In a world riddled with continuous strife and violence–school shootings, terrorist attacks, nuclear threats, foreign wars, and personal acts of hatred—-what is the true CAUSE of it all?

What’s driving this madness?

Is it just politics? Philosophical or religious differences?  Xenophobia? It goes even deeper.

In order to heal underlying causes of all this craziness, the inner demons that plague our culture, we must first identify the elusive X-factor affecting every human interaction we have. What is it exactly?

“It’s our MENTAL HEALTH, our sense of inner well-being,“ notes Pastor Gregory Dickow, the acclaimed spiritual leader of Chicago’s renowned Life Changers International Church.  

The charismatic  54-year-old, known as one of America’s leading Bible teachers, is also the author of THE POWER TO CHANGE TODAY, a compelling Christian-based self-help book which offers the secrets to the satisfied life (a book I proudly worked on as its editor.)

In a fascinating phone conversation with Pastor Dickow, he makes a convincing argument about the need for greater public awareness of psychological health:

“Every single thing that happens to us, every headline in the news, is a product of MENTAL HEALTH–the ‘state of mind’ of  our leaders, our families, our congregations, and, in fact, all 7 billion people on earth.”

As we know, people are suffering everywhere–experiencing clinical depression, anxiety, obsession, compulsion, substance abuse and addiction, you name it.

And there are millions of others who are stressed out, often feeling down or discouraged or without faith in the future.

The statistics of mental illness are staggering. An estimated 26% of Americans ages 18 and older — about 1 in 4 adults –suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. Many suffer from more than one mental disorder at a given time. In particular, depressive illnesses tend to co-occur with substance abuse and anxiety disorders.

“And it’s not only adults, adds the Pastor. “What about the 10% of elementary-aged children who self-injure themselves. Why? Because they’re in severe emotional pain or, ironically, almost numb to it and attempting to  feel something.”

Obviously, some of these disorders require specialized psychiatric and medical treatments, on multiple platforms. That’s for sure.

“But many people,” says Dickow, “do not need psychiatric medications or medical interventions, but instead greater faith, enhanced awareness, an emboldened outlook, family and peer support,  and down-to-earth prescriptive actions.”

Joining his other insightful books, Pastor Dickow will soon reveal the secrets and techniques to attaining greater inner peace in a new trailblazing book about mental health and how to nurture it.

As we all know too well, poor mental health left untreated can lead to complete chaos.

“Can you believe that 1 million people commit suicide each year worldwide?” asks Dickow.

“People who are not receiving the love and support they need can become unhinged.”

Indeed, with no inhibitions, their primal urges and demonic impulses begin to dominate their psyches.

Some turn inward and hurt themselves, while others begin to out their rage.

So they pull out a gun. They unleash a bomb. They mow down a crowd with a van. They barricade themselves in a hotel room and shoot out the window, killing innocent concertgoers. Or they invade a school or a place of worship.

All this vitriol is violently unleashed in their twisted minds, causing death, heartache, murder, suicide, you name it. So tragic.

Pastor Dickow’s genius is knowing how to blend the lessons from the Bible with practical prescriptions that can result in a renewed outlook, helping others throughout the world to regain the loving spirit that God planted within each of us.

In parting, he reminds me of the classic Biblical story in Luke 8:27, in which Jesus comes upon a demon-possessed man, and restores him to mental health. The demons are pulled from this man and transferred into a herd of pigs.

If only we could do the same with a terrorist or murderer or child abuser, or school shooter, or someone who feels depressed or tortured.  But the story, of course, is a metaphor, teaching us that we can release these demons. Yes, we can experience titanic emotions but we can also learn to let them go, knowing that God can certainly do for us what we can not do alone.

Pastor Dickow and wife, Grace, who is co-founder of Life Changers International Church

The Dickow Family, everyone involved in the mission at Life Changers

Pastor Dickow and his ministry is leading the way, so his upcoming book on healing mental illness and illuminating a path of love will be a must read.