IN THE NAME OF JESUS When I consider the many who receive unjust treatment, the collective amount of pain is huge! The resulting damage done to their sense of self-worth and ability to lead a meaningful life is considerable. So good that God carried me through to where I am today, where I can share […]
Read More...Have you read this book yet? It’s an account of a person who believes in justice and suffered for it. A line from John Swinton’s book about dementia caught my eye recently: “The question changes from ‘How can I tell my story well?, to ‘Who will tell my story well?’” I don’t have dementia, […]
Read More...After leaving I said, “I know how I was hurt. But tell me how you were affected. I’d really like to know your side.” But an answer did not come, not for me. “I’ll talk to your counselor or your new pastor.” But as In so many cases before, I myself wasn’t spoken to. […]
Read More...ABUSED He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. Isaiah 53:7 Upon awakening yesterday, I remembered how it had felt to retire from nine years of dedicated service […]
Read More...THE EFFECTS OF STIGMA AND DISCRIMINATION In 1999, I published a book encouraging those who, like me, had mental health issues. In an effort to encourage them, I wrote, “It’s not the end of the world.” I worked hard, trying to make the world a better place for them—in 2006, founding support groups, where they […]
Read More...PSYCHIATRISTS SHOULD LISTEN BEFORE DIAGNOSING I was regularly abused for a year by someone I had least expected. It left me with emotional damage wrongly diagnosed as borderline personality disorder (BPD), the most stigmatized of all mental illnesses. This diagnosis assumed that my reaction to the mistreatment was simply due to over-sensitivity. The psychiatrist did […]
Read More...PSYCHIATRIST’S POWER ABUSED Unfortunately, I’ve been like an innocent child, trusting the person at the helm of my mental health care for years. I believe most of us who live with mental illness do lean on our psychiatrist, especially when we live with low self-esteem. After all, we think, the doctor knows best. I was […]
Read More...OUR PAIN – BEYOND UNDERSTANDING In the 1800’s, at a time when “the insane” were kept in jails and almshouses, they were horrifically mistreated. Social reformer, Dorothea Dix, did much to change this. While touring such places throughout the U.S., she drew the government’s attention to “the state of the insane persons confined within […]
Read More...MENTAL ILLNESS AND ABUSE Graham Thornicroft, in his book Shunned: Discrimination against people with mental illness said this: “Once a person has been defined as mentally ill, his or her protests are often discredited or, even worse, labelled one more ‘symptom’ of his or her illness.” I have – for a very long time tried […]
Read More...To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 1 Peter 2:21 At times we face unjust suffering, not as extreme as Jesus’ crucifixion, but painful, nevertheless. This calls for us to look to Jesus as our example – to fix […]
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