Depression affects more than 15 million American adults – 6.7% of the population 18 or older. Twenty percent of teens experience depression before adulthood and 70% will have more than one episode of depression before adulthood. 8.3% of these teens suffer depression for at least a year.Women are twice as likely to suffer from depression. Untreated suicide is the leading cause of suicide and suicide is the leading cause of death for young people ages 15 – 24. These overwhelming stats demonstrate that depression is a broad life crisis with many unique circumstances but in this interview Danielle’s story demonstrates that depression in young adults is often rooted in childhood. It’s easy to hide depression and to slowly hide away rather than fight the dark feelings of sadness, loneliness and worthlessness. Danielle offers help and hope as she describes the steps she took to find her way back to a life of purpose. For more help and hope about depression and counseling options: https://www.ccef.org/topic/depression

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Thin. Fat. Thin again. Dieting. Binging. Starvation diets. Grapefruit Diets. Low Carb. Thin. Fat. Thin Again.Constance Rhodes understands the obsession of young people with body image. In this conversation, she shares her own roller coaster struggle with weight. Young people and adults alike will find a friend in Constance as she transparently tells her story of weight loss, weight gain and the thin cage in which she found herself trapped. Out of her struggles has come her book: Life Inside the Thin Cage, A Personal Look into the Private World of the Chronic Dieter. Constance is also the founder and CEO of FindingBalance, a non-profit health and wellness organization dedicated to helping people eat well and live free. Constance offers numerous resources on her website at Findingbalance.com. Constance’s story will encourage young people that there is help and hope when faced with feeling fat, inadequate and “less than.” That hope is not in food. Listeners, young and old, will be encouraged to find balance in their view of food and life.Life Inside the Thin Cage – A Personal Look into the Private World of the Chronic Dieter: by Constance Rhodeshttps://www.amazon.com/Life-Inside-Thin-Cage-Personal/dp/0877880387

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Porn invades younger and younger hearts, often unbeknownst to parents. When encouraged to protect their children from tech invasions, many parents vehemently declare that their child is so innocent and so protected, they are not concerned. Their relationship to their child is so secure, that their child would not secretly travel into such a dark world. Sadly, these parents are often in the dark when it comes to what their young children have already seen and experienced through innocent interaction in video games, research for reports, etc. In this interview, Cooper Pinson lays out practical ways that parents can put into place additional layers of protection and how to talk to their children about the dangers of porn and how to respond when exposed.Cooper Pinson loves student ministry and has a passion to help students live with sexual integrity. Through Student Outreach, a subsidiary of HarvestUSA, he partners with and equips parents, youth ministers and workers, Christian schools and colleges, those involved in collegiate ministries and other organizations to help students follow Christ with their sexuality while finding their life, true identity and joy in Him.

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From pro soccer player to ex-convict Matt Maher’s story is a call to young people to think carefully before making impulsive decisions because the consequences could be deadly.Matthew Maher was born and raised in a strong Christian family, and for most of his life he was a good reflection of that upbringing. He was extremely successful in academia and sports, attended Temple University on a scholarship and was contracted to play professional soccer. Then one night, he made one choice that changed everything.On March 7th, 2009 he made the decision to drink and drive – causing a fatal accident. Charged with aggravated manslaughter and sentenced to 5 ½ years in prison, Matthew faced choices he never imagined possible.After serving his time, he started sharing his story around the country. He is now an author, speaker, and instigator for the social influence platform #iCONVICTION. He currently authors a monthly column in the Cape May County Herald and his daily blogs have been read by over 500,000 people in every state, 121 countries, and in 67 different languages. In addition to the God-given influence through his multiple speaking and writing platforms, Matthew is also the Director of Student Ministries at Coastal Christian Church in Ocean City, NJ. He is married to Sarah.Visit Matt’s website to learn more about his story and how to book him for an event: http://www.themattmaherstory.com/

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In this interview that is part of our Warrior Woman series, you will meet Karen Marsh, mother of Victoria. Within hours after Victoria’s birth, Karen and her husband learned that their third daughter had Down Syndrome. Though initially frightened by this news, Karen and her family’s love for Victoria grew deeper as they recognized the awesome privilege of raising such a precious daughter. This story will encourage parents of children with Down Syndrome to realize the unique joys that can be theirs as they raise their children. But there is more to this story. Victoria was diagnosed with a life threatening cancer that resulted in the amputation of her leg. In this interview, you will hear about the courage and determination of a young teen to take back her life and her family’s determination to continue to fill Victoria’s life with experiences and opportunities to grow and learn, no matter what her physical condition. Listeners will also learn how to come alongside of families like Victoria’s, not just to help, but to soak up some of the joy and love that naturally flows from children with Down Syndrome.

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It's tougher than ever to be both a kid and a parent today. The world's culture is continually pushing an anything goes sexuality on our children. What’s a parent to do in order to help their children navigate their sexuality, social media, the ever present temptation of pornography, the continuous bombardment of our sexually explicit culture. In this Help and Hope resource, Dr. Betters and Sharon interview Dan and Heather Wilson. Dan and Heather live with the daily challenges of raising their four children and transparently share how parents can have the “sex talk,” how to help your child when you catch them in sexual sin and practical ways to shepherd your child’s heart. Dan works for Harvest USA and is a seminar leader and counselor.Please let us know how this resource has encouraged and equipped you!

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In this interview, two sets of parents speak honestly about how their children with an autistic spectrum disorder impacted their dreams, challenged their marriages, and created chaos in their homes. They also describe their special joys in parenting their children. If you are parenting a child with special needs, you will relate to their transparent descriptions of parenting children with a form of autism. These interviews will also better equip friends and family to come alongside of parents of children with special needs.Included is an interview with Alex, a 16-year-old boy with Asperger Syndrome. Alex hopes his words will help parents and children with autism alike to live with hope and strength as they travel this pathway.

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Multiple Sclerosis is a disease that attacks the Central Nervous System. The Multiple Sclerosis Foundation estimates that more than 400,000 people in the United States and about 2.5 million people around the world have MS. About 200 new cases are diagnosed each week in the United States. In this interview, that is part of our Warrior Women series, you’ll hear Sherry Bitler describe what it was like to hear the diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis and how it changed her life. Listeners with a similar diagnosis will be encouraged by the way Sherry has confronted this disease and learned how to continue to invest her life in the lives of others, even though she is sometimes physically limited. This conversation will also help “healthy” people better understand how such a diagnosis can affect everyday life and how they can come alongside of someone whose constant companion is Multiple Sclerosis.

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It's an epidemic that knows no cultural, age, race or financial boundaries. Whole neighborhoods are struggling with the challenge of heroin addiction. Why does an addict continue to use heroin when they know it's destroying the lives of their loved ones? What is it about heroin that a user is willing to do anything necessary to get their next fix? Why is it so hard to break the chains of heroin addiction? Is relapse a normal part of the heroin addict's journey? How should a family respond when relapse happens? We ask all these questions and more in this interview with Joey, a recovering heroin addict, and his grandmother, Ann. Ultimately, we ask, is there hope for a heroin addict? It's our hope that those who hear this redemption story will know, there is hope, even in the darkest corners of heroin addiction.

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