Marja Bergen

author, mental health advocate, follower of Christ

Category: Our voices (page 5 of 5)

I lost my good reputation

  An Excerpt from My Battle Against Stigma (revised version of I Will Not Hide) by Marja Bergen Perhaps it was my cries of pain that caused word about what had happened to get out. Stories about me spread like wildfire. I, the victim, was given the blame. The person in authority who caused my […]

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By his wounds we are healed

  I think a lot of us suffer more from how we have been hurt by others than we do from our mental illness. And how hard it is to find a friend who will understand. How often we lose friends because our need for them is more than they can bear.   Pain like […]

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A voice of one calling

    John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” John 1:23   John the Baptist had been testifying about Jesus and he was questioned by Jewish priests and Levites, puzzled by what he was proclaiming. “Who […]

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The only way to keep going

  I’ve been criticized for talking too much about my pain. Criticized for writing too many stories about myself. But I believe it’s the only way I can keep on living. Each time a crisis hits, each time I end up in the emergency ward, not knowing how to go on, the only thing that […]

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Blamed

  Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12   When I most needed love, I was treated with frustration. Anger. “Why don’t you pull yourself together?” he seemed to say. Like many, he thought that illnesses of the mind could be controlled. […]

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He keeps me going

  And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition […]

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