Marja Bergen

author, mental health advocate, follower of Christ

Category: Mental illness and the church (page 6 of 10)

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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BPD – Man’s inhumanity to man

People with BPD are often treated like untouchables in our modern world. Medical professionals and counselors don’t want to deal with them. They are feared by the people around them—feared because they don’t know the kind of response to expect. But if we want to follow Christ’s ways, we must try and treat those who […]

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BPD – The compassionate response to anger

Suppose someone said something or did something especially hurtful to the person with BPD. Such a sensitive person might not be able to help but react, often with the over-the-top anger (or emotional dysregulation) we’ve been talking about. That’s the feature of BPD that’s most alarming in the eyes of the people around us. And […]

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BPD – plea for understanding

Where do you go when you have an illness that medical professionals and counselors don’t want to deal with—treated like an untouchable in a modern world? Have you ever thought what that would feel like? It’s happening all the time to people with BPD. In their book Beyond Borderline: True Stories of Recovery from Borderline […]

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How angry do you get? – A life worth living – Part 53

We probably wouldn’t be normal if we didn’t get angry once in a while. We flare up when someone says something hurtful to us or about us. When they hurt us physically or psychologically. We get angry when we’re lied about or taken advantage of. We get angry when we’re treated disrespectfully, as though we […]

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Our right to be heard

One of the worst forms of stigma against those living with mental health challenges is not having their truth heard. Not considered credible. Not believed. Not considered as much of a person as others are. Simply because they’ve been diagnosed with a mental illness with no consideration given to how well-functioning they might be. If […]

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Why don’t you believe me?

  “ If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? ” John 8:46   Can you “hear” the frustration in Jesus’ voice? He is speaking to the Jews who had for too long been tricked by believing the lies that appealed to their pride and ego. They were no longer capable of […]

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Gaining confidence – A life worth living, Part 3

You may be living with low self-esteem, thinking you’re not worth much. But listen to this: “You are of great worth to God, your Father. You are his child and he wants you to get the most out of life.” This is something you need to believe. The writings you’ll find here will help you […]

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Justice – A life worth living. Part 2

The justice this book will talk about is the entitlement for everyone to have the same fundamental human rights—the right to equality and dignity, the freedom from all forms of discrimination. There are many human rights movements active today. All people in our world deserve to be treated justly—regardless of race, colour, gender, disability, and […]

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Broken and crushed

  The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18   Have you ever felt so bad, so ashamed about how you behaved, you find it hard to live with yourself? You couldn’t help what you did. It just happened, and you wish you could go back […]

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