Self injury is a serious, and relatively common problem. Women and men, children, teenagers and adults self injure, and it can happen to anyone, from any race, background or culture. A study suggested that between 4.6% and 6.6% of the UK population had self injured although this may be an under-reporting as another study showed […]
Review: The Cutting Edge
September 4, 2012 by 1 Comment
This post is a review of “The Cutting Edge: Clinging to God in the Face of Self-harm” by Jess Wilson (Milton Keynes: Authentic Media, 2008) This 73-page book is, as the title suggests, a specifically Christian book about self injury. The author, Jess Wilson, is a former self injurer herself, and the book relates her […]
Back!
August 12, 2012 by 4 Comments
I’m back! It has been a very busy but very enjoyable week. I was looking after a group of Russians performing at a music festival over a week, making sure they didn’t have problems, arrived on time etc. I am absolutely knackered now – we started at 8am and went on until midnight! We had […]
Holy Suffering?
July 23, 2012 by Leave a Comment
There is a long-running theme in Christianity that suffering – whether mental or physical – is in some way good for us. In a way, we identify more closely with Jesus (the Suffering Servant) when we too suffer, and some people suggest there is a transformative power to our suffering. Martin Luther wrote on the […]
The Power of a Good Story
July 19, 2012 by 2 Comments
We have all seen them, the stories of those who have suffered and won. Disabled people face two “stories” about themselves – the disabled person as scrounger, as the faker who is in it for the benefits and not really disabled/ill (which has become increasingly the story of choice for the government/media) and the disabled […]
Seeking Relief
July 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment
All ye who seek for sure relief in trouble and distress, whatever sorrow vex the mind, or guilt the soul oppress, Jesus, who gave himself for you upon the cross to die, opens to you his sacred heart: O to that heart draw nigh. Ye hear how kindly he invites; ye hear his words so […]
Christians and Suicide
July 9, 2012 by 3 Comments
If you are feeling suicidal, please consider calling or emailing The Samaritans… I have been suicidal many times. I have seriously attempted suicide several times. My bipolar disorder (which, in me is characterised by deep depression) has led me close to the brink of death by my own hand. I have to say that when […]
Healing in the Evening
June 13, 2012 by 3 Comments
At even when the sun was set The sick, O Lord, around thee lay; O in what divers pains they met! O with what joy they went away! Once more ’tis eventide, and we Oppressed with various ills draw near; What if thy form we cannot see? We know and feel that thou art here. […]
Getting Some (Christian) Education
May 25, 2012 by Leave a Comment
I want to be more fully immersed in my faith. I don’t know whether it is a feature of my bipolar but I am very much an all-or-nothing sort of person. I either want to spend all my time doing something, or not do it at all; the idea of having a faith but doing […]
Are We To Blame For Our Illnesses?
April 17, 2012 by Leave a Comment
This is a provocative subject (and title). I am a Christian, so when I think about this question, I am looking at more than simply a biological viewpoint. I take the Bible seriously, and I am concerned about what it has to say about illness. There seem to me to be four different causes of […]
Believer's Brain 