Marja Bergen

author, mental health advocate, follower of Christ

Category: Stigma (page 12 of 14)

Misconceptions. uggh!!

LIVING ROOM MEMORIES  187  Canadian Christianity has another excerpt from A Firm Place to Stand up. The title is Misconceptions and in it I outline the problem many Christians have, spiritualizing mental health problems like depression. I spell it out really well. But, lo and behold, someone comments – compassionately enough – but totally NOT […]

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An illness like any other

LIVING ROOM MEMORIES  186  (September 4, 2008) Someone approached me having difficulty accepting her diagnosis of bipolar disorder. This prompts me to share an excerpt from my first book, Riding the Roller Coaster. Throughout the writing of this book I held in mind the people who were newly diagnosed and how hard it is to […]

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Feeling alienated – social phobia

LIVING ROOM MEMORIES  152  (April 18, 2008) Often I feel like an alien in the world, and even at church. As a teen I had social phobia, and it crops up again every now and then. In searching the internet I found that often social phobia is linked with mood disorders. Research published by Cambridge […]

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I’m seething!

LIVING ROOM MEMORIES  112  (November 12, 2007) I’ve been happy lately about how I’m able to control my anger, especially towards those who don’t understand mental illness. I wrote recently about how we have to be patient with and learn to be “understanding of those who don’t understand”. But sometimes my patience wears thin and […]

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Belief in demons still rampant (pt 2) as written in 2007

LIVING ROOM MEMORIES  85  (July 21, 2007) I guess I need to continue this discussion, though I’d rather leave it alone. Talking about these things upset me and are not good for my mood. I’d rather talk about positive things. The Bible says: “…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, […]

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Belief in demons still rampant (pt. 1) (as written in 2007)

LIVING ROOM MEMORY  82  (July 16, 2007) A couple of years ago someone tried to help me by giving me Neil Anderson’s Victory Over the Darkness to read. Anderson is probably one of the most popular deliverance ministers today. Many Christians, including some from my own church, look up to him and listen to what […]

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Not a positive topic

LIVING ROOM MEMORIES  66  (April 28, 2007) At Living Room yesterday we talked about stigma and how it affects our lives with mood disorders. The discussion time was good. Many of the people around the table had thoughts to contribute. But when I tried to find something hopeful to bring out of the discussion, something […]

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Stigma in the church (as it was in 2006)

LIVING ROOM MEMORIES  25 (November 5, 2006) A friend recently talked about her wish for church support for her battles with bipolar. This, once more, made me feel the great need for spiritual support for people with this disorder. When we believe in God, we need to be able to talk with others who share […]

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Ugly me

  Dear God. I told my therapist last week how I’m feeling ugly. He told me I have to stop expecting everyone to be like Jesus. I suppose I have been, Lord. I haven’t accepted people in the way I’ve wanted them to accept and forgive people like me. The kindness I used to have […]

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How can it be?

  How could this have happened to me? For twenty years I worked hard to better the lives of people with mental health issues. Although I myself suffered from bipolar I accomplished much. Life was hard, but good. And then, a couple of years ago I came down with the worst and most misunderstood mental […]

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