A childhood tragedy triggered a series of mental illness challenges for Sparking Wholeness’s Erin Kerry, including bipolar disorder and depression. Fortunately for us all, now Erin’s passion for wholeness now equips her to pass along wisdom.
Waving goodbye to their beloved grandparents, nine-year-old Erin and her two siblings stared in disbelief as their grandfather collapsed in the front yard. He died of anaphylactic shock as they watched from the front window.
Erin knows first hand how tricky mental health can be for parents and kids alike, no matter the age. (For direct access to our FREE podcasts, interviews, and blogs, click here.) Sadly, we see the fall out from untreated mental illness all around us as families struggle to keep up.
Erin’s Passion For Mental Health and Wholeness
Her grandfather “had a horrible shellfish allergy,” according to Erin. Desperately, her mother and grandmother fought to save him, using the EpiPen, calling 911.
“He couldn’t breath,” she remembers. Bewildered and helpless, Erin experienced depression and other mental illness almost immediately. Mercifully though, her experiences culminated in her passion for mental health and wholeness now as an adult.
In this episode, you’ll love Erin’s down-to-earth attitude about meds, symptoms like hallucinations, definitions of things like mania, and ideas for achieving mental health and wholeness. For FREE podcasts and interviews, go to Fireside Talk Radio.
Trauma and Mental Health Disorders
“I remember him falling out of the car, watching my grandma and my mom. And I prayed. I was like, ‘Surely God is going to fix this,’” she reports. (Here is Erin’s blog “Seven Days to a Sound Mind.”)
Now she speaks openly about her struggle to regain balance in her life after bipolar disorder manifested in the wake of the tragedy. (Marcie McSwane spoke about helping young people cope with the mental illness of a sibling.) For Erin, speaking up means people all around her get the help and coaching they need to walk in wholeness.
“I’ve realized that mental health issues are really just a symptom of an imbalance of our physical internal or our external environment,” she reports. Of course, innumerable factors can contribute to mental health disorders, even in childhood, including asthma, colic, antibiotics, and other medications.
Read more from Erin, including Triggers in Kid, Symptoms of Emerging Imbalances, and specifics about Bipolar.
What If Things Aren’t Hunky-Dory?
Erin and I both sympathize with parents who have a hard time deciding if their child is struggling with mental health issues or just acting out in healthy independence. Sometimes, it’s extremely hard to tell the difference. Perhaps the smartest kids often struggle in families known for their creative, energetic, articulate, inventive tendencies.
As Christians, we’re tempted to pretend everything is hunky-dory. But courageous people, like Erin, inspire us to get real and reach out to each other.
In our podcasts, she shared a bunch more about finding out she was pregnant and what that meant for her ultimate wellbeing.Also about her awesome hubby.
Hope Fuels Victory!
Next week, Erin will return to share with us things that can make all the difference in sparking wholeness. Please don’t miss the strategies and tools for supporting mental health this amazing leader shares. (If you want– or NEED– her info before I release the next podcast, feel free to contact Erin or me now. Or sign up for my FREE info as soon as I post.)
Most importantly, there is hope. When we address mental health openly in families, churches, and communities, we offer hope for those who suffer. And hope is fuel to overcome any challenge with victory. More conversational adventures to come!
I am grateful for YOU!! Keep reading for prayers, questions, and more fun stuff!
:)
cathy
A BIG THANKS! And YOU are Invited,too!
A BIG Thanks to our Book Launch Team for all their help get the word out about our first book, The Well: The Art of Drawing Out Authentic Conversations. We are hearing wonderful stories about how the book is equipping people to have life-changing conversations.
Book Launch Team: YOU are Invited!
Marriage Conversations: From Coexisting to Cherished releases really SOON! Yay! Please help us by joining our BOOK LAUNCH TEAM.
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Cathy Krafve, Speaker, Blogger, Podcaster, and author of The Well: The Art of Drawing Out Authentic Conversations and Marriage Conversation: From Coexisting to Cherished. We welcome your stories, ideas, and questions at CathyKrafve.com. Truth with a Texas Twang.
