go the medical route? 22:37 Any input on that? Okay. Relaxation exercises. 22:39 You know, to be poignant and focus, 22:42 that at this time everyday, 22:44 I'm going to do this specific thing, 22:47 whether it's walking, stretching, 22:49 deep breathing, you know. 22:51 Prayer. 22:52 Prayer, journaling, but something that's active, 22:56 something physically active to kind of dissipate 22:59 that adrenaline that's building up in the body. 23:02 Okay. 23:04 You know, like that analogy, 23:06 if you take the trash out everyday, 23:07 by the end of the week, it's not overflowing, 23:10 so make some room for that reserve, 23:12 create some margin in your life. 23:14 What about the... 23:16 That's really helpful. 23:17 What about the relationship between lifestyle 23:19 'cause I get the sense 23:21 that not everybody is just like born with ADD, 23:23 that has ADD, I think that it can kind of be cultivated 23:26 and a lot of it is situational 23:28 because we have so many distractions 23:30 in the environment, constant, you know, 23:32 the engagement thought like electronics and so forth. 23:34 And sometimes, you know, 23:35 kids have that from the moment they're born practically, 23:38 so people never really stretch their attention span, 23:41 they never really cultivate the ability to focus, 23:44 so what do you do in cases like that 23:45 to help people develop focus? 23:48 Sometime in nature, 23:50 go sit out in the field and journal or pray. 23:53 And that has a lot to do with self disappointment, 23:55 you know, having the person go out 23:58 and actually do that and say, "Okay, 24:00 maybe you can only do five minutes at first. 24:01 Well, let's see if you can stretch it 24:03 for a little bit longer, 24:04 " and it's kind of pushing those limits. 24:07 You know, scripture says, "Be still and know God." 24:09 And all of our electronic devices 24:11 can help us very well, 24:13 I mean, right now satellite can send this program 24:16 all over the world, there's lot of blessings 24:18 but it's also creative culture 24:20 where we're really disconnected, 24:22 where we don't know how to stop and be still. 24:24 Right. 24:26 And we're going, going, going the whole time 24:29 and then our brain gets that pattern going 24:31 and it doesn't know how to rest. 24:32 We have a practice that I do with my friends 24:35 when we go out to eat. 24:36 Everybody puts their cell phone in the middle of the table 24:38 and the person that picks up 24:40 and looks has to buy desert for everyone. 24:41 I love it. 24:42 Because, you know, what we're doing 24:44 is like constantly disengaging from one another, 24:45 instead of looking in each other's eyes 24:47 and truly communicating and bonding. 24:49 So I wonder about the relationship 24:51 between bonding and things like ADD, 24:54 if there was a viable emotional connection 24:57 in the home perhaps, 24:59 then that person would be more motivated to focus. 25:02 Just a thought but you need to recap for us, 25:04 if you don't mind? 25:05 Sure. 25:07 Let's see what we've gone over today. 25:11 We started talking about medication that may be needed, 25:14 doesn't always have to be, everybody is different. 25:17 But we've mentioned some cases where it might be needed, 25:19 we're talking about suicide, brain disease, 25:22 postpartum depression, 25:23 we're talking about coming back into balance. 25:26 Medication doesn't have to be for the rest of our lives. 25:28 But we also talked, in some cases perhaps so, 25:31 but we also talked about the need for, 25:33 if you're gonna have medication, 25:35 make sure we have some good therapy going on too, 25:37 at the same time. 25:38 It's not just all about medication. 25:41 Exposure and what was the other? 25:43 Response prevention. 25:44 Response prevention, it is the treatment of choice, yeah. 25:45 Treatment of choice. 25:47 And what that it really means 25:48 is being exposed to our fears little by little by little. 25:51 And not acting out. Yeah. 25:54 Clients can learn and decide how to respond, 25:57 emotions can be controlled. 25:59 That was an excellent point. 26:00 Good. 26:03 There can be spiritual warfare going on. 26:05 We have to be, as Christian counselors, 26:06 we have to be cognizant of, you know, 26:08 we need to get their full stories. 26:11 But that's not always the case. 26:14 We need to look at how Jesus was tempted, 26:16 we need to look at His story too, 26:17 because that will help us to feel like we're not alone. 26:20 Jesus was tempted on many points 26:22 but He did not do things in His own strength, did He? 26:25 He relied upon His father and this is an example for us. 26:28 We can't do things in our own strength. 26:30 We need to bring Christ into the picture 26:34 and do trainings through Christ. 26:36 Amen. 26:37 We need to constantly move closer to our fears, 26:40 being patient with our clients, 26:42 not trying to hurry them through their stories. 26:45 Chemistry of the brain, 26:48 sometimes that just needs to be slowed down 26:50 and medication can help, 26:51 but if medication is in the picture, 26:53 we need to be in contact with the doctors. 26:56 We need to know what's going on. 26:58 Natural remedies can also be very helpful, 27:00 we talked a little about that. 27:02 We talked about the eight laws of nature. 27:05 And surrendering our thoughts are so important, and Jenn, 27:10 I would like you to go ahead and close this out. 27:12 Thanks. 27:13 So Paul said in Romans 8: 38-39, "I am persuaded, 27:19 that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, 27:23 nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, 27:27 nor depth, nor any other creature, 27:29 shall be able to separate us from the love of God, 27:33 which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." 27:34 And in the package of that love comes healing, comes grace, 27:40 comes freedom from bondage and comes healing 27:44 for all of our diseases including our mental diseases 27:46 and I wanna encourage you to reach out after Jesus 27:49 and also find a good Christian counselor 27:51 if that's called for, in your situation. 27:53 Thank you for coming to our program. 27:55 And may God bless you abundantly. 27:57 Tune in next time to A Multitude of Counselors. |
Revised 2016-11-07