HOW DOES FAITH HELP US SURVIVE? – from Harold G. Koenig, M.D. Many, many persons today must live with recurrent persistent emotional or mental illness. What about these people? Are they doomed to a life of senseless pain and suffering? Certainly they should hope for, and seek, information about new treatments that may relieve their […]
Read More...RELIGION PROMOTES OTHER-DIRECTNESS – from Dr. Harold G.Koenig, M.D. Religion influences mental health by directing one’s attention outside of the self. As noted earlier every major world religious leader has instructed his followers to support and care for one another—Moses, Jesus, the Buddha, Hindu holy men, and Mohammed. All emphasized this teaching as the key […]
Read More...WHEN DID THE CHURCH LOSE DIRECTION? In 2005 Harold G. Koenig, M.D. published Faith & Mental Health. It happened to be the year before the faith-based support group, Living Room, was founded in 2006. I look forward to re-printing some of the highlights of Dr. Koenig’s book here. Followers of Christ should find his thoughts […]
Read More...IN THE NAME OF JESUS This is what people with mental health challenges want to tell us: We are looked down on. We are not understood. Our truths are not believed. We are shunned rejected, excluded. We are made to feel ashamed. Our abilities are often underrated. Our opinions are not respected. We are […]
Read More...IN THE NAME OF JESUS When first getting to know us, love might be hard to show without first understanding . But do show kindness. Show you care, as you would for anyone who isn’t feeling good about life and about who they are. Yes, we who struggle need kindness most of all. If we […]
Read More...IN THE NAME OF JESUS How can the pain of stigma be reduced? How can the good in those of us with lived experience be recognized and affirmed? We need to have caring people to build us up. And followers of Christ are among the best individuals to make this happen because they have Jesus […]
Read More...IN THE NAME OF JESUS You have probably heard me say the following before, but it bears repeating. Much is being done to reduce stigma. But reducing stigma is not nearly enough. Something important is being overlooked. The voices of those who are to benefit, those with lived experience, are not being heard. And it’s […]
Read More...IN THE NAME OF JESUS I am concerned. Because I, and others with mental health conditions, are not being heard. Although I’m not a trained counselor or pastor, I have known Jesus for a very long time, especially close to him during times of suffering. Through him and the words he has given me, I […]
Read More...ACTION REQUIRED The pain caused by stigma can no longer be ignored. It needs to be addressed by all who care. All who want to follow Jesus are called to be involved in a supportive care ministry—a ministry to serve the stigmatized people of today in the way Jesus once cared for those the world […]
Read More...IN THE NAME OF JESUS I speak with the love that Jesus, in his gospels, taught us to have for those the world wanted nothing to do with. I speak for my brothers and sisters. It is a well-known fact that people with mental health issues suffer a lot of stigma. But little attention is […]
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