I received a free copy of this book from Crossway in exchange for an honest review. This has not clouded my judgment 🙂
An estimated six million American teens presently have some kind of anxiety disorder. In 2011, 11 percent of teen girls had a major depressive episode int he past year. Let that sink in. But do not think that this problem is confined to the USA. Anxiety and depression amongst teens is on the rise. Parents and pastors need to be equipped to walk with teenagers and help them in any and every way we can. To that end, I’d like to tell you about a super helpful book that can help!
‘Why Is My Teenager Feeling Like This?‘ is a really helpful book written for parents and pastors. You can read the book by yourself, but the recommended way is to read the book together with a teenager as they read ‘Why Am I Feeling Like This?: A Teen’s Guide to Freedom from Anxiety and Depression‘
This book has helpful information about teenage depression and anxiety, practical tips on things you can do to help and helpful questions you can ask to start a conversation about it with your teenager.
Every parent who sees their teenager go through anxiety and depression must be hurting. Unsure how to help. Unsure what to say. Unsure where to turn. Here’s what this book is designed to be…
“This book gives spiritual encouragement and practical direction for parents and other adults who want to help but don’t know what to do. It will show how much you can contribute, and how many resources for healing God has placed in the hands of his people. Yes, there is hope in the midst of despair”
The book takes you through 18 people, or types, each with their own story and help you identify their situation and helps you think about creative ways to care for them well. A few of the people are; circular Sarah, tense Tom, doomed Dave, faithless Flavia, bullied Benton and perfect Peyton.
This book does not offer quick fixes, or formulas to help teenagers leave their anxiety and depression. But it gives hope. Murray acts like a loving friend who puts his arms around you as you weep at the sight of your hurting child and he listens. Murray uses his experience as a counselor to help you care for your teenager well. Sometimes that help takes the form of getting them outside for exercise, other times it means memorising Scripture together and pointing them to Jesus in their pain.
If you’re a parent of a teenager who is depressed or is anxious I would highly recommend this book. Each chapter is full if great wisdom and some cracking one-liners. This is a great place to start as you think about opening up an honest and constructive conversation with your teenager. You can buy a copy here from Crossway, or if you’re in the UK you can grab a copy here from 10ofThose.
David Murray (DMin, Reformation International Theological Seminary) is professor of Old Testament and practical theology at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary and the pastor of Grand Rapids Free Reformed Church. He is also a counselor, a regular speaker at conferences, and the author of Jesus on Every Page.
Chalmers' Blog 