THIS WAS  INCLUDED IN PART, PER  THE 4TH/FINAL EDITION — “THE FINAL CUT” OF THIS BOOK … SEE BLOG POST DATED 3/19…

If Anyone is in the dark regarding the Significance of Anxiety and Depression issues with Our Youth these days, the Time magazine Cover story “ANXIETY, DEPRESSION AND THE AMERICAN ADOLESCENT”, dated November 7, 2016, clearly addresses all this and how matters are just getting worse. This article informs us How Urgent of a matter this is, and it just reconfirms (at least for me), Professionals are Generally Unaware on how to deal with it all.  And this goes for adults as well.

Don’t think this is only an Issue in America, needless to say, and pretty darn sure, the story hasn’t changed since November 7, 2016…

The opening larger font text in the article summarizes matters stating “The Kids are Not All Right…Experts are struggling on how to help them”.  Ironically, the name of the Individual/sufferer who is mentioned up front in the article is “Faith-Ann- Bishop”, who lives outside of Bangor, Maine.  Nowhere in the article does it identify lack of Belief/Faith or losing sight of the “Big Picture” as I call it, as being a Key factor why all this is happening. YES, I Firmly Believe, this is a Key Problem (!) as addressed in 22 pages per section 4 of my Book.

Contributing factors which are addressed in the article are consistent with information provided in section 4 of this Book.  This includes:  overuse of social media and resultant human reactions … overuse of cell phones impacting Our communication skills with all the texting going on which interestingly instills fear in People to talk to others using Our vocal chords we were born with… and when I think of People texting anger issues away :)! That is So Ridiculous and typically would just add fuel to the fire, limiting the possibilities of resolving matters. … And then, there is the Complexity of Life we have made it into (which is addressed in the article) … and as I continue to say more about that … this is complicating our Lives Unnecessarily, steering us away from things that are Most Important in Life, including the “Big Picture”.

What should be addressed, but is not, is the Fact, the Only Person who can really Help an Individual Sufferer is the Sufferer Themselves.  In case Sufferers come across Good Therapists, the Therapists can only be a Good Cheerleaders at best; they cannot do the Work for the Individuals struggling! It is then a matter of the Integrity and Completeness of the material they might offer and refer the Sufferer to Work on (?).  TRUE Self-Help Source/Material,  is what I am referring to,  which is what the game is all about for Everyone! But, as far as what was available in those facilities, and was brought to Our attention, such Material was non-existent.  Besides, I do not think that any professional could or would ever ask one about their Faith.  Such Material is what this Book is All About.

Certainly the Pills are Not The Answer which are typically handed out like candy in the professional establishments as I’ve witnessed, during my not so pleasant stays; FYI, I am talking about meds for Anxiety/Depression Only, and not for other more problematic conditions such as Bi-Polar disorder or Schizophrenia which may necessitate A&D meds.  Anyway, pretty darn sure this is still the case especially as the number of Sufferers are on the rise.   Per those  in-patient and out-patient sessions I attended, there was some education provided by the working Psychologists, with some good advice being provided every now and then.  But reading something or listening to something once really, does not do much good for Sufferers.  Unless we Do The Work Ourselves per a repetitive training process, with Appropriate material at/in hand,  this will not effectively Change the way we think, which is what a Sufferer must do for a Permanent  Fix to live a GOOD Life! And Yes, It Takes a Process to do it Right for Life!  Like a broken record, those last two sentences are what I often say in many of my tweets to Sufferers, simply because these are Key Factors necessary for Recovery or to Shed Issues Permanently.   But of course, these factors would never be brought up to patients in the professional establishments!  Why :)? Simple… Can you say ChaChing $s here? The present approach of handling matters just assures repeated appointments, and more med prescriptions being filled…

Per rather recent  figures I’ve heard,  70% of all prescriptions prescribed are for Anxiety & Depression. That Is Absolutely Appalling!!  The Only time when such meds are Necessary, granted Someone is dealing with Anxiety/Depression only, is when they have a plan to hurt themselves.  At such a time, an anti-depressant would be Necessary!  When the Sufferer does begin to respond and feel better (hopefully, granted they are dealing with a GOOD/Knowledgeable Psychiatrist), then they better start Educating the heck out of themselves Appropriately!  Then they can start weaning off the meds in “baby steps” as they Educate themselves, and practice what they are learning, feeling better and more confident.

Unfortunately, Sufferers can readily get caught up on the medication trail/path taking different and/or a combination of medications and quantities over time, which would be nothing less than a HORRIBLE experience… I always refused anything to do with that, although I did have a True Need for meds when I was in in-patient care, at an unfortunate time shortly after I tried to commit suicide. And, Yes I had to take that medication ride for awhile.   Needless to say, it would have been much better if I gave into the meds, prior to that event.  Yeah,  I Hated meds, but the way I felt is, I thought I would be doing my X now, and my Son a favor taking myself out of the picture. I felt absolutely Worthless and Useless; that is what Deep Depression can feel like for someone… Nothing Worse!  Yes,  I Certainly Know the urgency of the need for meds per the noted instance, which I do provide as a Cautionary Note in a couple places in the Book.  

For those that unfortunately succumb to the medication trail, they do go through numerous gyrations with constant mind games,  never getting into a comfort zone for long, other than for temporary/short chunks of time at best. Don’t think anyone could ever be on the medication trail on a Permanent basis and do GOOD (really) in Life; I am again talking about for those suffering with Anxiety & Depression Only.

I have come across those who were stuck on such medication trails for too long.  Unfortunately, they lost dependence on themselves in dealing with matters Appropriately & Naturally once they chose that path. Then they may lose hope on medication altogether.   So what do they do then?  They go with the last of the options, they negatively think they have… Electro Shock Therapy… This is referred to as ECT (Electroconvulsive therapy) these days… I call it a half step away from a lobotomy!   The process is such that they zap a certain part of the brain with electrical current, causing a brief seizure, with the general hope that something good will come from it, but with no guarantees… WOW!! Good God!  And just like meds, this would Only Provide Temporary relief, if it does help at all … So what do they do then? … Keep on doing that for the rest of One’s Life, or ?! 

Anyway, subsequent to reading the 11/7/16 article, I was Driven, and I provided information about my Book to over 500 school districts in America.  The Kids Are My Driving Force as it should be for those in charge of the Schools!  Why wouldn’t that be?!!  But what I am hearing & seeing though, this does not seem to be the case…

I Know this would be a Most Important Read/Education in a Lifetime for e.g. Juniors or Seniors in High School (or Young Adults for some), to allow them to understand on How To Best Deal with their early stressors, and prepare them for Life when all those Responsibilities and additional stressors kick in.

As I wrote to the School Districts, and as a Superintendent responded…

“I have been avidly pursuing what it would take to get a Most Important Book I wrote in the hands of the High School Students for some time now.  I have provided this to numerous School Districts across the Country during the 2016/17 School Year, but mainly to Public School Districts.  I was attempting to see if I could possibly get this into the High Schools directly, to e.g. Juniors and Seniors, or for those who visit their Wellness centers in case they are struggling with Anxiety and Depression, or related.  And if this cannot be brought into the School Systems for whatever reasons, at least consider providing this as an Optional resource for Students, or as an FYI to Parents of the Students.

This is a Straight Forward/Honest response I received from a Public School District Superintendent, concerning the considerations of getting this into the Schools somehow, or with considerations of that option I mentioned: “Your concern and facts about anxiety and depression are real. Also, unfortunately, so is separation of church and state. While I have not read section 4, it is likely the contents of this section on spirituality and God will cause it to be a resource school districts could not offer to our students. While I personally agree with your statements, I fully understand, from recent experience, that school districts are subject to liability when promoting God and spirituality. Please do not criticize school leaders for understanding the laws that we are governed by, whether we personally agree with them or not.  I will do my best to check out your book, and thank you for your efforts on a very important matter.”

What the Superintendent says is understandable, but…  The wheels keep on turning, and we have this ongoing trend of Increasing levels of Anxiety & Depression, Addictions, etc. going on which are at epidemic levels, and it does not appear anything Positive and Appropriate is being done to really Change matters…The definition and term “Insanity” comes up here … Doing the same thing and Expecting Different Results … Nothing is going to Change without Change!

When Ya think about it, How Sad is this, when We sum it all up! Collectively, it sure Looks like Adults in numbers, in Our Establishments, in Our School Systems and the States, have Lost Sight of Who and What Really Is Most Important Here… Our Youth, Their Livelihood and Their Well Being…  Very SAD!  Not sure how the rest of the world is handling such matters?

Talking about Our Youth, I do approach Parents often, knowing how Important this would be for the Parents as a flow down  of Education to their Children as they mature and stresses amount, in preparation for Life’s Responsibilities.  Per my generation of Parenting, and thereafter, we have generally not provided the proper Education to Our Children to prepare them before they face Life’s challenges independently… Spoiling them and not giving them reality checks along the way is certainly not Healthy for one thing! Hey, as a Parent, I was Certainly guilty of that myself! 

Yeah, we are in a world of hurt, and things Need To Change!  But, Positive Change has to start from the bottom up (from the Individual and on up), because, Positive Change does not seem like it will ever happen from the Top down (establishments & businesses and on down), where there is Greed and $s to be made…

Enough said, but Regardless of Matters, Life Is Good (!) when We Learn how to Do It and Live It Properly!  Take Care and Educate my Friends!

Ron

FYI about the Book if not familiar with:  We Need to Change the Way We Think and React to Things to Straighten Out Our Brain/Body Chemistry so we do not Suffer as Sufferers do. And, I Am So Certain,  it takes a Cognitive/Behavior Modification Repetitive training Process encompassing negative to Positive thought conditioning/reprogramming, allowing Us to Best drill down to Our individual negative thoughts, and sources of Our negativity, and deal with all that as Best as We can. … And then Coupling this with Our Faith/Our Foundation, allowing Our Faith to Grow (ref section 4 in Book), to do it Right and amend Our Issues for Life!  Can’t keep on doing the same things, as we often do, hoping things will magically Change and suffering disappear…  It Takes hard Work for Permanent Results!  But the End Result of doing this the Right Way, is So FREEING & Is Priceless!

Additional: It was Very Emotional to have witnessed where ECT was being administered to Beautiful People I had met.  At least once, I did get verbally upset about these matters, telling them or whoever was around…There Has To Be a Better Way Out Of This (!), but at the time I was lost myself…  But Fortunately, No More…  Thanks to my Angel Lucinda, and Thanks to God for All I Learned thereafter as well !!!