Dr. Linda Mintle

Author: Dr. Linda

  • Prozac or God?

    Ask Dr. Linda: If I take Prozac am I not trusting God to heal me? Is this a lack of faith?

    Dr Linda Helps – Question: I am clinically depressed and wonder if I should I take antidepressants. My counselor has recommended starting me on an antidepressant. Does this mean I lack faith or am not trusting God to heal me?

    It is my opinion that antidepressants should not be the first course of treatment for depression unless the depression is known to be chemically based. Depression has many causes including biochemical but is also brought on by stress, learned helplessness, relationship problems, powerlessness, work problems, failed expectations, and loss to name only a few. Therapy and exercise can have dramatic effects.

    If you suffer from severe clinical depression or are not responding to therapy, then medication can be helpful. Your choice isn’t medication or God. One doesn’t have to exclude the other. Medication can assist your healing. Therefore, I am not opposed to Christians using antidepressants.

    As Christians however, we must always believe that God is our ultimate healer. We pray and believe for healing. So is taking medication a lack of faith? Not anymore than taking insulin is a lack of faith for healing of diabetes. Does a Christian diabetic pray to be healed? Yes. But until he sees evidence of the healing, he doesn’t throw away the insulin.

    The same, I believe, is true for antidepressants. Our ultimate goal is to not need medication because God has healed us. However, until your healing manifests, you may need to take the pill.

    What I have seen in therapy is that medication sometimes improves mood enough for people to revitalize their spiritual lives. Prozac and other medications don’t replace spirituality. We are not dependent on anything but God. Medications are simply agents to get you functioning again. Medications are not cures. Work on the causes of clinically depression.

    An important step in your healing is to build your faith through the Word of God. The more you fill yourself with the Word, the more you can stand in faith for healing. Speak the Word of God over the depression. Claim His promise for a sound mind and peace. Stand on the Word no matter how you feel and you will get better.

    If you find you need medication along the way, you haven’t let God down. Use what you need. Determine to depend on God and stand in faith. God sees your heart. Be willing to explore all aspects of the depression. For example, ask am I holding on to anger and hurt, am I not getting sleep and running myself in the ground, do I think negatively about most situations, do I need to change my behavior and thinking?

    In today’s world, the quick and easy solution is to pop a pill. Medications can be abused and used to avoid parts of life in need of change. They can also be helpful when used appropriately.

  • Do Violent Video Games Really Harm Kids?


    Dr Linda Helps – Question: My mom and dad don’t want me to play violent video games. My friends say they are really fun and only entertainment. It seems everyone plays these games, and they aren’t shooting people at school. What’s the big deal?

    Dr. Linda: The big deal is that violent video games can lead to aggression. Studies support the idea that violent video games increase aggression and delinquency–two things you, your parents and friends should care about. Here’s what recent studies tell us about violent video games:

    · They aren’t just entertainment. If you play violent video games, you can think and act more aggressively. If you are male, you may even see the world as hostile after playing these games.

    · Violent video games can teach you violent ways to think.

    · Violent video games allow you to practice being violent.

    · If you practice violence in games, you can access this information for real-life situations.

    · The more knowledgeable you become about violence, the more it may affect your personality (not in a good way!).

    · There is a relationship between playing violent games and delinquent behavior. The more violent video games played, the more delinquent behavior occurred.

    · There is a relationship between playing a lot of video games (any games) and poor grades. More time playing games led to poor academic achievement.

    So the big deal is that we don’t know how much those games affect kids in terms of violence and shooting people. We do know that you are affected, and one effect is increased aggression. So why play these games?

    Let me also reassure you that not everyone is playing these games. Some parents have enough sense to know that putting violent images in the head of anyone is not a good idea. We think a lot of stuff doesn’t bother us when in truth it does. Listen to your parents. They aren’t trying to make your life miserable. They’re on to the potential dangers of these games. They probably want to do everything they can to prevent you from doing things that will hurt you. Sounds like you have great parents!

    Conclusions based on research published in April 2000 Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, “Video games and aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the laboratory and in life”.

  • Self-Control

    How can my relationship with God help me gain control over my eating?

    Dr Linda Helps – Self-control is not heavily promoted in our culture. We are encouraged to self-indulge rather than exercise restraint. We are told to buy that expensive car even if we can’t afford it. It will make us feel important. Or treat ourselves to a night out. After all, we deserve it. If we feel love, have sex because the moment may be lost forever. But nowhere is self-indulgence more promoted than with food!

    How do you exercise self-control anyway? Our hope is in God who promised we can have self-control. Galatians 5:22 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” According to this verse, love is the fruit. Fruit comes from a seed. The seed is the Word of God. You plant the seed (the Word) in your heart first. The result of knowing and believing God’s Word is love, or said another way, the result of planting the seed is fruit (love). God’s love then produces self-control.

    Because we love God, we want to please Him and keep His commands. As we bring ourselves into obedience to His plan, His way of living and His will, these things produce self-discipline. Self-discipline entails practicing self-control in all areas of our lives. This may mean changing your behavior and addressing areas you previously denied or numbed out with food. As we practice self-control and please God with our lifestyles, He gives us supernatural control. Then it is possible to be self-disciplined with food. Remember when we are weak, He makes us strong.

    The idea here is that in the natural it is hard to exercise self-control over many things in our lives. We try, but it is a struggle. As we understand all the issues involved in overeating, it helps us see why self-control is so hard. Without God helping us, failure is predictable. When we bring all our behavior and motivations into alignment with God’s Word and let Him drive the car, we get to the destination—self-control in all things.

    So work on all your issues associated with overeating but don’t neglect filling yourself up with God’s Word. It produces love, which produces self-control. God’s love is the secret ingredient. It’s what changes us from striving to overcoming.

  • Is My Child ADHD?

    Formal evaluation by a multidisciplinary team helps determine AD/HD.

    Dr Linda Helps – Don’t guess when it comes to deciding if your child has AD/HD. Get a formal evaluation by a team trained to diagnosis the disorder. Evaluation should include a number of people who know and work with your child– licensed therapist, parents, teachers, health and mental health specialists.

    The main behaviors associated with AD/HD are poor attention and concentration, distractibility and impulsivity. Here is a list* of behaviors to help you determine if your child needs an evaluation:

    In school:

    · Poor organization

    · Shifting tasks

    · Daydreaming

    · Impression of not listening

    · Poor motivation

    · Messy work

    · Pushing

    · Interrupting others

    · Excessive talking

    · Fidgety

    · Difficulty remaining in seat

    At home:

    · Shifting tasks and not listening

    · Homework problems

    · Interrupting others

    · Accident prone

    · Running around and fidgety

    With peers:

    · Breaking game rules

    · Not listening to other children

    · Interrupting others

    · Grabbing objects

    · Dangerous play

    · Difficulty with quiet play

    Developmentally:

    · Hyperactivity and aggression in preschool

    · Academic and behavioral problems in school

    · Impulsive, bored and irritable as an adolescent

    These are behaviors associated with AD/HD. Keep in mind that these behaviors are usually noticed before the age of seven and interfere with school, home or social functioning. Not all AD/HD children show all these behaviors. And not everyone is AD/HD.

    Researchers at Stanford University have preliminary findings that suggest brain imaging scans of AD/HD children show different levels of activity in the frontal cortex of the brain. Gene research has also found an association of two specific genes. However, there is no blood test or other biochemical signals for AD/HD.

    Many AD/HD kids don’t feel good about themselves. They get easily frustrated and don’t tolerate difficulty well. They can be prone to temper outbursts and academic underachievement.

    Family members may be frustrated because they deny the problem or don’t understand it. Dealing with an AD/HD child can be trying if you don’t understand the basics. For example, telling your child to “calm down” won’t work.

    AD/HD explains why a child behaves the way he does. It does not excuse his/her behavior. Even with medication, he/she still needs to work on becoming a responsible and successful person.

    Find out as much as you can about this disorder. Work with a trained mental health professional to make an accurate diagnosis and outline a treatment plan. There is so much that can be done to help children once the disorder is recognized. This is not a life sentence for problems.

    *List adapted from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV

  • Help for Rape Victims

    Healing is usually a process that involves several stages.

    Dr Linda Helps – Rape is a horrible act of violence against another human being. Someone who has been attacked and violated this way usually suffers severe anxiety and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Acute symptoms of PTSD—nightmares, flashbacks, intrusive thoughts of the trauma, feelings of detachment, sleeplessness, hypervigilance, anger, concentration problems, and more—occur in 46% of women who are raped and 65% of men (Networker, July/August 1996).

    It is not uncommon for a rape victim to be afraid to be alone, have panic attacks, be emotionally reactive, withdraw from others, be afraid to trust, have sexual difficulties, and become depressed or highly fearful. But healing is possible.

    Healing is usually a process that involves several stages. First the rape victim must deal with the shock of the event. Usually there is disbelief, fear and anxiety. Victims often wonder if they should report the abuse and are fearful this violation could happen again. If the rapist is still at large, fear about safety is even more intensified. Many also replay the event thinking they could have somehow stopped it. This is a lie.

    Once rape is reported, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by all the medical and legal questions asked. These questions raise feelings of embarrassment, confusion, helplessness and shame. It is helpful to work with a counselor who can sort out these feelings and support you through this overwhelming time.

    The next stage usually involves denial and efforts to push the trauma out of the mind. Victims want their lives to return to “normal” and feel in control of life again. But the reality of the trauma must be confronted for healing to occur.

    When the person is ready, the rape must be confronted. Counseling and support groups help tremendously during this time because confronting the reality of rape is a painful experience. It usually intensifies symptoms. This can be frightening if you don’t know how to manage the symptoms or believe you can be free from the symptoms managing you.

    In addition, rape victims struggle with guilt and anger and need guidance from someone qualified to work with trauma. Women who get medical, psychological and spiritual help usually do better than women who try to cope alone.

    The final stage is when the person has grappled with all aspects of the rape and begins to move on with life. The harsh reality of the event no longer dominates the person’s life. He/she has worked through forgiveness of the rapist and understands the violation does not define who he/she is. Safety issues have been addressed and the person begins to reorganize his/her life.

    The healing process is different for everyone based on the unique aspects of each case. If you were raped and had other psychological issues, the rape can intensify those problems as well. If you keep the rape a secret, symptoms will surface later in your life. Healing is possible with God who promises to restore what was taken. Move through the process and reclaim your life.