Mental Health Archives

God Sets the Lonely in Families

When trouble comes, we can quickly isolate ourselves, but there needs to be an invitation to go deep and connect. God sets the lonely in families. We need others who will tag along and pray with us. It must have been a very lonely place. He had done everything he […]

Trauma & Recovery

God’s Love can Heal a Heart Full of Anxiety

The heart can be full of anxiety from a young age. But there is hope when we are feeling helpless and vulnerable. Kandace Rather tells us how God’s love healed her heart. I remember the first time I felt panic. I was in third grade, and my mom had just […]

Spiritual Practices

Mental Health is … Learning to Listen for the Whispers

The noise of our world will never fully satisfy, but when we learn how to listen for whispers, we find a safe place for the soul. I wonder when the first sound was made? Was it a big bang or the quietest of whispers. As the sound waves vibrated out, […]

Getting Well Staying Well Mental health

You’re Not a Problem. It’s Not Who You Are

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 […]

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, […]

comparisonitis compulsion compare yourself to others depression anxiety

Getting Well Staying Well Mental health

Comparisonitis – The Compulsion to Compare Yourself

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 […]

"A blog header image with a split-screen layout. The left side features a dark background with bold yellow and white text that reads 'How to Grow the Practice of Stillness for your Mental Health.' The right side shows a serene, high-contrast black and white photograph of a person sitting in a peaceful, meditative posture outdoors, surrounded by soft, natural light."

Spiritual Practices

How to Grow the Practice of Stillness for your Mental Health

Thoughts and feelings can whirl you away from being centered. The practice of stillness can calm the mind and bring back clarity. The Bible has verses to help us on the way. Sometimes I feel like I am on a long bungee cord. I run off to do this and that. […]

Spiritual Practices

Sharpening: A Spiritual Habit for Better Mental Health

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 […]

Getting Well Staying Well Mental health

How to Restore your Soul when Feeling Flat and Drained Out?

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 […]

"An ice climber scaling a sheer frozen wall, with text 'Want to die? 37 Sentences to stop the slide.'"

Getting Well Staying Well

Suicide. 37 Sentences to Stop the Slide

When you’re on a slippery slope towards suicide, you need self-talk sentences to arrest your fall. The dark self-talk of ‘I want to die’ needs to replaced with ‘I need help and I can get it’. Change your words and you change your life. The ice pick slammed into the […]