{"id":10780,"date":"2020-01-14T11:28:07","date_gmt":"2020-01-14T11:28:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/?post_type=conexion&p=10780"},"modified":"2020-01-14T11:28:08","modified_gmt":"2020-01-14T11:28:08","slug":"walking-with-students-through-depression","status":"publish","type":"conexion","link":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/walking-with-students-through-depression\/","title":{"rendered":"Walking with students through depression"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

This is not what I signed up for<\/em>, Kelley thought. 24 years old and just two\nyears in to serving InterVarsity USA students, Kelley felt disappointed, weary,\ndisillusioned.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

Being involved in the movement as a\nstudent leader had felt relatively straight-forward. She knew the routine: evangelistic\nevents, weekly meetings, winter camps, summer missions. Repeat the same next\nyear. But since joining the staff team it had been so different. Messy. Discouraging.\nHeavy<\/em>. She\u2019d lost count of the number\nof students she knew who were struggling with their mental health. Some were\nweighed down by a thick darkness. Some had eating disorders. Some were\nself-harming. Some were suicidal. What\u2019s\ngoing on here, Lord?<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

Staff workers, not doctors<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

Kelley wasn\u2019t an expert on mental\nhealth. But students that she loved were struggling, so she decided to look\ninto it. Research, books and courses helped, but they didn\u2019t make Kelley a trained\ncounsellor or psychiatrist. Many of these students needed professional help \u2013\nshe knew that. Still, Kelley often found herself encountering students struggling\nin the difficult in-between zone: perhaps at the beginning of their mental\nhealth concerns, not yet sure if they needed or wanted help; perhaps on the 6-month\nwaiting list to see university counsellors. Every situation was unique and required\nKelley to be prayerfully discerning and observant, particularly in the early\nstages of their interaction:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

Is this student struggling because of their\ncircumstances? Is there an unseen issue that needs to be addressed? Is there a clinical\nelement as well? Is it serious? Are they just having a bad day? Would it be\nsensible to seek professional help?<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

Though Kelley knew the responsibility\nfor a diagnosis lay with the doctor, helping students understand themselves would\nenable them to get the help they needed more quickly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

The depths of sorrow<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

Month after month, Kelley\nencountered more and more students who were struggling. Then one day, the\ncommunity woke up to the terrible news that one of their students had taken his\nlife. They were devastated. Why, God?<\/em>\nAnd yet even in the depths of their sorrow, God was at work. The students became\nmore open to talking: I\u2019ve felt like that\ntoo; I\u2019m in the same place; I think I need help.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

Generation Z<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

The high\nrates of mental health problems she encountered on campus got Kelley thinking:\nare we just more aware of mental health today, or are the number of cases\nincreasing? And if so, why? What is it about this generation, often referred to\nas \u2018generation z\u2019, that perhaps is more prone to struggling in this way? She\nreflected:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

\u201cHuman connection is so lacking. I think social media has a lot to do with it because it fosters a sense of false identity which leads to feelings of separation and isolation. And it\u2019s also the case today, at least in many western countries, that everything is catered to meet your<\/em> needs. You can have your own social media platforms, your own Spotify playlist, your own personalised Starbucks drink. This creates a bubble with you at the centre, a life that revolves around your needs.

And of course, that\u2019s depressing! It\u2019s not real and it\u2019s not fulfilling. So people try to numb it by doing more on social media, or Netflix, or whatever they need to dull the pain of being alone and isolated.

There are also issues of identity. No-one\u2019s asking \u2018who is God?\u2019 anymore. Everyone is asking \u2018who am I?\u2019 The self-help books tell you not to worry, just be yourself<\/em>. But how can you be yourself when you don\u2019t know who you are? And how can you know who you are when you don\u2019t know Christ?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\"\"
Robin Worrall – Unsplash <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
\n

Praying for the 44<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

Raising\nawareness and getting students talking was a good start. But Kelley longed to\nsee breakthrough. She wrote down the names of all the people she knew personally\nwho had depression. There were 44. Forty-four! Overwhelmed and sorrowful, Kelley\nstuck up the names on her wall in the shape of a cross. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

Jesus<\/em>, I\u2019m\nputting these people on Your cross. Through Your blood, I pray for their\nhealing and rescue. Please restore them to a place of hope.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

Not long\nafter that, Kelley started getting phone calls. The people she was praying for\nwould ring her and tell her how God was working in their lives. I was in my car and suddenly felt a\nlightness, a hope<\/em>, they\u2019d report, not knowing she had been praying. For\nothers, the healing came through getting the professional help they needed. Some\nfound it through medication; others went to therapy and learned tools to manage\ntheir mental health. It wasn\u2019t always a quick fix, but many of them experienced\nbreakthroughs and healing over the course of a year and a half.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

Today there\nare just nine names left on Kelley\u2019s wall.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

A holistic approach<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

Often the recovery\nof a student with mental health struggles will involve more than just prayer.\nBut it will never be less. Kelley\u2019s story shows how God used professional\nmedical help along with the proactive ministry of staff and their persistent prayer\nto help and heal many students. As IFES movements face the reality of ministering\nto a generation particularly affected by mental health struggles, we must be\nready to take this holistic approach as we walk with students through the\ndarkness.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

How to get support<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

If you\u2019re a\nstudent struggling with your mental health, we\u2019d encourage you to seek medical help\nfrom your university or doctor, or start by talking to your national movement\nor a trusted friend.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"featured_media":10801,"template":"","area":[462,662],"theme":[],"class_list":["post-10780","conexion","type-conexion","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","area-north-america","area-united-states-america"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWalking with students through depression · IFES Conexi\u00f3n Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This is not what I signed up for, Kelley thought. 24 years old and just two years in to serving InterVarsity USA students, Kelley felt disappointed,\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/walking-with-students-through-depression\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Walking with students through depression · IFES Conexi\u00f3n Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This is not what I signed up for, Kelley thought. 24 years old and just two years in to serving InterVarsity USA students, Kelley felt disappointed,\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/walking-with-students-through-depression\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"IFES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-01-14T11:28:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/cristian-newman-7KHCNCddn2U-unsplash.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/walking-with-students-through-depression\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/walking-with-students-through-depression\/\",\"name\":\"Walking with students through depression · IFES Conexi\u00f3n Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/walking-with-students-through-depression\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/walking-with-students-through-depression\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/cristian-newman-7KHCNCddn2U-unsplash.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-01-14T11:28:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-01-14T11:28:08+00:00\",\"description\":\"This is not what I signed up for, Kelley thought. 24 years old and just two years in to serving InterVarsity USA students, Kelley felt disappointed,\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/walking-with-students-through-depression\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/walking-with-students-through-depression\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/walking-with-students-through-depression\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/cristian-newman-7KHCNCddn2U-unsplash.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/cristian-newman-7KHCNCddn2U-unsplash.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675,\"caption\":\"200114 Cristian Newman\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/walking-with-students-through-depression\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Conexi\u00f3n\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Walking with students through depression\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/\",\"name\":\"IFES\",\"description\":\"A movement of students sharing and living out the good news of Jesus Christ. 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