After my recovery from major depression nearly ten years ago, the holidays have become stress x10 for me. You probably think I’m being too dramatic but this is how my brain works when I think about surviving Thanksgiving through New Year’s. It’s the only time of the year when there are more expectations, more decisions to be made, and more demands on limited energy.
I trim the Christmas tree but also trim my schedule. Some time ago I learned what is called the Pareto Principle which states that 80% of your reward comes from 20% of your effort. While the percentages may be argued I have learned that about 20% of what I do bring 80% of my satisfaction.
Dr. Kinghorn also addresses how we can help people in the church with a mental health diagnosis, both for pastors and laypersons. He shares a lot of insights for pastors regarding their own mental health.
Dr. Kinghorn is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Pastoral and Moral Theology, Duke University Medical Center and Duke Divinity School, Staff Psychiatrist, Durham VA Medical Center.
In today’s world, the standard question I hear is, “What do I have to be thankful for?” While that might be a valid question it’s really unrelated to the topic of Biblical gratitude. Scripture doesn’t tell us to make a list of what we are thankful “for” but instead that we need to be thankful “in” everything give thanks. There’s a big difference between the two.
This edition of Fresh Hope for Mental Health is for anyone who is going through a difficult time in their life whether they have a mental health issue or not. So, this is one podcast that you are going to want to share with any of your friends or family who are in a valley of challenges right now.
I have learned so much since my diagnosis nearly 10 years ago. I no longer depend on therapy and medication alone to stay well. Being in Fresh Hope has taught me how to choose healthy thoughts and behaviors that will improve my mental, physical, and emotional health. The meetings provide a safe place where I’m understood and can learn from the experiences of others.
gain, this “journey of wellness” is not one of perfection. It is a journey of imperfect progress. To make this journey you and I must be willing to accept the fact that we are never going to be perfect. No one is perfect. Recovery, which I define as taking back one’s life in a new way, is built upon failures in which we learn from them, get back up and continue to move forward. Shaming ourselves and believing that a failure constitutes us as complete failures simply is a lie straight from the pits of hell! Everybody fails. Everyone falls short of the mark. What makes the difference between those who decide to give up and believe the lie that they are total failures versus those who succeed? It’s simple; understanding that moving forward is one of imperfect progress versus perfection.
So, I do this every day. If my ability to live well in spite of having bipolar disorder feels at jeopardy and I feel as though I’m not doing emotionally well (stable), I ask myself the following questions which help me answer why I’m not doing well.
Probably one of the most peculiar things about hope and hopelessness is that they can co-exist in life. When I reflect on the greatest difficulties and deepest depression that caused extreme despair in my life, it was hope that got me through the hopelessness. But it was not the “wishful-thinking” kind of hope that life would get better that got me through the hopelessness. That kind of “hope” is nothing more than wishful thinking that things may or may not get better. And that kind of hope was not enough for me. Hoping that things might get better could not even bring about the smallest of cracks within my despair.
For every $16.64 given annually, we are able to offer hope for one year to one person.
Any amount you are able to give will help bring hope to those who desperately need it.
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