Marja Bergen

author, mental health advocate, follower of Christ

Category: Coping with Mental Illness (page 3 of 15)

Breaking free

When we begin to struggle with mental health challenges, we’re given meds and we’re given a label (a diagnosis). And from that time forward, it’s hard not to live without a different persona—one that is looked down on. One that even we ourselves look down on. We may lose our confidence. Many in this unfair […]

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When no one believes you

There is an insidious form of stigma that’s common in the lives of people with mental illness. It’s caused by mistreatment that’s real but not obvious, and so, when complaints are made, they’re not believed. The victims’ ability tell the truth about a situation, is all too often questioned. That’s unfair and a great injustice. […]

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Despised

  He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Isaiah 53:3   Why does it hurt so much to be ill thought of because your mind doesn’t work the same […]

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BPD – Suicidal ideation

From an anonymous person: “People who have not experienced it simply do not understand the emotional and even physical toll mental health issues cause. Suicidal thoughts and ideations became the norm for me. It is not that I ever truly wanted to die, I was just tired of living. I was tired of the pain […]

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Relationships – A BPD Life

Here is another sharing from the person in Wichita, KS: Imagine the most intense feeling you have ever had in your life. Maybe it’s the first time you fell in love, or the worst argument you have ever had with someone you love. The intensity with which you felt those emotions is probably equivalent to […]

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BPD – A sense of our humanity

We sense our humanity most fully when we walk with someone through their pain. There’s something about encouraging a troubled person to peel back the layers to find their healthy self again. It’s a privilege to be allowed to accompany them on their journey. We experience our humanity most when we can be a friend […]

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Could Job Help Being Job?

Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend     forsakes the fear of the Almighty. Job 6:14 It’s all about love, isn’t it? It’s about forgiving others for who they are and what they’ve grown to be. It’s how we follow God. Can anyone who’s hurt by others help it when they’re no longer able to be […]

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BPD and the need for compassion

“Compassion.” We all know the word and we know that—among other things—it’s a description of what Jesus showed the outcasts—those the world had rejected. The Bible tells about his unconditional love, the love he has for each of us, no matter who we are, no matter how good or bad we are. We would like […]

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Ostracized – A life with BPD

We are social creatures. Most people need friends. We need to know we are loved. When those are lacking, our mental health suffers. Many people living with BPD end up suffering from a deep and painful sense of being unwanted. This became the case for one person, though it had not always been like that. […]

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BPD – I’m not a bad person

When asked, most will say a person should be judged by what’s in their heart, not by their outward appearance. But that goes out the window when they see behaviour they find alarming. Behaviour they don’t understand. In my own case, I was hurt by things said to me or done to me. Without the […]

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