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.

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.

Triggers in Kids

“Our genetics load the gun, but our environment pulls the trigger,” Erin likes to explain. Nevertheless, just because we’re predisposed to certain challenges, does not mean we’re doomed to have mental illness, according to Erin. (Listen in to what Whitney Patterson said about inspiring wonder in your children.)

Today, we can foster mental wellness by investigating ways to secure wholeness in our body, mind, soul, and spirit. I like the way Erin describes seeking wholeness in her blog about seeking “Nutrition for Mind, Body, and Soul.”

“But trauma was not really addressed back then,” she says. (Judge Carole Clark spoke on trauma-informed care.)

Since there are now so many options to explore, we should stay alert for signs of mental health challenges in friends, kids, and aging parents in particular. Seriously, sometimes mom needs a little dose of wholeness, too, right? (I share some great how-to’s of self-care in my book, The Well: The Art of Drawing Out Authentic Conversations.)

“For a few months after that death, I grieved in the way only a nine-year-old can. I shut down from everybody. I stuffed it probably because that’s what kids do,” Erin shares.

She withdrew from her usual vivacious, outgoing self and turned inward. She also lists other ways we may recognize mental health challenges in those we love. 

Symptoms of Emerging Imbalances

For instance, besides withdrawal, other symptoms may give us a clue something is out of balance. Feeling out of control, lying awake at night, fears of death, trembling and shaking, uncontrollable sobbing, anticipating tragedy, depression, anxiety, rapid speech, racing thoughts, goal-directed activity, living a double life, and hyper-sexuality; any or all may suggest an emerging imbalance.

Other complicating factors can include hormone changes, aging, or flashbacks that manifest like PTSD, for example. (Bullying can also trigger depression in children.) Getting the right help early may simplify restoring balance. Erin sites depression as an example of how the medical community has changed their response to mental health over the years since her trauma.

“I was put on my first round of medication,” explains Erin about the hit and miss way medications were prescribed when she was a child. “That is a journey as many know that can be pretty intense. At that time no one was talking about depression as a physical disorder,” she adds.

Erin reminds us that mental health connects with physical health. Mental wellness is about more than chemicals in the brain. There’s so much more that goes into wholeness and wellbeing.

Speaking of Bipolar

In Erin’s case, her initial depression was complicated by emerging bipolar disorder. Certainly, bipolar disorder comes with its own stigma, like most mental health issues.

“When they hear bipolar they think Texas weather, right? Like sunny one day and the next day it’s raining,” she laughs.

Talking about her personal experience managing bipolar disorder is a new thing for Erin. For some, the idea of wholeness in spite of mental health challenges may seem out of reach. But for many, victory when living with mental health challenges is within grasp. Erin makes it her mission to encourage others with a whole array of options and information. 

“I just want to set a little spark in motion. I just want to light a flame and see where that takes people on their own health journey,” she says. (For more help when your child suffers from mental illness, check out our interview with the amazing Doug McSwane.)

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.

Better Choices

People asked her if she wanted to end the pregnancy since the medications might affect the health of the baby. She considered adoption, but instead opted to keep her beautiful daughter. 

Her daughter is “the first best thing that ever happened to me,” according to Erin.

She swore off dating until her daughter grew up. Instead, she got her teacher’s certification and started teaching. Then, Erin met the man of her dreams when her daughter was four. He was her cousin’s youth pastor. She was determined not to marry anybody in ministry, since her dad was a pastor. 

“But he was really cute on his Facebook profile. He actually, what’s really cool, he was adopted by his dad when he was little. So, our stories just came full circle.”

Naturally, Erin constantly looks out for better choices when it comes to mental health, wholeness, and life.

“Now I’m learning there are so many amazing treatments available,” she exclaims.

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

Truth with a Texas Twang

• Cathy Primer Krafve,
• Host of Fireside Talk Radio  
• The Well: The Art of Drawing Out Authentic Conversations
• Marriage Conversations: From Co-existing to Cherished
• Or go to amazon.com/author/cathykrafve

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.

When you sign up, you’ll get a fun freebie. Once in a while, I’ll also send you treats, exclusive offers, personal prayer requests, and behind-the-scenes stories. I promise not to fill up your inbox, though! So much fun stuff!! THANK YOU!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

P.S. More Great News!

Our dear friend, the amazing Brooke Frick will be in Texas in the coming weeks. If you are interested in having Brooke encourage your Sunday school class, church, or book club, contact her here. 

Author of Hands Full, Brooke totally gets the chaos and joy of parenting, even in an RV with her 5 young kiddos and hubby as they travel the U.S. this year. Yep, Team Frick be at our house for a few days, but I’ll share her if you insist!

May we pray together?

Dear Good Father in heaven, how grateful we are for the balance You bring our hearts, minds, and bodies when we focus our thoughts on You! Thank You for the experiences our dear friend, Erin, went through to get to the place where she could pass on wisdom to the rest of us. Keep blessing her, dear Lord, as she manages her own wholeness and shares ideas with others. Thank You for Brooke and her family, too, especially as they travel together. Bless their families because that is Your heart’s desire.

Dear Lord, it seems You surround us with good, strong believers if we but open our eyes to what You are doing through all your people. We are thankful for the trustworthy brothers and sisters we find in Your church, O Lord. We praise You! You do not leave us as orphans but surround us with Your family and Your love. In Jesus’s name, we pray. Amen.

We LOVE to hear from YOU!

How has the church stepped up in your life this past year? What is working at your house when it comes to wholeness? How can we serve you in the coming year?

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.