{"id":6059,"date":"2019-06-20T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-06-20T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pastorbrad.blog\/?p=4496"},"modified":"2025-07-04T14:37:24","modified_gmt":"2025-07-04T19:37:24","slug":"ditching-the-shame-game-by-jamie-meyer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freshhope.us\/es\/ditching-the-shame-game-by-jamie-meyer\/","title":{"rendered":"“Ditching the Shame Game” By Jamie Meyer"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Jamie Meyer<\/strong><\/p>\n

The most dreaded question anyone with a difficult mental health disorder wants to hear is: \u00a0<\/span>What do you do for a living?<\/span><\/i> \u00a0In that moment it feels like the wind is sucking right out of you. \u00a0Every possible answer that courses through your mind is laden with shame: \u00a0Shame that I live on disability. Shame that I was let go for missing work too many times. \u00a0Shame that I couldn\u2019t finish college. Shame that I had a great job that I loved but then illness took it away. <\/span><\/p>\n

So why do we feel this sense of shame about having a mental health disorder? \u00a0For one, we live in a society that values achievement, acquiring possessions and living independently. \u00a0The shame creeps in when we evaluate ourselves as being less than those around us. We make comparisons and then draw the conclusion that we hold little value in our community.<\/span><\/p>\n

We also live in a culture where busyness is expected. \u00a0If we don\u2019t have anything on our calendar, if we even have one, we may accuse ourselves of being lazy or that we don\u2019t care to be with people. \u00a0I can\u2019t tell you how many years it took to stop calling myself \u201clazy\u201d as I struggled through days with no energy or motivation. Instead of adding things to my calendar I mostly cancelled what was already there. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While we know that good self-care is critical to our mental and emotional stability, people shame us as being selfish. \u00a0I was working nearly full-time when depression overwhelmed me. I was allowed to adjust my schedule to work just three days a week instead of five, but I paid a hefty price for those long days: complete exhaustion. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I also learned that people we work with can be jealous and resentful when we take care of ourselves. \u00a0One morning my co-worker casually asked me what I did on my day off and I told her I went for a massage. \u00a0She later told others in the office that I was bragging, rubbing it in that I only had to work three days a week and got to do fun things on my days off. \u00a0If she only knew.<\/span><\/p>\n

So how do we go about ditching the shame we feel about ourselves and begin to accept that we have value and worth? \u00a0We do that by using a different measuring stick. The true measure of our worth is the word of God and not the words and impressions we receive from the world around us. \u00a0Could we dare to see ourselves in terms of <\/span>who we<\/span><\/i> are<\/span><\/i> and not <\/span>what we<\/span><\/i> do<\/span><\/i>?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I find it significant that when Jesus walked this earth he spent a great deal of time reaching out to and healing the broken and rejected. \u00a0He drew close to those who were shunned due to a physical illness like leprosy or for being blind or lame. Mental illnesses were often attributed to demon possession. \u00a0Many in that culture believed sin was the cause of many illnesses (see John 9:1-3).<\/span><\/p>\n

So whether it\u2019s a mental or physical illness that causes you to feel inferior to others, Jesus considers you worthy of his love and care. \u00a0When thoughts of shame or worthlessness creep in, take a moment to look at yourself through His eyes:<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n