We have been through a challenging year with COVID-19. One concern many of us have is that the isolation of lockdowns will have had a huge impact on people emotionally. Some are warning of a tsunami of mental health issues. So, today, I wanted to highlight a few resources to help people struggling with depressionContinue reading “Help for those struggling with Depression”
Tag Archives: Mental health
What not to take away from the Meghan and Harry interview
Well the Meghan and Harry interview has done its work in generating a lot of opinion and discussion. It seems to me that polarisation is likely to align along pre-established lines. Steve Kneale writes here about how it is likely to reflect culture with Meghan and Harry’s approach and therefore support reflecting a younger, newContinue reading “What not to take away from the Meghan and Harry interview”
Our attitude to mental health may indicate the extent to which we have dealt with the toxic problem of Prosperity Teaching
If I told you that you probably did not need to persist with the chemotherapy, or that you did not need to see a surgeon to get your broken bone reset, you just needed to pray and repent of your sin, how would you respond? Not only would you recognise this as ridiculously nuts butContinue reading “Our attitude to mental health may indicate the extent to which we have dealt with the toxic problem of Prosperity Teaching”
When your pastor gets depressed (3) Is it sin?
You may remember that a few weeks back I wrote about being offered Biblical Counselling when depressed and the implication behind that approach to counselling that the cause of depression is some buried sin from the past. There is a real danger when dealing with the problem of depression that we immediately assume that theContinue reading “When your pastor gets depressed (3) Is it sin?”
When your pastor gets depressed (part 2) -a look at some potential risk factors
In part 1 yesterday, I highlighted 3 causes of depression that pastors might be particularly prone to because they are high risk factors in church and ministry contexts: social isolation, conflict and abuse. However, these are not the only causes of depression. It’s worth observing at this point that depression and anxiety disorders can strikeContinue reading “When your pastor gets depressed (part 2) -a look at some potential risk factors”
Wrestling with my thoughts -Book Review
Sharon was a high flying, top grade medical student when things began to unravel as she headed towards her final exams. An eagle-eyed, loving aunt first spots the signs that things are not right when Sharon visits her in Los Angeles. What initially looks like a dose of depression to be brushed off spirals intoContinue reading “Wrestling with my thoughts -Book Review”
Towards a theology of depression
Over the last few months, I’ve been involved with a few projects and numerous conversations relating to the experience of Christian workers with depression. One thing that has come out so often is the extent to which the sufferers and their churches simply were not ready for it when it hit. At theological college youContinue reading “Towards a theology of depression”
If someone says they have depression, please take them seriously
I saw this tweet the other day and would like to respond to it. The background to the tweet is that the pastor concerned had a high celebrity profile due to Justin Bieber attending his church. Sadly, as with so many pastors over the years behind the public persona was something different and his marriageContinue reading “If someone says they have depression, please take them seriously”
The role of Scripture in treating mental health issues
I have read reports recently from people experiencing “Christian counselling” for mental health issues where this amounted to giving them a few bible verses to read and memorise. So, I thought I would outline a few reflections around this. The first thing to say is that this is sometimes described as Biblical Counselling. However, thisContinue reading “The role of Scripture in treating mental health issues”
Pills, therapy and sin
US pastor Gabriel Hughes tweeted the following to his 15k followers this week. I want to spend a little bit of time responding here as quite a few people reacted strongly to what came across as an insensitive comment. Among Hughes’ followers will be people who struggle with depression, other forms of mental illness andContinue reading “Pills, therapy and sin”
