I hate suffering. I hate it when someone – even me – comes down with depression, anxiety, psychosis; with an illness that is stigmatised and life-changing and will never fully go away. I hate all illness, sickness, death. I hate wars and famine and natural disasters. I hate the evil that man does to man, […]
The Bible and Medication
June 8, 2013 by 4 Comments
I have been suffering from withdrawal side-effects from medication this week. My doctor was supposed to reduce my risperidone from 3mg to 0 by 1mg a month, as per my consultant’s instruction, however he didn’t reduce it at all for three months, then when I reminded him he reduced it to 1mg last week, and […]
7 Ways Faith Communities Can Respond to Mental Illness
May 27, 2013 by Leave a Comment
This is in response to Adrian Warnock’s conversation on mental illness (see here and here on my blog) and is specifically in response to this question from him: How do you think that faith communities and society as a whole can better respond to mental illness? Mental illness is a serious problem affecting millions worldwide. 1 […]
Mental Illness and my Faith
May 11, 2013 by 6 Comments
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 […]
Well-Beloved
April 28, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Recently, we bought our cat some food. She didn’t like it (cats!) but the name struck me. It was by a brand called James Wellbeloved. What a wonderful name! I would happily give up my (rather cool, I think) surname to be called Wellbeloved, it’s even better than the surname of someone I know, who […]
Hope is the Thing with Feathers
April 20, 2013 by Leave a Comment
A poem that I thought you might like: Hope is the Thing with Feathers Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune–without the words, And never stops at all, And sweetest in the gale is heard; And sore must be the storm That could abash the little bird […]
Letting Go of the Past
April 4, 2013 by 7 Comments
I have done lots of things wrong in my life. While I’m not in the same league as Paul (‘the chief of sinners’) I have done things I should not, said things I should not, treated others badly. As a Christian I understand that all sin leads to death – and that therefore I need/ed […]
As I Walk Through the Valley
March 27, 2013 by 2 Comments
I have loved Psalm 23 since I was given a copy of it after my grandmother’s death, when I was eight. I memorised it then, and sometimes, when I am not really able to think of things to say, I recite it to God. One line that has always stood out for me is verse […]
Believer's Brain 