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Therapists and mental health counselors can guide people through some significant challenges in life. Physicians and psychiatrists can also be of help, sometimes with recommendations on medications which can provide benefits for individuals with mental health challenges or illnesses.

On this edition of “Real Answers”, licensed Christian counselor Christopher Anderson offers his professional observations on how medicines and mental health can intertwine and provide a context where counseling can become even more effective. He cautions though that some people who stop taking prescribed medication without a doctor’s advice might see anxiety or depression recur.

Anderson also offers his advice for those Christians who lean against — or who are strongly opposed — to mental health medications. He offers his take on how use of these prescriptions is not contradictory to a faithful Christian lifestyle.

 

(Important note: All use of such medications are subject to the supervision of a prescribing medical doctor. Be sure to talk with your own personal physician or nurse practitioner regarding limits, recommendations, and appropriate care for you or your family member, especially geared for you unique situation.)

(Therapeutic or pastoral counseling can also be a productive aspect of a person’s process toward recovery or growth.)

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Procrastination … not just “getting around to it” … getting through it

The reasons we procrastinate are numerous, but Christian counselor Christopher Anderson says our self-doubt often keeps us from making forward progress.

Any time a person feels over-scheduled or over-stressed, it’s easy to get bogged down. The tasks might be boring or less important or unstructured. We also might need to develop a better system of rewarding or affirming yourself.

Anderson, a New-York-based Christian counselor, says we can push through our procrastination, by accomplishing one thing, rather than letting a decision-making process leave you spinning your wheels. Each item you can check off your list helps you to get ahead of future to-do lists.

Anderson also says, if you are procrastinating on “getting around to” Bible reading and personal devotional time, that could be why you feel out of balance or anxious. He offers advice — including perspectives from his own life — on how and when to make time with the Lord be fruitful and beneficial.

 

“Real Answers” helps you tackle the tough topics facing today’s Christians and families. It is one of our Wednesday features heard on the air and online during the Family Life Noon Report. These conversations are always available for listening or downloading from FamilyLife.org/NewsPodcasts.

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“Apathy: (noun) lack of interest in or concern for things that others find moving or exciting.”

Apathy has spread across the American culture. While this is not true everywhere, such disinterest and lack of motivation seeps into the church in many places.

Digital postings have replaced face-to-face communication, many settle into contentment with a status quo, and Biblical truths are sidelined from public awareness.

Our “Real Answers” expert, Christian counselor Christopher Anderson, offers his perspective on how this passivity developed, and what Christians and church leaders can do to bounce back when that trend pops up. He says there are ways that people of faith can be “in the world, but not of the world.”