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...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 […]
Read More...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. […]
Read More...BPD (borderline personality disorder) has its roots in our childhood. It may develop as a result of abuse. On the other hand, the child may have been treated well but had periods of abandonment. Time away from home, in hospital or elsewhere, can cause significant trauma for a young child. A child who is […]
Read More...Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19 Are you plagued by memories of a painful past, memories of being […]
Read More...As author Herman notes, there is no neutrality in the trauma of abuse. The bystander — that’s you and me — cannot merely by-stand. To do so is to choose, and the choice is for the abuser. Evil only asks that we remain quiet and still. Divert our eye and go on about our business. […]
Read More...Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him [Jesus]. Some said, “He is a good man.” Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.” But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the leaders. John 7:12-13 I invite you to read what author Judith Lewis Herman says about this kind […]
Read More...You never completely lose the memories of trauma, they say. And I know that to be true. Triggers come at the most unexpected times, even during a sermon at church. There’s not anything particularly different about the sermon. But at times it does lead one’s mind to reliving experiences in your life – experiences […]
Read More...I can’t live with myself until I’ve expressed remorse to all who might have been affected by the unfortunate piece I published on March 6. It was based on a sermon on 3 John that I had just heard. The following piece, NEVER ENDING TRAUMA, described how the memories that were triggered affected me. […]
Read More...Very sad, but very true. Too many, even those close to her, question the truth of her story. And I wonder, how can a hurting person possibly convince others when wrongdoings have taken place behind closed doors? How can a person with mental health issues possibly defend herself against a powerful leader – a […]
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