Marja Bergen

author, mental health advocate, follower of Christ

Page 83 of 142

May I share?

          I’ve been told to distract myself a bit from stresses. And – as usual – I find photography of flowers to be one of my favourite distractions. There’s the actual photography – using the many qualities of light that appear throughout the day. There’s the  various ways in which the […]

Read More...

Never-ending trauma

    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 – […]

Read More...

The good in rapid cycling

LIVING ROOM MEMORIES  279  (May 7, 2010) You know, I’d rather be into rapid cycling than in a solid depression, as I was at this time last year. The lows I go through now only last a few hours. The depression only got alarmingly low one day. That was followed by a high the next […]

Read More...

Being different for God

  My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.  Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them […]

Read More...

Crucified

  I know I wasn’t going to write any more of my story. I claimed that I had recovered. However, traumatic memories don’t go away so easily. Writing whenever I felt bad was helpful. But yesterday bad memories – especially one – came back, leaving me weeping in church. And I had nowhere to go […]

Read More...

Beyond memories: creating a new reality

  (Written in January 2017) Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” Matthew 18:21-22   Jesus knew all about forgiving. He came to do a […]

Read More...

Wrapping up (2019)

It’s time, really time, to put an end to my story. I’m glad to have found better wellness through the telling. But today I’m tired of thinking about so much sadness and ugliness. I want to start enjoying the new me. And so, I’ll wrap up with this: I strongly believe this account had to […]

Read More...

The good in bipolar

LIVING ROOM MEMORIES  278  (May 2, 2010) Almost every day over the past while I wake up feeling awful. As the day progresses things usually improve. This morning it happened again. I felt so depressed. But as I sipped my coffee and looked out over the yard, the patio, and my favourite chair, I thought […]

Read More...

And yet…

LIVING ROOM MEMORIES  277  (April 20, 2010) Psalms 42 and 43 which we studied at our last Living Room Bible study sure hit home for those of us there. We could relate to the psalmists’ laments. We could relate for the thirsting after God expressed in the opening verses: “As the deer pants for streams […]

Read More...

A creative kick start

LIVING ROOM MEMORIES  276  (April 13, 2010) Amazing how a little creativity – a new project – colour – excitement – can kick start a more positive mood! In the midst of my verge of depression, I had an idea last week. No, it didn’t come from me exactly. It was truly planted there by […]

Read More...
« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2025 Marja Bergen

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑