Medication for mental illness is a very controversial topic in the church, especially when it comes to treating children. Angie Headley, the mother of two boys with ADHD, says that for young children, going a holistic route (as opposed to a pharmaceutical one) is sometimes best. She applies oils topically via roller bottles on her younger child, and they calm him down.
“Now with my younger son, we’ve only used essential oils for him, because I wasn’t going to medicate a 3-year-old,” Headley says. “… So we ended up using essential oils just to kind of calm him down a little bit because he was off the chain. So that worked for him.”
Now, that doesn’t mean that Headley has ruled out the use of medication, she says on the Charisma News podcast on the Charisma Podcast Network. In fact, the essential oils weren’t sufficient for her older son, to whom she does administer medication.
“I would always recommend something more natural like essential oils,” Headley says. “That said, when my older one tried to use it without medication, while taking two high school classes in eighth grade, it was not working well enough for him. So we just went on a lower dose of medication. So like I said, I recommend essential oils or some kind of natural solution. And then if it doesn’t work, try medication.”
Headley also runs a Facebook support group to help other Christian moms of children with ADHD. To listen to the entire episode for more advice on treating mental illness in children, click here.
