Depression

Hope for Troubled Minds: How Intercessory Prayer May Help Mental Illness

Hope for Troubled Minds: How Intercessory Prayer May Help Mental Illness

Guest blogger Tony Roberts shares some of his experiences of living with bipolar disorder, including how he has learned to move beyond his brain’s single-minded focus with the discipline of intercessory prayer.

Moving from Darkness to Light with God’s Word and a Crisis Helpline

Moving from Darkness to Light with God’s Word and a Crisis Helpline

Isolation has affected all of us. Racial tensions, struggles, and division in our country has affected everyone in America. We are all a little broken right now. As a pastor, it is hard to build up people when you cannot function. Recently, the amount of mental strain it costs me to function “normally” and put on a brave face is extreme. But I have returned to the point that I can rely on what I know instead of what I feel. Here’s how you can, too.

What Helped My Despair

What Helped My Despair

“How are you?” It’s so hard to answer! “Yes, we’re fine. We are well, we don’t have the virus, we have food, and we have medication.” BUT, and a BIG BUT—sometimes I feel like screaming! I am despairing. This morning I read Psalm 77. The first few verses were how I felt in the middle of last night. This Psalm, and remembering God’s faithfulness showed me several things that helped my despair, and may help you, too.

Three Simple Steps for Spiritual Self-Care During Quarantine

Three Simple Steps for Spiritual Self-Care During Quarantine

What has the potential to crush you? In what area of life do you need “space” for spiritual health in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis? Here are three simple steps from Jesus’ life to protect your spiritual, mental and emotional health.

Six Scriptures to Help Choose Faith Over Fear

Six Scriptures to Help Choose Faith Over Fear

I am scared of all the ‘what-if’s’ of coronavirus. Being a pastor doesn’t somehow mystically make me immune to that. You are probably scared, too. This is where knowing The Word becomes imperative.

Four Areas Where Churches Can Sharpen Their Focus

Four Areas Where Churches Can Sharpen Their Focus

We are making a deliberate shift this week in some of the resources we’re offering to help families and churches get through the ripple effects of Coronavirus. We’re emphasizing mental health, in part because of what we have learned from other countries and church leaders who are farther down the pandemic path. Here are four areas where churches can sharpen their focus ahead of the increase in mental health needs.

5 Ways Pastors Can Support Counselors

5 Ways Pastors Can Support Counselors

Why is it important for pastors to support counselors? Because 25 percent of people go first to a member of the clergy for a mental health need. Pastors need support from professional counselors. If this relationship is strengthened, you will better support your community in the long run.

Safety in God in the Time of Coronavirus

Safety in God in the Time of Coronavirus

Witnessing and hearing of suffering can create a kind of paranoia for us. The unexpected can wreak fear, bitterness, and resentment. But we are kept and protected by the truth. In a world which seems to be spinning out of control, what does safety in God look like?

From the Pit of Fear and Darkness to Love and Light

From the Pit of Fear and Darkness to Love and Light

Guest blogger John Patrick shares his story of anxiety, depression and agoraphobia, and how God’s Word led him to freedom and restoration.

Mental Illness, Christianity and Cultural Sensitivity

Mental Illness, Christianity and Cultural Sensitivity

Is it appropriate for licensed counselors to incorporate Christianity into counseling practices at all? The counselor’s code of ethics is about imposing your beliefs on others. But if a client comes in with Christian values or is wanting to incorporate faith at any capacity into the counseling treatment, everything changes.