{"id":32163,"date":"2022-09-10T15:58:55","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:58:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/growing-teenage-depression-calls-for-response-from-the-church\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T15:58:55","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:58:55","slug":"growing-teenage-depression-calls-for-response-from-the-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/growing-teenage-depression-calls-for-response-from-the-church\/","title":{"rendered":"Growing Teenage Depression Calls for Response from the Church"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Tess Emily Seymour photo – Pexels<\/div>\n

By Helen Gibson<\/em><\/p>\n

With \u201cpump-it-up\u201d worship music and constant smiling faces, it\u2019s an issue that can sometimes feel ignored or unimportant in some churches, says Nashville-area youth pastor Josh Hussung. But it\u2019s an issue that, today more than ever, teenagers are concerned about.<\/p>\n

It the issue of anxiety and depression.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think, without meaning to, you can create this feeling that a faithful Christian is always going to be happy, hands up, high fives all the time,\u201d Hussung says.<\/p>\n

However, 7 in 10 teenagers say anxiety and depression are major problems among their peers today, according to a new survey from the Pew Research Center. At the same time, researchers have noted a rise in these kinds of mental health struggles among teenagers.<\/p>\n

In light of these trends, how the church responds to the concerns of some of its youngest members could make all the difference.<\/p>\n

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On the rise: Fears about anxiety and depression <\/strong><\/h3>\n

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health has recorded a rise in depression among teens in recent years. In 2016, 12.8% of those 12 to 17 years old experienced a major depressive episode in the past year, while depression led to severe impairment for 9% of teens, according to the survey.<\/p>\n

Of those teenagers dealing with major depression, less than half said they\u2019d received treatment in the last year, according to the Pew Research Center.<\/p>\n

Statistics on the prevalence of anxiety among teenagers are \u201chard to come by,\u201d the Pew Research Center notes. But the Pew article does point to the National Survey of Children\u2019s Health, which, in 2016 to 2017, found that 7% of children aged 3 to 17 had an anxiety disorder.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, research from the General Social Survey shows happiness among young adults ages 18-34 fell to an all-time low in 2018, with 25% of young adults reporting that they\u2019re \u201cvery happy,\u201d according to analysis from researcher W. Bradford Wilcox.<\/p>\n

Hussung\u2019s experience is only anecdotal, he says, but in his 10 years as a youth pastor at Grace Community Church in Brentwood, Tennessee, he\u2019s seen an uptick in concerns about anxiety and depression among teenagers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve definitely noticed the difference in the number of parents who come to me and say, \u2018My child is dealing with anxiety and depression or panic attacks,\u2019 or the use of kids going to see a counselor or a therapist,\u201d Hussung says. \u201cThat\u2019s certainly been something that\u2019s been a lot more prevalent, I feel like.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Lifeway\u2019s Girls Ministry Specialist Mary Margaret West says these issues are ones that many church leaders are already trying to address among their students.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnxiety and depression are always somewhere in the top percentage of things [church leaders] are wanting to hear more about, are struggling with, are trying to figure out how to navigate with their students on a regular basis,\u201d West says.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Hussung says he\u2019s noticed \u201ctherapy lingo\u201d and conversations about anxiety and depression becoming more mainstream. It\u2019s something that students are thinking about, he says, which may be why so many view anxiety and depression major problems among their peers.<\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly, I have seen students, even if they\u2019re not seeing a therapist, use the anxiety and depression language a lot more, and honestly, I think as the attention has gotten more and more on that for teens, I think they hear that, they pick up on that, and then that becomes part of the language they use to self-describe,\u201d Hussung says.<\/p>\n

Similarly, West says for some students, the rise in concern about anxiety and depression could be pointing to something even deeper.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt also, I think, lends itself to a bigger conversation of asking, \u2018Is it true?\u2019\u201d West says.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot to minimize anybody\u2019s experiences, what they\u2019re walking through, where they are, but is it truly that, or is it rooted in some other things that are bigger issues? \u2026 I think so many [teenagers] are longing to be defined by something or have a label to give something like that. Rather than saying, \u2018I feel anxious,\u2019 they say, \u2018I have anxiety.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, concern about these issues are on the rise among teenagers, and West says the reasons why are understandable.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do think that there\u2019s more for them to be anxious about than in past generations, just from a social media perspective, just from a cultural perspective, just from all the access that they have to information, people, and things,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Hussung and Joshua Straub, Lifeway\u2019s marriage and family strategist, also point to the impact of social media, with Straub describing screen time as \u201cthe modern-day Baal.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s the socially acceptable thing we use to distance ourselves from Jesus and other relationships as well,\u201d Straub says.<\/p>\n

Additionally, Hussung mentions evolving parenting styles\u2014parents being more open and honest with their kids about big decisions, for example\u2014and Straub points to a possible trickle-down effect of adults\u2019 anxiety affecting children and teens.<\/p>\n

How can the church help?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

As teenagers struggle with concerns about anxiety and depression, Hussung, West, and Straub each suggested some ways churches might be able to respond. For one, Straub says Christians need to normalize therapy.<\/p>\n

\u201cTherapy is not for crazy people,\u201d Straub says. \u201cTherapy is for human beings. Therapy is for broken humans, and there\u2019s not one person on the planet who\u2019s not broken in some capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Similarly, Hussung suggests reducing the shame and stigma often associated with mental health struggles, so students start to feel more welcome to bring issues like these to church with them.<\/p>\n

\u201cA kid needs to be able to walk into their small group and say, \u2018I\u2019ve been seeing somebody about depression because it\u2019s been really hard. I\u2019ve barely been able to get out of bed,\u2019\u201d Hussung says. \u201cThey should be able to come in and talk in the context of a small group and say that and be prayed for and supported.\u201d<\/p>\n

West said leaders should simply listen to their students.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest thing that somebody in the church can do is listen and try to navigate what\u2019s going on because, for some of those teenagers, their youth pastor is the only advocate they have,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

West adds that when leaders listen, they shouldn\u2019t be too quick to slap on an easy answer, like telling students they just need to read their Bibles more. Though that would likely be beneficial, she says, some students might actually need intervention.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo often, a lot of us who are in the generations above them want to fix the problem rather than wanting to get down to what the real problem is,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd so, just take the time to truly listen to what\u2019s going on and not just try to give a prescriptive answer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hussung and Straub say churches should find ways to offer support.<\/p>\n

Straub suggests church leaders should provide tools and resources to help parents manage their children\u2019s screen time, for example. Hussung highlights the importance of reminding people there are spiritual answers to issues like these.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do think that there is a spiritual element to both [anxiety and depression] even though there may be some chemical thing involved,\u201d Hussung says. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t mean that there\u2019s a separation between medicine and our spiritual life.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Christians, we don\u2019t believe there\u2019s this hard separation between the body and the soul, the physical and the spiritual, right? That\u2019s Gnosticism. What we believe is that the soul and the body are united, and that\u2019s the way we\u2019re supposed to live for eternity.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s not suggesting that parents or students replace all therapy, psychology or medicine, but because of this deep connection between body and soul, Hussung says he\u2019d like to see more parents and students turn to their faith\u2014along with therapy and medicine\u2014when confronted by anxiety or depression.<\/p>\n

This puts some responsibility on the local church, Hussung says, adding that churches need to make sure people know pastors and leaders are available and willing to pray and partner with those facing mental health issues, just as they would with people facing other kinds of health issues.<\/p>\n

Hussung adds that churches also need to make sure teens know sadness is OK, pointing to King David\u2019s anguish in passages like Psalm 42 and 43 as evidence. Churches should share deep, scriptural realities like these with their students, he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is room in the Christian life for the experience of deep sadness and God is still present with us in that,\u201d Hussung says. \u201cThere is an engagement that we\u2019re supposed to enter in with God, and the gospel has answers for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

HELEN GIBSON (<\/strong>@_HelenGibson_<\/strong>) <\/strong>is a freelance writer in Nashville, Tennessee.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Tess Emily Seymour photo – Pexels By Helen Gibson With \u201cpump-it-up\u201d worship music and constant smiling faces, it\u2019s an issue that can sometimes feel ignored or unimportant in some churches, says Nashville-area youth pastor Josh Hussung. But it\u2019s an issue that, today more than ever, teenagers are concerned about. It the issue of anxiety and … Continue reading “Growing Teenage Depression Calls for Response from the Church”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32163\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}