Mental Illnesses Archives

Yes. A Christian can have a Mental Illness

Having a Mental Illness can mean you feel very alone, but does being a Christian mean that you’re somehow on the outside? I wouldn’t have noticed it at the time, but a few years ago, I began to look at the shaping influences that happened in my early life, particularly […]

Mental health Mental Illnesses

When the Emotional Pain is too much

Emotional pain can bump our lives into behaviors that can hurt us further. But we can make a change by learning to listen to the pain, where it’s sourced, and what it wants us to do. He was in pain. I could see it, feel it, and totally understand it. […]

Mental health Mental Illnesses

Three Bible Verses to Reassure when You feel Stress

There are times we feel stress, but there is the hope of reassurance when we meditate on some Bible verses. One of my favorite bible characters was someone who seemed to need consistent reassurance when under stress. He was anxious, unsure, and seemed to want to argue with God. I […]

Mental Illnesses Spiritual Formation Uncategorized

Is my Mental Illness because of Sin in my Life?

Yes, there is ‘Sin in my life’ but there is more going on than simplistic hurtful black and white thinking. We need to grow in grace Let’s crack the whip a bit louder against the soul. It’s always saddening when you hear the story of someone who believes their […]

Helping Others Mental Illnesses

When the Darkest of Valleys becomes a Suffocating Despair

The darkest valley can become a suffocating tomb, a hole that feels impossible to dig oneself out of, but with the help of others, a step can be made, and light can shine again. Recently I went to see ‘Tolkien,’ a movie about the author J.R.R. Tolkien who wrote classics […]

Patsy Clairmont Prayed for a Disease that Would Justify her Weirdness

Mental Illnesses People Like Us

Patsy Clairmont Prayed for a Disease to Justify Weirdness

Agoraphobia had gripped Patsy Clairmont to the point where all she could manage was to make it to her neighborhood grocery store and safely home again. With grunt work and grace, Patsy discovered recovery. She shares with us some of her story. I was a mopey child, a sad teenager, […]

Mental Illnesses Spiritual Formation

Do you know where I found God? In a Prison Cell

I can hear you yawning from here. Not another Prison Cell Story. The thing is, there is nowhere you can go in a Prison Cell. It is only you, 4 walls and a window with bars. You could turn the radio up really loud but that only lasts for so […]

Mental health Mental Illnesses

Why Male Depression feels like being Impotent and Weightless

Underneath the depression of a male is a feeling of being impotent and weightless. The man has lost connection with his potency, and the spirit has been crushed. ‘Have I made a difference’? and ‘Has my life mattered?’ are two questions that sit behind the stage curtain of many men’s […]

Getting Well Staying Well Mental Illnesses

How God meets us when we are Anxious

When God says ‘don’t be anxious’ it’s not a command it’s an invitation to grow closer in trust. We see a small corner of the picture, but God sees the whole. I was living in the sense of dread. I didn’t know what the next day would bring, and my […]

Mental Illnesses

Social Anxiety? What’s That?

Ever feel like you’re all of a sudden gasping for air? Heartbeat racing out of control? Breaking out in a cold sweat? Or, clenching your teeth so hard you feel like your jaw might lock in place? These can be effects of social anxiety. More importantly, I have friends, acquaintances, […]