That said, I believe that it is a sickness. There's a sickness in the soul and an illness in the mind. The only thing that keeps this young man from acting on the illness is the love of and for the Great Physician. Mental illness does not mean that someone is a ranting lunatic. They may only have abnormal urges. He is to be commended for fighting it. But it is still an illness. Btw, I have a gay brother. And it's a conditioned response.
Knowing this young man, my approach to him has not been to tell him he is mentally ill. We talk about God. We talk about the Bible. I remained his friend and didnt banish him from my life. It would not cross my mind to suggest to him to see a psychiatrist.
We are 'all like filty rags'. That pretty much describes the sickness of all our souls don't you think?