Speaker 2: So good to have you. Thank you for joining us on the Kerry Abbott Show. We are so grateful for our listening community all over the country, all over Canada, Alaska, Hawaii, and many other countries that we actually stopped counting because it changes a little bit with the downloads.

But I invite you to go to kerry abbott.com where the legacy institute.com to get more of the show, the podcast, or those resources that you definitely need to help you live in agreement with your divine design. Speaking of design, when God created people, he created a man and then a woman. And I love to say that men came first.

They're the first responder. He placed the man in the garden, gave him work to do, gave him a huge [00:01:00] assignment to provide, protect, and be a priest. And good men everywhere are attempting that as much as possible. And yet the culture pushes back. And when I say the culture, I mean those, those rivers, that flow of ideas that actually take down the dignity of the human person and do not elevate masculinity and manhood into the place it needs to be that beautiful servant position that's strong and powerful.

And in fact, June. Is Men's Mental Health Month, and I'm so glad because we are hearing about suicide rates for men that are so high. They are deeply concerning and I am so grateful to have Rob Jackson with us. He's a licensed counselor with focus on the family's counseling service department. He specializes in a lot of areas from sexuality, marriage, and parenting, but also addiction.

He has his own story to tell and he has really good insight to share, and I believe great encouragement to pass on to both the men in our listening community, audience, but also the women who love them because we all [00:02:00] are in this together. Rob Jackson, welcome back to the show. It's always great to have you.

Speaker 3: Kerry, it is my joy. Thanks so much. 

Speaker 2: You're welcome. So Rob, this is a big issue with mental health being an issue for every generation, every age. Right now we are seeing that men are really at the top of the list, and a lot of people don't know that. 

Speaker 3: That's right. It's actually staggering. You mentioned suicide at the top of the call.

Now we're looking at this as a seventh leading cause of death among males. 

Speaker 2: Mm-hmm. 

Speaker 3: Wow. And you know, that is a huge increase since 2000. So really we're looking at about 6 million men affected by depression, for example, annually. 

Speaker 2: Wow. Wow. And the suicide rates are what, about four times higher than women, 

Speaker 3: four times higher.

And uh, regrettably as well, men tend to succeed in death by suicide because they use means that are more, more fatal. 

Speaker 2: Mm-hmm. I have, I have seen that in the [00:03:00] research. What's going on. 

Speaker 3: Well, I think we've got such a breakdown. You know, it's, it's almost cliche, but there's been a breakdown that's been happening in the family now.

It's in churches, it's in our culture. And so all these systems are having system failures. Hmm. Meanwhile, it's all very dehumanizing. Yeah. You know, you mentioned earlier it was degrading. Mm. And it really is. And so we've got men. And women, of course, adults and children who are not really connecting joy to their relationship in Christ.

Even Christians who say, you know, I try to live for the Lord and. I love the Lord and I, I, I think he's got a call on my life. Mm-hmm. But as far as enjoying God and finding peace with God, that, you know, equals peace with self and sometimes peace with others. Right. That's not happening much. 

Speaker 2: Mm-hmm. Well, and there has been a great deal of.

Darkness and oppression in a lot of ways that people are having a hard time fixing or getting past. Um, there might [00:04:00] be some, I mean, just even nutrition and, and sleep and all of those issues play into it, but we're talking about even going deeper than that, that there are a lot of things that are tugging at us that I think are impacting us.

But when I look at how the culture is communicating about men and to men mm-hmm. I find it so, um, disrespectful. And, and it, and deeply concerning to me because men, one of the things I tell people all the time as they teach on male and female design is that respect is man fuel. Uh, you know, men don't need you to adore them.

They don't need you to think they're the best, but they do need the kind of respect that allows them to become their greatest self. 

Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah. That is so true. And I think it is just hardwired in and someone might say Yes, but there's the narcissism, you know, there's, there's almost like a. Cottage industry that's getting all men labeled narcissist these days.

Mm mm Unfortunate. And all men, all human beings are [00:05:00] prone to being self-centered, of course. But so much of this has, you know, really gone to the core of what it is to be a man. And you're right, it's, it's really hurting confidence. 

Speaker 2: Hmm. So, uh, we, we mentioned that men are four times more likely to succeed in committing suicide, and there are a lot of reasons why men might feel like they have to get to that place.

We talked a little bit about them, but the aspect to mental health in America have been changing quite a bit, and we have a lot more depression, a lot more anxiety. Is it possible to get into a state of depression where you feel so hopeless? That you think that's the only, the only solution that your family would be better off without you?

Speaker 3: Definitely. We want to think about how the person created by God and his image as his own trinity, if you will, spirit mind. Mm-hmm. And body. And so when we have a person who's depressed, I'm wanting to not only look at what might be going on spiritually, what's going on psychologically, what's [00:06:00] going on behaviorally, and with your.

Brain, let's get you to a neurologist or a doctor. 

Speaker 2: Mm-hmm. 

Speaker 3: Let's consider that. And then the fourth would be the relationships. And so it's never just any one thing. Yeah. And so much of the time, the help that's offered is almost, um, like. Breaking the person down into just one problem area instead of treating the whole man.

Speaker 2: Hmm. That don't you think that's a key issue? Integrated care? Yes. Integrated, holistic. Looking at the whole person. I completely agree with you. There's also a stigma that goes along with mental health challenges. They might be cultural, they might be a self-perceived stigma, right? Maybe professional, uh, maybe they're a pastor and they say, my goodness, I can't admit that I am having challenges.

I'm supposed to have all the answers. Right. So is that, is that a legitimate reason why men don't talk about this? 

Speaker 3: Oh, definitely. I've got a friend, for example, who is from Egypt, and he was talking about how in this culture, [00:07:00] men are so isolated, it's more difficult to find community. Men are not supposed to show any signs of weakness or gentleness or softness.

And of course we've had that, you know, I'm 63. We've had that throughout my lifetime. Mm-hmm. In the American culture for men. 

Speaker: Mm-hmm. 

Speaker 3: But it's a, it's a great challenge because, you know, if we've got these high statistics showing how men are burning out and dropping out, think about the ones that never ask for help.

Speaker 2: Right. 

Speaker 3: The numbers we don't know. 

Speaker 2: Right. 

Speaker 3: The people we've missed. 

Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, that's right. Well, so let's, let's go bare bones here. Let's start at the closest part of the church that every man should have, could have, would be his family. What do you do if you have a husband or a father who is struggling and you see that they're not functioning well?

Uh, you have, do you have a way to communicate that that doesn't make them feel less, but also says, I, I'm sensing something. 

Speaker 3: What a great question. You know, we [00:08:00] men and women too, but we're overwhelmed with, am I performing well enough? Mm-hmm. 

Speaker 2: Mm-hmm. 

Speaker 3: Having a sense, no, I'm really not. I'll answer that question for you.

I'm not. And so by the time someone is depressed or anxious, they really feel like, you know, I'm not performing well as a man or a human being, or a husband or a father or a guy at the church, or whatever. And so when you go offer for help, try not to make it about. You're not doing well. Mm. You know, make it more about I'd like to come alongside you.

Mm-hmm. You've got so much on you. How can I help? 

Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah. That's 

Speaker 3: great. See if you can get an open door, see if you can get them to kind of buy in and then you can step a little bit further into that with, well, I've noticed for example, lately you're not resting well. Mm. I don't see how you're running on the little sleep that you get, or I see you know, that you're not getting time to exercise.

Yeah. And I, I know it's important. I know you want to, I know you really don't have the time. How do you feel about that? 

Speaker 2: Yeah. 

Speaker 3: So go with curiosity and gentle questions. 

Speaker 2: Mm, [00:09:00] it's good. 

Speaker 3: Rather than use statements that focus on performance. 

Speaker 2: Very key. Such good advice. Now you mentioned exercise. Is exercise really a quick way to get that, that nice, what we call brain cookies, you know, all the good cookies.

Yeah. All the neurological chemicals that make you feel better. Is that really that efficient? 

Speaker 3: It is one of the quickest, most practical means that you can possibly have getting out and exercising and being in nature. Now, to be fair. You know, those cookies come to you just a little bit at the beginning.

Speaker 2: Mm-hmm. 

Speaker 3: You know, you don't get a, a whole lot of them, but it will build up over time. But yes. Even a single episode of walking, you know, 15 or 20 minutes will lift some of the brain chemistry. 

Speaker 2: So if you are a wife or a friend and you say, Hey, I need to get some exercise, you wanna join me? Is that another good way to, to just engage and say, and it's not about their performance, it's just, you know, it's going to help.

Right. 

Speaker 3: Yeah, let's just go out and and walk. And so when you're [00:10:00] using these collective pronouns, us and we and our are so much better than you. 

Speaker 2: Mm. I agree with you. And this goes for both male and female design, and we know that it works, but we're talking about men's mental health. Because father stays around the corner.

We want our fathers to be strong and able and, and feeling good about their very important job. This is for all men, however, because even if you don't have your own children, you can be father-like and you can be a leader in the community and you can bring in those. Those skills, those important protector instincts and the provision and, and the priest characters, which is leading people to the Lord and being a great example, when you don't feel good about yourself and you feel depressed or you have anxiety, there's truly chemical things probably taking place, but you really feel tired and you don't have the energy for all of that, it's really important that the people around you.

Help build you up. What would you say, just maybe let's go a 10,000 foot view. What can a pastor who also feels the weight of all this, what can he say to his [00:11:00] congregation to highlight that, Hey, I know some of us are struggling. 

Speaker 3: I think it's wonderful when pastors can be transparent to a point, and so they're teaching, they're equipping, they're, you know, presiding over funerals, you know, they're doing all kinds of things and just being transparent.

To a point is excellent. Yeah. It's like, you know, I'm just one beggar showing another beggar where to find bread. 

Speaker 2: Mm. 

Speaker 3: And that's gonna bring us back to the person of Jesus Christ and learning to walk by the spirit, but the pastor who can also acknowledge, and this is an integrated need, brother. I believe that you have Christ.

And I'm so grateful. Now. How are you doing psychologically? You got a lot of pressure on you. 

Speaker 2: Yeah. 

Speaker 3: How's your energy level? Have you been to the doctor lately? 

Speaker 2: We know the answer to that. How? 

Speaker 3: How can I help? Yeah, we know the answer, right? Absolutely not. And I'm not going, 

Speaker 2: that's right, doctor, what I say that and just ask me.

I have to force myself too. So [00:12:00] it's, it's one of those universal issues, but men are, are less apt to want to go. Because they have a lot of other things. They're like, I'll be fine. I'll be fine. Yeah. You know, here's the thing. I have such respect for men, and I know that male design is an intentional plan on God's part for human flourishing.

So when I hear that there's a mental health crisis, that men are actually literally taking their lives because they think the world would be better without them, or truly that they are in so much pain. That they can't take it anymore. We all need to care about that. And if you are listening right now and you are thinking, I, I, that's where our family's at.

That's right. Where well listen, hang on. We're gonna take a quick break and we come back with Rob Jackson. He has his own personal story to share and we have ways to get you the kind of help that you need, my friend. So you just hang on. We are so for you and God is so for you, we'll be right back.[00:13:00] 

Speaker 4: Friends, truth is under assault and lies are permeating every area of our lives. Sexual identity, confusion of our young and disrespect parents and seniors is tearing at the fabric of every family and good people know We must act now. We invite you to be part of our legacy Truth campaign as. Simple and profound way to bring light to the darkness and God's divine design is the correction on a confused culture.

Through the Truth Campaign, we make it simple to protect truth, invest in truth and champion truth. Each campaign level is unique and important. As a thank you, we have gifts for you and special event access, go to the legacy institute.com and look for the Truth Campaign banner or call or text (425) 354-8517.

That's 4 2 5 3 5 4. 8 5 1 7. We are in a battle for our children's identity for the family, and even our nation's foundations help us deliver truth with grace. 

Speaker: [00:14:00] And now back to the Carrie Abbott show. 

Speaker 2: We're talking with Rob Jackson. He is so insightful. Rob's been on the show many times. He's a licensed counselor with focus on the family's counseling services department and we'll be able to link you up with some help.

At the end of our conversation here shortly, Rob and I are talking about. Men and their mental health and the fact that men are struggling right now with depression, rates of suicide are four times that of women. We've known that for some time. Rob, I believe there must be a connection too between, um, alcohol and drug abuse and suicide because we know a lot of men die from overdoses and um, that might be to mask the pain.

Would that be part of it? 

Speaker 3: I think so. You know, there's a lot of ways to cope poorly and so alcohol, drugs, gaming, gambling. Food. 

Speaker 2: Mm-hmm. 

Speaker 3: Pornography, none of these bring life and everything we do. Challenges brain chemistry, brain structure, and brain functioning. [00:15:00] Either making us better or worse neurologically.

So these things have huge ramifications for mental health. 

Speaker 2: Yeah, they sure do. Well, you have your own story and I would appreciate you sharing part of that with our listening community. 

Speaker 3: Sure. Yeah. My story starts when I was in middle school. I started having daily panic attacks. Aw. And really thought that I was the only one, the worst one, couldn't imagine, you know, what was going on.

And my parents were attentive. They actually took me to a doctor. The doctor put me in the hospital for three days, ran all kinds of tests, and came back and said, you have a nervous stomach. And I wanted to say you have a nervous, I also got a, I also got a bad temper. I'm about to punch you. Yeah, 

Speaker 4: right. 

Speaker 3: I know.

I have a nervous stomach. So he, um, he gave me Valium and I'm walking around in the eighth Valium, eighth grade with a pocket full of Valium. 

Speaker 2: Wow. 

Speaker 3: And I didn't like how it felt because I am tending to be a control freak. And that medicine, [00:16:00] you know, I didn't like it. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So thankfully I didn't ever get hooked on it.

I think I maybe, maybe had like two or three pills in my whole lifetime. Hmm. But this progressed and when I got in college, I really crashed and burned. And by that time I got a diagnosis. I got three panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and major depression. 

Speaker 2: Oh wow. 

Speaker 3: And so it was a, it was a rough start and it was complicated further by having bed rest for a bad case of mononucleosis.

Speaker 2: Mm. 

Speaker 3: And then I returned to school trying to recover. So it took about a, a semester to get the help that I needed so that I could crawl out of that pit and going to begin to live life in more of a normal way. 

Speaker 2: So I want you to define a panic attack for me for those who've not had one. 

Speaker 3: Yeah. A panic attack is where in a moment, without any warning, you may have a half a dozen or more symptoms of high anxiety.

You can be sweating, you can be, [00:17:00] um, breathing rapidly. You can feel dizzy, uh, clammy, uh, you can be nauseated. You can really feel overwhelmed like, I am losing my mind, and I'm afraid I'm gonna die. Hmm. 

Speaker 2: So it's 

Speaker 3: like your body hijacks you. 

Speaker 2: Wow. Yeah. Right. And that a lot of people have had that experience.

Mm-hmm. And end up staying home, aren't sure what they can do. You mentioned being in college where you had to deal with it. You had mono, which is very common, at least from my experience in raising a lot of kids and putting them through college and Yeah. You know, that's just when you push yourself so much.

So what did you do to get on the right track to manage those diagnoses? 

Speaker 3: Yeah, interestingly, and as God would have it, you know, with the mono, I couldn't take any medication, so I wound up going to a counselor, Christian counselor at a Christian school. He gave me the diagnoses. He said, I've got a colleague who does biofeedback and biofeedback may be unfamiliar to the audience, but it functions something like an EKG.

Mm-hmm. Is giving you feedback as [00:18:00] visual and auditory based on how you are stressing or relaxing under certain circumstances. And then you practice that daily. So actually in about a dozen sessions over about as many weeks, uh, the panic attack, the panic disorder was arrested. 

Speaker 2: Mm. 

Speaker 3: Now here's the, the challenge to this.

So the behavioral problem, the body mind problem was pretty much resolved, but no one was talking to me about what was going on on the inside. Ah, 

Speaker 2: right. 

Speaker 3: What was driving that in the first place. 

Speaker 2: Mm-hmm. 

Speaker 3: And so we can do some things that are pretty cool in psychology and kind of polish or whatever the tip of the iceberg.

Speaker 2: Right. 

Speaker 3: But it's really important to go deeper than that and get beyond. Symptom management. 

Speaker 2: Right, right. And did you end, so you ended up doing that yourself with your counselor 

Speaker 3: pretty much, pretty much a do it yourself process thereafter. And it is been slow and [00:19:00] tedious, but I have been able to put together, uh, an integrated approach for spirit, mind, body, and relationships that I follow.

And it's what I've been teaching clients for almost 40 years now. 

Speaker 2: Hmm. Hmm. You know, it's, it's so important, I think, first of all, thank you for sharing your own journey. Mm-hmm. It's not easy to do that when you figured that out in middle school, which we all feel insecure in middle school, did that. Right.

Insecurity, the, I must be the only one feeling this way, which you were not. But your body and your mind and your heart were all, you know, kind of assaulting you. You got that figured out by the time you got to college. So you know that there are a lot of people listening who've had the same experience.

How has it impacted you now as an adult? And you now, you're married, you have children, now you have grandchildren. Right. 

Speaker 3: I always have to realize that I'm kind of hardwired to be negative. My flesh is bent that direction. And I can be a fear-based person as opposed to a faith-based person. [00:20:00] And so I had, give us an example of that practice.

Well, you know, one word, uh, is like awfulizing. Wouldn't it be awful if. Hmm, such and such happened, and so we're not even in the moment. There's anticipatory anxiety. I imagine it would be horrible if such and such happened, and that would be an example of something happening to my wife or my kids, or my job or something of that sort, you know?

And so many times with anxiety, you deceive yourself, you get deceived. You're not able to be in the moment, which itself is probably okay. Hmm. 

Speaker 5: Some 

Speaker 3: moments are better than others, but anxiety lies to you, 

Speaker 5: right? 

Speaker 3: It'll absolutely deceive you spiritually, psychologically, and behaviorally. And when you buy into it, you start pulling away from others and getting isolated.

By this time you become your own worst enemy. 

Speaker 2: Yeah, I, well, you just said a key word, isolated. Yeah, I really believe that [00:21:00] isolation, there are people, we'll just talk about men here, we're focused on men's mental health. Men. We are. So for you, I am, I am such a fan of men and masculinity because it is the opposite other necessary sex to female, right?

For us to have human flourishing, to respect both sexes and how God designed us. And when men are allowed to be themselves, it's such a beautiful picture of so many of the traits of our Heavenly father and, and Jesus, his son, who we are to become like. So when you have anxiety lying to you, when you have the awfulizing as you said it, what is the best, fastest transaction?

Just say to self stop it. That's not true. I mean, how, how do you do that? 

Speaker 3: Well, early on I found a scripture that I used. It's Isaiah 26 3, but I want to emphasize it's not just blindly memorizing the word of God, it is relating to God. 

Speaker 2: Amen. 

Speaker 3: Okay. Relating to him through the spirit. And so this scripture, Isaiah 26, 3, you keep him in perfect [00:22:00] peace whose mind has stayed on you.

Speaker 2: Mm-hmm. 

Speaker 3: Because he trusts in you. And Carrie, I realized when I was very, very, very new, still very much a student in a bachelor's program for psychology, I couldn't think about having a panic attack and think about Jesus keeping me at the same time. 

Speaker 2: So good. So 

Speaker 3: good. I had to choose. 

Speaker 2: Mm. 

Speaker 3: Now, many times I would think in the wrong direction.

Sure. But I learned to kind of practice a catch and release like we're catching fish and we're releasing them. Mm. 

Speaker 2: So good in a peaceful place with the water is trickling. But you know, that is so beautiful. So we exchange it and this we have to do, all of us have to do this. Right. But if you're prone to this right, as you said, then that's part of the exchange.

And our words have power. So what we say to self, you know, we need to bring. And what about music? What about worship? What about having the word of God, the truth of who he is? Saturate us 

Speaker 3: [00:23:00] all of that, and spending some quiet time alone, spending some time in solitude. You know, not isolating to do the wrong thing, but in solitude.

To do the right thing. Hmm. Which is to listen, to be in the word, to be in music, to journal, things of that sort is crucial. We can overcome the daily stress, but it's unfortunate that we have maybe only a month where we emphasize mental health for men. 'cause it's gotta be a daily emphasis. 

Speaker 2: Yes, yes. 

Speaker 3: We've gotta own our mental health daily.

Speaker 2: The Bible's full of examples of men needing mental health support. Right. Absolutely. I mean, completely, absolutely. Moses comes to mind, but, and his father-in-law, like, Hey, listen, we're gonna chart this out. Create a new system, get you some support. Right. And, and you know, so many of the prophets, like, I'm at my end, I don't know what to do.

And God's like, go to sleep. I'll bring you food. You know, I mean, there's some, there's some practical tips here on things. [00:24:00] Absolutely. And men have to give themselves permission to say, I'm worth that kind of care. I think that's where I sense a lot of men even now listening like, well, you know, I don't wanna be the one to say that's where I want the women listening.

The kids listening. Anyone that loves other people, but think about this for your pastor. Don't assume he doesn't need this kind of care. Ask those questions. Just say, Hey, I just wanna be more supportive. Or you know, can we do this? As you said, we don't wanna do, you know, performance language. It needs to be right.

Helpful language. Rob, where can people call if they want to call somebody at your counseling services department? 

Speaker 3: Yeah. 800 a family that's gonna get you right to focus on the family. We would love to speak with you. We've got caring Christian counselors there from uh, 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM Mountain Time, Monday through Friday.

Speaker 2: That's so incredible. One of the greatest things you guys do is that it makes me so proud to associate with you. So give that number one more time. 

Speaker 3: Yeah, it's 800 a family. Or if you're online, focus on the family.com/get help. 

Speaker 2: Mm. [00:25:00] So good. And 30 seconds. Final word from you, Rob. 

Speaker 3: I wish I could emphasize the importance of friendship with God.

Oh, sorry. And I'm afraid that sounds like a Sunday school answer. But even though I love talking about integrated care of the spirit, the mind and the body, if we leave out the Savior, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, our sustainer, and if we forget that the Father really loves us, nothing else really matters.

Yeah. 

Speaker 2: Yeah. No, you're right. You're absolutely right. Well, Rob Jackson, what a good brother you are for all of us and thank you you for the support and care and, and for the vulnerability and also the victories that you're having. And God continues to use you and focus on the family. So grateful. Listen, we need to take a break, friends.

We'll be back in just a moment.

Speaker: You are listening to the Kerry Abbott Show Your place for news views and values you can trust and relationship insights you need. [00:26:00] 

Speaker 5: Hey, church, did you know that 42% of pastors have seriously considered quitting the ministry? That's two out of every five pastors. Pastors believe they can make a difference in the lives of their people.

But according to Barna, only 7% of pastors believe their people are well prepared to discuss the emerging issues of the day. Legacy Classroom is here to help pastors who engage with the experts and resources on Legacy classroom will see a change in their ministry. Immediately. They'll have answers at their fingert.

Resources for their people. Insights that will refresh their soul and theology that will inspire their preaching church. Don't let your pastor do this alone. Send them to legacy classroom.com to see all the courses, introductory video, and some gifts just for them. Did we mention this is free to pastors because of our generous partners?

Go to legacy classroom.com. [00:27:00] 

Speaker 2: So we're gonna continue our conversation about mental health and we found the place where the suicide rates are the highest in the entire world. Kind of surprising. On that note, just wanna continue to encourage you men who are listening, we value you. So much, and yes, we need to talk about men and women and their mental health year round, but we are happy to focus on masculinity and what it means to be male, and we'll continue on that roadmap as we head towards Father's Day.

We've got a couple other things to discuss with you today, however, so we'll take a quick break. If you can't stay with us, go to kerry abbott.com. We'll take a quick station break now. We'll be right back.[00:28:00] 

Speaker: Welcome to the Carrie Abbott Show your place for news, views and values you can trust, and relationship insights you need. Now here's Carrie Abbott. 

Speaker 2: Welcome to the Carrie Abbott Show. If you're just tuning in, we had a great conversation with Rob Jackson. He does such a good job counseling and helping to lead the counseling department at Focus on the Family.

I wanna give that number one more time, one 800 a family. You can call them 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM for counseling needs. I recommend you do so. They are trusted and vetted, and they are for you. Isn't that good news? Because one of the questions I get a lot is, well, who do you recommend as a counselor? So when you call there, they will talk you through kind of triage your situation, and then they also have vetted counselors in your area that they might be able to refer you to.

And it's important because you [00:29:00] want to have somebody with a. Biblical worldview. I'm hearing a lot of counseling debacle people that go to a counselor and just say, Hey, yeah, I guess you just find your truth and you do whatever. And they're supposedly Christian counselors, so I would say make sure to get a good one.

Another thing I wanted to bring up was that for depression and anxiety. And a lot of other, um, mental challenges. Neuro stem, TMS Centers is one of our sponsors of this show, and they are finding great help for those who've tried medication for depression and anxiety, and the results have been really breakthrough, amazing results for a lot of people.

I recommend that you check that out as well. Neuro stem tms.com, and that's N-E-U-R-O. Neuro STEM is STIM tms.com. They are the leading TMS provider and. In the state of Washington in particular, and they are of course [00:30:00] opening up offices elsewhere and it is such an effective treatment. So we are honored to partner with them.

We're always looking for ways to help you help your body live in agreement with your divine design. We really believe what we can get at the root causes of some of your illness and challenges. Your body is prepared by God's design features to move back into a state of health if you do the right thing.

Isn't that how it always works, right? So we can say, well, I should probably eat better, sleep better stop doing that, and we kind of don't want to, right? So usually there has to be pain before there's change. Sadly, that's how a lot of us are raising my hand right now. The human nature is, oh, it'll be fine.

It'll be fine. And then you get to where it's actually not fine, right? So those are a couple things that you can take a look at. So I wanted to mention. Uh, this article from Not The Bee. So there's so many places where you can get news and I try to pull articles and insights [00:31:00] from a variety of places. I find this one often has some interesting humor, but also this is of course a very serious article by Daniel Plainview, and it's, the title of this is This Random Wyoming County is approaching the highest suicide level by population in the entire world.

Well, that jumps out, doesn't it Really? And it's basically he says, you know, you'd expect major overdose deaths in places with high populations that sit at major international crossroads. For instance, Los Angeles, New York, you know, Texas Border Cities, but in Wyoming, the middle of nowhere, right?

Apparently the Natrona County, that's N-A-T-R-O-N-A. The county coroner says 2024. The year 2024 is shaping up to be a crazy year for unnatural deaths with suicides through the first four months of the year on a record shattering pace that is so sad. [00:32:00] Corner Jim Whips told county commissioners recently.

That the instances of unnatural death in the county is going way up is, it's been a kind of a different kind of year. It, it started last fall, but the case count is going way up on unnatural deaths and part of the problem is the high rate of suicide, but the other. Is that overdoses with illicit drugs are spiking through the roof according to the corner.

So we were just talking to Rob Jackson about mental health challenges, how drugs and alcohol might be part of the solution. For some people, not a great idea if, if you have mental health challenges and then of course the high rate of suicide. So. I thought this was really interesting. Remember, the drugs overdoses have been sky high for years at this point, and they're, when you look at a chart, the, the use of fentanyl and then the fentanyl overdoses be.

Is becoming the number one cause of death in the US for 18 to 45 year [00:33:00] olds, and the fatalities doubled from 2019 to 2021. When you look at the chart on this and the, you know, those charts when you see something going up slowly and then there's a change point and it almost goes straight up, and that's what this looks like.

This is truly a national emergency. Fentanyl overdoses, and the Centers for Disease cho control talking about them. I wanna know why this hasn't stopped. It's not as if we haven't noticed. It's not as if we haven't, you know, people are aware of it and it continues to climb in every community, including, including ours, and yet it's not making the news.

Remember, we during COV. The little ticker thing, you know, at the top, the number of cases, you know, ev, we'd see it on every show. And then the number of deaths, this should be happening with fentanyl overdoses, because it's that high and it's so high. It's, it's become ridiculous. And so here you have this happening everywhere in including this particular place in the middle of nowhere.

Wow. [00:34:00] So even though they've plateaued a little bit according to CD, C data, they're still. At record levels, so I'm going through and looking at some of these charts. The suicide rate, going back to this story, however, may be the more pressing issue and it's considerably more baff baffling, according to this article.

The corners that our county suicide rate by percentage of population is within the top realm of the top four in the world. This is from the corner. Even third world countries and places in total chaos don't have the suicide rate that we have in this county in the middle of Wyoming. So in his five years, as Coroner Whip said, he has investigated eight adolescent suicides, none so far this year, but he said there have been suicides this year of young people in their twenties and thirties.

So what's with the high rate? According to the coroner, there are readily identifiable crisis signs for young people who may be at risk for suicide. But it looks as though there's a lot of turning of heads, hiding the heads in the sand, passing the book and dragging the feet from school [00:35:00] district, the board, et cetera, and dressing those signs.

He goes on to say, not giving up. I was heavily involved in prevention efforts to try and get into the weeds with suicides and overdoses, and I'm working with the drug task force and suicide prevention task force and some of those things to just try to get a handle on this. This is what he's saying, but he didn't mince mince words.

He said The bottom line, it feel like this is going to be a very crazy year. So I'm bringing this to your attention because this is not the only community where suicides are up and overdoses are happening with young people, older people. I just find this extremely sad because we live in a world that has so many great opportunities, right?

And yet a lot of people don't know what those opportunities actually are. It's another, this is one of those things that you don't notice until you notice this kind of a report. But I've seen this before and I thought I'd bring it to our attention. In research and discovery at Epic Times, this is what this article is titled, US [00:36:00] Drops out of the Top 20 Happiest Countries in a new report, so we're not in the top 20 of the happiest countries.

I think that's probably obvious. Now, I didn't realize there was this kind of a report, but I'm gonna bring it to your attention because you know, in the Christian community, oh, it's not, doesn't matter if you're happy, as long as you have joy and even if it's a terrible life you have, you have joy because you have Jesus.

And I always thought. Well, actually, I wanna be happy. I, I wanna choose to be happy. And yes, I want joy, but I want to be happy. Well, this report apparently focuses on happiness at various ages and stages, and there's some surprising results in this, so I thought I'd bring it to your attention. Starts out, this is by Emma Satie.

She says, all people on earth strive to be happy. So I'm not the only one. Yeah, but what is happiness? How does it differ for people across cultures and at different ages? How is happiness measured? Such a good question. A new report answers these questions by examining happiness [00:37:00] worldwide and the factors that make life worth living.

So there is this happiness report. It's hard to imagine anything more meaningful than research, exploring happiness and what makes for a good life. Apparently there's a partnership between Gallup, Oxford University and the United Nations seeking the answers. I know, I know United Nations, but just work with me here.

Okay. The group publishes the World Happiness Report using data from the Gallup World Poll and the analysis from worldwide researchers. So the report offers some insights into the happiness for people all over the planet. Now, this year's report examines happiness at various age and stages. Past reports have focused on various aspects of happiness.

I won't go into that. The first happiness report apparently released in 2012, highlighted a worldwide demand. Demand that happiness in the absence of misery be given more attention in creating government policy. That's interesting. So they're going with the positive instead of everything being on the negative side.

Hey, why don't we work on getting people happy? And that would be good policy. I [00:38:00] don't know how you regulate that, but, okay. So the reporters, the reports creators believe that the best measure of progress and the happiness of people worldwide would be to say, if your policies are working, people should be flourishing.

So I can sign on to that, right? We say that in a different way. Well, here's some insights from the 2024. One of the most striking insights from this year's report was the difference in happiness between the young and the old. So John f Helliwell. Is an emeritus Professor of economics at the Vancouver School of Economics, university of British Columbia, and a founding editor of the World Happiness Report.

He states in the report that the wide range of data about the quality of life. Worldwide gathered by the Gallab board poll, going back to 2006, offers us some data to separate happiness patterns. And he said we found some pretty striking results. There is a great variety among countries and the relative happiness of the younger, older, and in between populations.

So hence the global happiness rankings are quite different from the young and the [00:39:00] old. To the extent that has changed a lot over the last dozen years. And this is interesting because we've noticed this in a lot of research as well. Overall, the report found that happiness among young people declined significantly in North America.

Yeah, that'd be United States, Canada, et cetera. United States fall out of the top 20 happiest countries. This year was primarily due to a substantial decrease in the wellbeing experienced by younger people, specifically Americans under 30. So take note everyone, we're out of the top 20 because our kids aren't happy.

And you might say, well, that's 'cause they have too much. Nope, it's because there's too much loneliness, anxiety, depression. That's my opinion, but we'll see what the report says. Once again, the World Happiness Report uncovers some special empirical insights at the cutting edge of the wellbeing Research Frontier said Jan Emmanuel Deneve, director of Oxford's Wellbeing Research Center and the editor of the World Happiness Report.

[00:40:00] Here's what he said. Piecing together the available data on the wellbeing of children and adolescents around the world. We documented disconcerting drops, especially in North America and Western Europe. So to think that in some part of the world, children are already experiencing the equivalent of a midlife crisis demands immediate policy attention.

So their unhappiness, they're saying is like them having a midlife crisis. What is the midlife crisis? Who am I? What am I here for? What's my purpose? Is this all there is? Kids are already asking that question at a young age. This is really fascinating when you think about it. They're not throwing Christian terms in here, right?

In the United States and Canada, older people, those over 60 ranked higher in happiness than young people with a gap of 50 or more places than those under the age of 30. However, it's the reverse. In areas such as Central and Eastern Europe with many happiness rankings favoring the young over the old, you'll have to look at the charts [00:41:00] to figure that out.

So the report looked at happiness in different generations, finding that those born before 1965, those are boomers were generally happier than young people born after 1980. Millennials. Millennials, life satisfaction decreases yearly with boomers increasing as they age. Okay, that is a sad picture. So millennials, life satisfaction is decreasing yearly.

And those of us who are boomers are getting happier. Well, that is a disconnect, isn't it? And you're seeing that in the reaction on the streets, in the colleges, in the rioting, in the looking for a cause to fight for even stuff they don't understand. They're desperate, I believe, for purpose, meaning, and happiness, and we're seeing that played out in how they're acting.

This is fascinating. We need to take a quick break. We'll be right back.[00:42:00] 

Speaker 4: Friends, truth is under assault and lies are permeating every area of our lives. Sexual identity, confusion of our young and disrespect parents and seniors is tearing at the fabric of every family. And good people know we must act now. We invite you to be part of our legacy truth campaign. A simple and profound way to bring light to the darkness and God's divine design is the correction on a confused culture.

Through the Truth Campaign, we make it simple to protect truth, invest in truth and champion truth. Each campaign level is unique and important. As a thank you, we have gifts for you and special event access, go to the legacy institute.com and look for the Truth Campaign banner or call or text (425) 354-8517.

That's 4 2 5 3 5 4. 8, 5, 1 7. We are in a battle for our children's identity, for the family, and even our nation's foundations help us deliver truth with grace. [00:43:00] 

Speaker: And now back to the Carrie Abbott show. 

Speaker 2: We're talking about the happiness report. I don't know if you've heard of that before. There is such a thing, and we're looking at the fact that in North America our numbers are going way down on the happiness, especially of our youth.

And so we are out of the top 20 countries. That is sad, and you can see it, you can sense it right. By the way, side note on that truth campaign that you just heard about, if you didn't like go quickly through the ad to get back to the, the podcast you're listening to or the show live, however you listen.

Listen, it's really important that you get involved in the Truth Campaign, and I don't know if you noticed, we talked about the way that that things are happening in the culture and the way that families are treating each other, but also the way that seniors. Are being treated. That's in there on purpose.

You will find as we go forward, there'll be some shows coming up very soon on how adult children are treating their parents or [00:44:00] how, um, senior citizens have been discounted in a way that is not biblical. These are important issues for us. We're a very pro-life organization, but pro-life means forward life.

We're beginning to natural end. And we wanna make sure that the truth about that gets out. That's why I jump into stories like this, because you can see results of how people are being treated by how they feel. Right? And I'll tell you something. A young person who treats a senior citizen or their parent with respect is actually going to get more oxytocin.

Their brain chemicals are gonna be together better, and they're actually going to feel better about themselves. One of the reasons we don't have happy young people is because they are focused on themselves. That is indeed true, but there are so many other reasons. That we're responsible for. So just wanted to point that out to you.

The other thing I wanted to mention was if you go to the legacy institute.com, go to the homepage, scroll down a little bit. A lot of good stuff there. Go to where it says Meeting M-E-E-T-N. It is a new way to do your video meetings in hd. It's faster, easier, [00:45:00] more customizable, and it's your alternative to zoom.

And this is a company that is like-minded and cares about freedom and, and no censorship, and nobody's stealing your data or your image if they're using ai, which they are all moving to. So I recommend, recommend you do that. Here's the other thing, we're partnering with them so you can use my name and get a discount and you get a 14 day trial.

Risk free, you're going to absolutely love it. It's easier to use, and also there's a percentage that kicks back and goes right back into the Legacy Institute so we can actually do ministry. So this is a really good way for you to support the ministry. If you're not involved, even if you are involved also to align with an organization more like-minded than yourself, you'll see a video from the creator on our site.

It's, it's actually an amazing, amazing tool for you. So if your church is using Zoom, stop. If you are using it in your business, if you're using it at the radio station, looking at my producer, you need to [00:46:00] use meat because it's actually better. Okay. Let's get back to the story I was just talking about. Now I have to go find it, of course.

'cause I bounce around when I'm telling you these things. So do you wanna know who's at the top of the list of the happiest countries? I know my producer does Finland. Did you know that it takes a number one spot followed by Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden. Now I have been in Sweden and I have been in Denmark, Canada comes in at number 15, so hang in there.

Canada, I know you're in North America and our rates aren't looking very good, but hang in there. The United Kingdoms at 20 and the United States slid all the way down to 23. This has got to change. I'm kind of competitive, so I'm not liking this number. We need to get happier, right? Russia comes in at 72.

How did China make it to number 60 on the list? And Russia's at 72. Just curious. Just curious. Oh, wait a minute. United [00:47:00] Nations was involved. Eh, you never know about these numbers, right? Maybe we're not actually at 23. Maybe they're just telling us that. Who knows? African Nations round out about at the bottom in Afghanistan drops to last place this year at 143.

That is not a shocker, right? So they measure this with six variables explaining life evaluation. So people self-report. This is one of those things. Their social support. That's one predictor. The GDP Gross domestic product per capita. Healthy life expectancy. Freedom to make life choices, generosity and the absence of corruption in governments and businesses.

Oh, maybe we are at 23. Great. That's a, that's a picture right there, isn't it? Who would've thought that the happiness report would make such a difference? But you know what? That's why we look for these kind of things for you, and you don't have to. So isn't that great Now? Another article, a link for you all tied together, and those of you who [00:48:00] are teachers, those of you who are pastors and leaders, take full advantage of the kinds of things I'm bringing to your attention because believe it or not, people care about this kind of detail.

And when you're teaching the next generation, or you need something for your small group, go ahead, pull up the article, impress your friends. Here's the next one, how the pursuit of virtue is the only road to happiness. And it is actually about a book called The Pursuit of Happiness, how Classical Writers on Virtue inspired the lives of our founders and defined America.

So important that we understand the connection between those who used to be kind of classical and enlightened thinkers. My goodness. Not only did they have virtue, but they were so intelligent. They spent so much time learning and growing, which is part of being a virtuous person and another great way to get people to stop thinking about how they're doing.

Because when you grow and learn, you become more other focused. You can't help it because a person who [00:49:00] grows in their virtues does this. Now, this is. This is a review of this book. Jeffrey Rosen is the president and CEO of the National Constitutional Center and one of the most respected American constitutional scholars, and he spent his time wisely During the pandemic, he studied the philosophers, the scholars, and the religious leaders.

So people like Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, George Mason, John Quincy Adams, Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, who influenced the views of the later 18th and 19th century Americans. And in his new book, the Pursuit of Happiness, how Classical Writers on Virtue inspired the lives of our founders and Defined America discusses how before and after the revolution these Americans sought to emulate virtuous classical figures.

Mr. Rosen was inspired to write the book after he read Jefferson's recommended list of 10 books on classical and enlightened moral philosophy. The success and failures of the founder's pursuit of virtue are thematic in the [00:50:00] book, and as the title and subtitles suggests the pursuit of happiness. Of course, this is derived from the unalienable right clause of the Declaration of Independence, which everyone should read on a regular basis, revolves around the pursuit of the virtuous life, as Mr.

Rosen indicates clearly in his work. The famous phrase hardly originated, which Jefferson's greatest work, but stemmed from the great past philosophers such as Socrates, Cicero, David Hume, and John Luck. Oh, John Locke. Didn't he influence the appeal to heaven flag? We won't go there. Poor Justice Alito taking heat 'cause his wife had flags outside.

By the way, we have the appeal to heaven flag hanging in front of our house have have had for a couple years now and no, I'm not worried about you knowing that the difference in being and feeling now this is really interesting. The idea that happiness is to be pursued by way of leading a virtuous life is just the message that needs to be proclaimed in today's generation.

Gen generation, excuse me. And I agree. Mr. Rosen states that this idea has become antithetical to [00:51:00] the modern American belief that happiness is attained by feeling good rather than being good. Ah, remember in Genesis, God creates people, Adam and Eve, and he says, be fruitful and multiply. He didn't say do, and he didn't say feel.

He said, be completely agree. It's a positive directive. We are to live in agreement with our divine design. Going back to this article, to reclaim the true meaning of one of the most important American phrases, Mr. Rosen visits classical and enlightenment history through the readings and writings of our American forebears.

I love books like this because they're so inspiring and he's done all the heavy lifting for us, right. So we can go in and listen to these. Mr. Rosen begins with Franklin's 13 virtues, which are temperance, silence, order resolution, frugality, industry sincerity, justice moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility.

As the book progresses, jumping from founder to founder, Mr. Rosen, breaks down how our founders [00:52:00] sought to exhibit these virtues, and sometimes, by the way, successfully and other times, not welcome to being human. Right. The author pinpoints the virtues that the founders personified and those that alluded them.

And interestingly, some of these early Americans were quick to criticize their shortcomings. Such as Franklin and Adams with Vanity or Washington with anger. This in itself was an example of virtue, sincerity and humility to be exact, along with Franklin's 13 virtues of Jefferson's 12 maxims, just as Franklin pulled from the classical fingers, Jefferson did as well.

This book goes on to talk about the classical subconscious influence of this and Mr. Rosen's breadth of knowledge concerning not just the founders, but also the enlightenment thinkers is really astounding. So when I point this out to you, I will. You to this article because I think it is so well done, and he goes on in the article to talk about the lost pursuit.

Societal happiness seems to be Mr. Rosen's ultimate pursuit in this book. I think that's. Very helpful [00:53:00] because we need a roadmap back to that. Ultimately, I think virtue is very important, and I believe salvation is the most important. We need to be saved by God's grace so we can become like his son who exhibits all these virtues and more.

But what a great roadmap for those of us who care about the happiness of our country. Amen. So good to be together. We'll see you next time.

Speaker: You've been listening to the Carrie Abbott show. If you'd like to listen again to today's episode or share it with a friend, simply go to the legacy institute.com. And remember, the Care Abbott Show is made possible by donations from friends like you and of course, our tax deductible. If you'd like to donate today, go to the legacy institute.com.

Or call 4 2 5 3 5 4 8 5 1 7. That's the legacy institute.com. 

Speaker 6: Today, many schools and even some churches are teaching confusing messages to our children about their identities. Lies from critical [00:54:00] race theory, diversity, equity, inclusion agendas, Marxist theories, and perhaps most shocking of all the radical sexualization and grooming of our children, all robbing them of their innocence.

At the Legacy Institute, we believe parents are the key educators of their children. In particular on anything to do with their male or female design and their relationship education, helping kids become who God intended is the right response to all of these wrong messages. The Legacy Institute has the resources you need to train up your children in the way they should go.

Starting with our blueprints for healthy identity. These age appropriate short conversation starters help you connect with your child while laying groundwork for them to have a positive view of themselves and healthy relationships with others. Get your blueprints today by going to the legacy institute.com.

That's the legacy institute.com. It's time to end the confusion. 

Speaker 2: Ladies and gentlemen, [00:55:00] male and female design is purposefully being confused, and yet we know it is God's blueprint for human flourishing. One of the many ways we push back on confusion is by teaching truth. This year, the Legacy Institute will be focusing even more on divine design, starting with girls and young women to help correct the confusion in the culture and in the minds of so many girls.

We can't lose one more daughter to the lives of the enemy. To set us up for success in the upcoming launch of our newest resource True Beauty, we are asking women of all ages to help us with a simple task. Ladies, will you text us key thoughts or even one word to describe the importance of being a woman in your own experience?

You simply text 4 2 5 3 5 4 8 5 1 7 and then write your thoughts and send. We want you to have a key role in this year's plan for encouraging girls and young women. Go ahead text, or you can call 4 2 5 3 5 4 8 5 1 7. We can't wait to hear from [00:56:00] you.