IN THE NAME OF JESUS Have you ever felt the pain of being disbelieved? If you have, you’ll know how helpless it makes you feel. Many of us living with mental illness know such pain. It’s true. There may be times when people with mental illness have delusions that cause them to believe things that […]

IN THE NAME OF JESUS As you’ve been reading through this series, I hope you remember that everyone with a caring heart can support troubled individuals, especially peers. The Bible says, Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all […]

IN THE NAME OF JESUS In September 2009 I gave a talk to a group whose members had lost loved ones to suicide. It was an emotionally charged time with twenty-one of us sitting in a circle for three hours. One by one they shared their stories of pain with me. There were many tears. […]

IN THE NAME OF JESUS As we’ve noted earlier, prejudice is rampant in our world today, as it was during Jesus’ time. We think that good only comes from those with power, those who are economically well off, those with higher education. We tend to think that only bad news comes from the poor, from […]

IN THE NAME OF JESUS When I talk to healthy friends, people who care about me, I realize they will never fully understand what it means to live with a mental illness, no matter how much explaining I do. The issue is not the illness itself and what it does to the person living with […]

IN THE NAME OF JESUS Everyone lives with bad memories from the past. It’s part of life. But some memories could be classified as traumatic. They’re the result of truly disturbing experiences like witnessing a horrific accident, being in the middle of a war zone, or seeing a vicious crime committed. Such memories tend to […]

IN THE NAME OF JESUS Supporters: Before we move on to the next topic in the In the Name of Jesus series, let’s stop and look at the purpose of these writings. What are they trying to do and what are they not intended to do? The writings won’t help people deal with specific mental […]

  IN THE NAME OF JESUS In her book Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, Joanna Weaver relates Robert Boyd Munger’s story about how he showed Christ around his house room by room. When they got to the drawing room they both liked it best and decided to meet and start every day […]

IN THE NAME OF JESUS One of the best ways to help a friend in trouble—whether it is with emotional pain, grief, or mental health issues of any kind—is to sit down with them and let them tell you about it. I think the world is far too quick to criticize people for complaining about […]

IN THE NAME OF JESUS Problems arise when a person with mental health problems starts relying too heavily on a supporter. I’m ashamed to say that I speak as someone who has been guilty of excessive contact with people who were once dear to me. I speak as someone who has been deeply hurt by […]