Mormon Bloggers

Only rarely do I devote a post to promoting another post somewhere else, but this is one of those times. There’s a new series starting at Real Intent today, Peculiar Minds. The ten-day series will focus on mental disorders and will include personal experiences, researched pieces, resources, and so on. I encourage you to go over an have a look. One in four American adults confronts mental illness; chances are the series will benefit you or someone you love.  Read More →

It is natural, in the aftermath of catastrophe, to meticulously analyze the tragedy and seek to determine how it could have been prevented, avoided, or minimized.  This reflection is healthy, and often helpful.  However, such reflection can do more harm than good when, in our zeal blot out a particularly horrific situation, we latch onto a simple answer as if it were some form of panacea.  This seems particularly true in the case of mass shootings. The spectacle of the armed nihilist engaging in the soulless slaughter of unarmed innocents inflames our sense of injustice and makes us rail against our seeming impotence in the face of determined malevolence.  Hence, it is unsurprising to see a number of explanations latched onto as definitive solutions that would prevent this tragedy from recurring.  While I do not claim to provide a comprehensive list below, I would like to address a few of the major arguments in this post, and why the simple, elegant solutions proposed do not actually... Read the rest of this entry »

The kids and I were scheduled to fly out on the 30th at 6:00am on Vietnam Airlines. The lady from Sean’s office had arranged all our travel plans and sent us the confirmation email. Initially she had us flying out on the 31st, but she had messed up and booked Jayce as a lap child instead of him having his own seat. Sean had her fix it and she told us that the flight was full on the 31st so we’d fly out on the 30th instead. I’d pretty much had everything packed the night before and so around 4:00 am I looked my last on the villa we’d called home for the last two years. We arrived at the airport at about 4:30. Unfortunately when I went to check in, the lady couldn’t find our booking. What?!! To understand a few things leading up to this event please read the previous post. She said… “Tomorrow.” I tried asking her if the three of us had seats on the flight tomorrow, trying to find out if Jayce was booked as a lap child, but she didn’t understand... Read the rest of this entry »

I feel the need to explain a few things leading up to our departure from Vietnam. There’s something about me personally that you need to know in order to understand what happened as we tried to leave the airport. I’ll tell THAT story in the next post. About 10 years ago I discovered that I had anxiety. I have Panic Disorder and an Anxiety Disorder. I may also have Post Traumatic Stress that still hasn’t been fully dealt with from the accident I had in 2004 as well. I discovered that I had anxiety when I was on my mission and I discovered it in the worst way. I started having full-on panic attacks. At night my heart would race and I couldn’t sleep because my racing heart made it feel as though there were earthquakes happening. There were many other symptoms I had that I don’t really want to go into, but needless to say it was awful. I felt like I was going crazy and that I didn’t have control over my own body. I’m sure my companions thought I was... Read the rest of this entry »

Last Sunday I taught Lesson One from the new Teachings of the Prophet manual. As I was preparing for the lesson, I determined to use parts of the overview of President Smith’s life included in the manual, since I assumed many of the high priests in our group are like me and don’t know a whole lot about President Smith. Furthermore, there’s plenty from the historical sketch that illustrates that President Smith practiced what he preached in Lesson One, namely living the gospel instead of being a member in name only. I was also aware of some research about President Smith’s life that was not included in the biographical material. During the week of my preparation, J. Stapely over at By Common Consent provided more detail in that regard by linking an outstanding article in the Journal of Mormon History (J.’s post at BCC is here; the article is here, starting on page 120). In that article, BYU Rel. Ed. Professor Mary Jane Woodger presents compelling evidence from President Smith’s... Read the rest of this entry »

Having a child with ADHD (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) can present many challenges. It requires a lot of energy and can be very exhausting. However, as parents, there are many things we can do to help our children succeed and manage the symptoms of ADHD they experience. The important thing to remember is that kids who have ADHD are often lacking executive functioning skills which include being able to plan ahead, organize, complete tasks, control impulses and self regulate. Due to the deficits within executive functioning it is important for us as parents to provide that added structure and guidance for our children and remain patient as they work to develop those skills for themselves. The following are some parenting tips for raising children with ADHD: Stay Positive: It is important that as parents we keep a positive attitude and remain calm and focused. By so doing, our children will be more able to remain calm and focused as well. It is vitally important that we keep... Read the rest of this entry »

While we live in a society that is becoming increasingly aware of mental illness and how to interact with people who struggle with mental illness, there is still a profound stigma that exists surrounding it. As a society we understand that when an individual has a problem with their physical health they take the necessary steps to help with that problem whether it is going to the pharmacy or the doctor. However, when somebody has a problem with their mental health society seems to be less understanding of the logical steps that should be taken to help… such as going to a therapist or starting a treatment plan. There is still a lot of negative stigma surrounding mental illness in our society and it is a problem that needs to be addressed. Part of the issue comes from a lack of understanding about mental illness. Individuals who struggle with mental health are still completely capable of living a quality life. They simply need the right kind of support and help. The problem is that... Read the rest of this entry »

The BBC has an  Interesting Article on how the economic crisis is leading to an emotional crisis in many men in the face of trouble providing for their families.  The report on a survey that found men are twice as likely currently to report having suicidal thoughts, half as likely to discuss their trouble with friends or family, and while experience mental health problems in roughly equal numbers with women, they go untreated far more often. This is interesting to me for several reasons.  The suffering goes on largely in silence.  Men don’t use health care in general to the extent that women do and they absolutely don’t use mental health care to the same extent.  One could look at this as evidence that women in our society are oppressed, if it suited their purpose.  You could argue that men are healthier because they are more free from the trap of poverty and childcare.  You could also be dead wrong.  This is a perfect example of how using mental health statistics to... Read the rest of this entry »

The BBC has an  Interesting Article on how the economic crisis is leading to an emotional crisis in many men in the face of trouble providing for their families.  The report on a survey that found men are twice as likely currently to report having suicidal thoughts, half as likely to discuss their trouble with friends or family, and while experience mental health problems in roughly equal numbers with women, they go untreated far more often. This is interesting to me for several reasons.  The suffering goes on largely in silence.  Men don’t use health care in general to the extent that women do and they absolutely don’t use mental health care to the same extent.  One could look at this as evidence that women in our society are oppressed, if it suited their purpose.  You could argue that men are healthier because they are more free from the trap of poverty and childcare.  You could also be dead wrong.  This is a perfect example of how using mental health statistics to... Read the rest of this entry »