Ideas of what I should, and should not, pray about are a problem in my life. I freely confess that I am not a good “pray-er” – I never seem to know what to say, I am sure I fail to say things I am supposed to, and I can’t even manage to close my […]
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 […]
Self Harm, and Me – a post for #SIAD
March 1, 2013 by Leave a Comment
It seems such a long time ago now, when I first started cutting my skin. A one-off response to feelings of overwhelming anger and pain when I was fourteen led me to take a knife to my arm. It would have been just a one-off, too, had I not faced those feelings again, years later. […]
I Am An Extremist
February 27, 2013 by 2 Comments
I am a person of extremes. It remains debatable whether that is due to my bipolar disorder, or to some facet of my own personality. As it happens, my mother is also an extreme sort of person. For both of us, it is easy to fall into an “all-or-nothing” mentality. I either do not bother […]
Dear Lord and Father of Mankind
February 25, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Another hymn for you! I have always loved this one, which is by John Whittier, and enjoyed singing it at school. I particularly appreciate the “reclothe us in our rightful mind” line. Not just because I have a mental illness: the “rightful mind” for me is something we all strive for, because our own natural […]
Healing Services
February 24, 2013 by 2 Comments
I have just returned tonight from a healing service held at my local church. It used Common Worship‘s laying on of hands and anointing service. You can read the service on the Church of England website. The website also includes an interesting theological note about healing which is well worth reading, and which includes this […]
Mental…and Christ-like?
February 19, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The old (if rather irritating) phrase, that Christianity is about a relationship (rather than a religion) with God, has a great deal of truth to it. * The relationship between us and Jesus, between the Persons of God – everything is interwoven. Before he went to the cross, Jesus prayed: I have given them the […]
Night Prayers
February 16, 2013 by Leave a Comment
I thought I would add again some more prayers. These are from the Carmina Gadelica, a collection of traditional prayers, poems and chants from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland collected by Alexander Carmichael between 1855 and 1910. More on the book, from Wikipedia. Check out my other posts on prayer: A Prayer When Depressed, […]
Testifying…with a mental illness?
February 12, 2013 by 3 Comments
I love reading true stories, and I love reading testimonies, either online or in print. It is wonderful to read stories of people leading difficult, dangerous and sinful lives and meeting Christ, and to hear of their transformation. I like stories of people involved with drugs, crime, the occult, and I like stories where at […]
Believer's Brain 