Apologies for the essay-like title, but I am writing this post in response to Adrian Warnock’s posts on Patheos (“A conversation about faith and mental illness” and “How has faith shaped our view of mental illness?”) He asks a question, in the light of the publishing of Amy Simpson’s book Troubled Minds and the suicide of […]
Gentleness and Stigma
May 5, 2013 By 3 Comments
To acknowledge ourselves as having a mental illness can make us vulnerable. If you read the website of Time to Change, the anti-stigma campaign, you can read about others who have experienced discrimination because of their mental illness, who have been told that they are “faking it” and that they have a flaw in their […]
Concerns about Age
May 2, 2013 By Leave a Comment
There’s not a joy the world can give like that it takes away When the glow of early thought declines in feeling’s dull decay; ‘Tis not on youth’s smooth cheek the blush alone, which fades so fast, But the tender bloom of heart is gone, ere youth itself be past. -Byron, Stanzas for Music [1] […]
The Dreaded Work Programme
April 30, 2013 By 3 Comments
Not a proper article per se, I just wanted to say that I have finally reached that stage of unemployment-whilst-on-sickness-benefits that requires me to attend the Work Programme. According to gov.uk, “This provides support, work experience and training for up to 2 years to help people find and stay in work.” As I’ve mentioned before, I […]
Happy Anniversary to Me!
March 30, 2013 By Leave a Comment
I have been blogging for a whole year now. My very first post was made on 28th March 2012. It was a very small post! In fact, it is so short that I’m going to quote it: Thought I should put some sort of intro here. This is my blog on mental health and Christianity, […]
Bit of a Personal Update
March 23, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Sometimes I feel as though I am, in this blog, only reflecting back on times when I have been “properly” ill – in particular the four major episodes of mostly depression (with some hypomania) in the past ten years. I thought it was time for a little more about me today. I am on ESA, […]
Stigma(ta)
March 8, 2013 By Leave a Comment
I’ve written before that words matter . The names we call one another mean something. As the image says, “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will also hurt me.” There are names people use of us – loony, attention-seeker, nutter, psycho; there are phrases used to hurt us: “snap out of it,” “pull […]
Peace, be still
March 5, 2013 By 2 Comments
I am frequently not at peace. Anxiety twists and torments me, makes me run through my head over and over the same worries and fears. Anxiety makes me fear, and fear turns to depression in me. My soul is troubled by many horrible thoughts, by destructive thoughts, by the haunting idea that I am not […]
Sometimes a Light Surprises
February 4, 2013 By Leave a Comment
I was part-way through writing a post tonight, when a sudden fit of anxiety overtook me. So I decided to post a hymn whose lyrics are comforting, instead. The hymn is by William Cowper (1731-1800). He suffered a great deal with depression, but wrote some of the most wonderful Christian hymns. I hope you like […]
Making Time
January 29, 2013 By Leave a Comment
I wrote once about the amount of time mental illness takes from us, about the waste of our time and resources that our ill-health can bring. Mental illness can cause us to feel like we are wasting our time, being idle, not making the most of our opportunities. I urged that we think of our […]
