Bipolar Disorder
Spreading My Wings
I was born with a profound case of bipolar disorder. My symptoms began when I was only six years old. My mom reminds me often
Category: Mental Health and Faith
Depression
Loneliness & Depression: A Bad Mix
Many believe that loneliness has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. When one takes into account the COVID-19 pandemic, corresponding spike in remote work,
Mental Health and Faith
About Medication
Pastor Brad Hoefs, founder of Fresh Hope, talks in his book, Fresh Hope for Mental Health, about the importance of medication, and taking it as prescribed by your physician (medication is addressed in Chapter 5, pg. 120, of the book). I recently experienced a change in my medication, with the knowledge and oversight of my physician, but still experienced difficulty. I want to share that story: I feel like if it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone!
I alluded to it last month, when I talked about the tears that came unbidden, as I laid down on the massage table. Tears that seemingly came out of nowhere! In looking back at that situation, I can see now that they were an indicator of my turn towards a depressive episode, though at the time, I missed all the signs.
Hope and Encouragement
“My Mind is a Fixer Upper and Still Under Renovation” by Katie Dale
I think of how seldom a conversation with another church member, heck even my own family members, goes beyond the stuff of our plans for the week or our opinions on other people’s choices or our usual complaints and surface conversations. I’d like to know what it’s like to be a true friend to someone else. I can’t keep this front up forever. It’s like applying some white-washed photo filter that lets the light look just perfect and yet there are deeper issues – like inefficient heating and cooling or clogged pipes.
Mental Health and Faith
Pastoring and Suicidal: Insights from a Pastor Who Has Been There
The loss of yet another pastor to suicide this week was not a surprise to me. Why? Because handling the challenges of modern-day ministry and
Loved Ones and Families
Three Important Questions to Ask Those Affected By the Recent Flooding
By: Brad Hoefs Natural disasters are a fact of life. We know they happen, and we know that they can be quite severe, and can
The New Year: A Time to Review and Celebrate When You Have a Mental Health Diagnosis
The New Year: A Time to Review and Celebrate When You Have a Mental Health Diagnosis By Rick Qualls “As the old year retires and
“Hiding Place” By Julie Thomas
The safety we feel in our hiding place of isolation or comfort is short-lived. There’s only so much you can do when you’re battling something that is trying to subdue you. But the safety we experience when we entrust our aching hearts to God, is irrevocable.
Mental Health and Faith
Mastering the Art of Self-Distraction
Being focused is essential for getting a lot of different types of tasks done in this life. However, sometimes being intensely focused or “stuck” in our thinking about something is not good and we end up needing to be distracted from it. We need to be interrupted! There are times we can become intensely focused, ruminating over and over on something negative. It’s at that point that we need to interrupt and distract our thinking.
