Criticism, shouting, or being ‘put down’ releases the hormone Cortisol into our blood system. It causes us discomfort. When we know this, we can take greater responsibility for our responses. Four little words will send a shot of terror into a man’s soul. ‘We need to talk.’ On a local […]
boundaries
43 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. […]
Church and Mental Health? How about sitting with someone and being gently curious about the struggles of their soul. Now that is what I call ‘Church.’ I once sat in a church service and seated in front of me were two men. One was a highly paid lawyer, a partner […]
When we are loyal to our lies, we are like an emperor in undies. Delusions believed as truth will destroy. We need to be open to others gently telling us when we have been conned. One of my favorite stories from Hans Christian Andersen is “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” Here […]
When the verbal vomit from a shouting bully has been heaved over your life, you need to recover and get smart. Empower yourself with some worded wisdom. It wasn’t just the loudness of voice; it was also the barrage of words. Condemning, harsh, judgemental words flowing wild and free like […]
Mental health is discovering what you were born to create, building a supportive nest around it and protecting it like a Viking shield maiden. It was the scary wild eyes that made me take a step back. Recently I have been doing some gardening at a retirement village. This isn’t just […]
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 […]
People will always keep crossing your boundaries when your heart is bent and buckled out of shape. But that heart can recover and be filled with courage. It takes time and catching some breath. ‘You need to set some boundaries’. As they said this my heart sank. I knew that […]
When we have realistic expectations, we can build resilience and an internal wisdom that is gentle with our humanity. We can grace ourselves and others when there is a failure to meet expectations. What caused the breakdown? Was it a genetic weakness? The piling up of expectations? Lack of sleep, […]
How can a person know when they have truly forgiven someone else. What is the difference between true forgiveness and simply stuffing down or sweeping under the rug your feelings? It is tempting for Christians to try to forgive quickly in order to ease their minds and resolve the conflict. […]