The verbal abuse kept raining down until the thought ‘I am a problem’ got nailed into the brain. But then they discovered that a problem is a problem, not a person, and they began to separate their identity from the issues. It was abuse. Verbal abuse. Dished out every day […]
Getting Well Staying Well
228 posts
Nurses, doctors, counselors, etc. can all make a difference to our mental health recovery, but the more lasting help will come from a committed companion — someone like Ruth who will break bread with us. It was like a revolving door of people entering their life and then leaving it. […]
A feeling of being sad is something that everyone experiences. Sadness needs to be validated as being real and OK. Life hurts at times, and if we don’t embrace the pain, then we can miss a grace offered. Permission to be sad ‘I give you permission to feel sad.’ It […]
Comparisonitis kills joy. Comparing yourself to others robs you. Instead, explore who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. I’m just recovering from a severe case of comparisonitis. I think I caught the most recent dose from the Internet, but this disease has […]
Thinking patterns can autopilot us into a jungle of destruction. With the loving care of a gardener, pruning takes place. We need to trust in a loving God that desires to prune and shape our lives for the fruit of love, joy, and peace. ‘I’m sorry but I am going to […]
Life will blunt your edge. The knocks, the scuffs, the micro-abrasions and who you are gets dulled. Having a daily sharpening practice keeps your mental health having a fine edge. I was getting frustrated. I was cutting down a tree with my chainsaw, and it was taking forever. The teeth of […]
Being highly sensitive isn’t a choice. It’s how your brain works. At its core, it means your heart, your soul, you mind bruises way more easily. You can learn some practices to calm the brain. I’ve been a highly sensitive person with anxiety, and depressive moods my whole life. But […]
I don’t ever want to go back there again, but whenever I drive past the place, a trigger is pulled, and I go immediately to that place and that time when the trauma happened. It might be a smell, a taste, seeing someone or something. It could be a sound, […]
Feeling flat and empty can become an invite to feeling full of depth and not a step into depression. Focusing in on something and someone bigger than ourselves can revive a flagging soul. There are times when I feel flat. Life feels meaningless and like it’s one cyclical trip of […]
Low self-worth? Feeling like a worm? The secret about worms is that they have incredible strength and power. Something so small can teach us something great. At times he felt just like a worm. Failures, being taunted and bullied lead to despair swirling around him. It drove him into perfectly […]