"3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep." 1 Kings 19:3-5
From 10th -16th June, here in Australia we had what is known as “men’s health week” where the focus was, well, on men’s health.
Of course one of the areas focused on was men’s mental health.
The stats released by organisations like Beyond Blue are staggering:
- Men are at least three times more likely to die by suicide than women.
- Every day in Australia, almost six men die by suicide.
- One in eight Australian men will experience depression in their lifetime.
- One in five Australian men will experience an anxiety condition in their lifetime.
The list goes on.
Now friends, I’m not equipped medically to analyse or interpret the stats. I’ll leave that to the psychologists, counsellors and other mental health professionals amongst us.
But what I do realise afresh when I read these stats is that mental health illness is a very real problem in our society.
Listen to this sermon by clicking on link ABOVE or HERE
Need professional help? Contact Lifeline here
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