Spirituality Helps Achieve Balanced Mental Health

“It is not that ‘spirituality can cure depression, but [that it] may provide a

grounding in the midst of despair…”

~ Rev. John Parker Maxwell, Baltimore’s First Unitarian Church

            One of my personal, working definitions of spirituality is “engaging my faith in God to help me remain hopeful about the future.”  Another one is, “using my relationship with God to cope with daily life experiences.”

 

Man by Gustavo Rezende

            Seeking God’s presence, guidance and blessing while living out daily experiences is how I can cope with whatever the day brings. (Psalm 42)

            My reality is depression and anxiety are normal, habitual responses to life events.  Denying the existence of these conditions leads me back to self-destructive responses.  So, when life seems too much to bear, I tap into my relationship with God as an additional support to manage my mental health.

            Now, many people believe that faith or spirituality alone is all a person needs to achieve a balanced, mental state.  I tried it that way.  It doesn’t work for me.

            For me, I need to exercise my faith.  This means challenging my fears, forget what society stays about mental illness and step outside my comfort zone to take care of me.  For this reason, therapy, medication and attendance at 12-step meetings are the additional tools and resources necessary for my continuous, uninterrupted recovery from my co-occurring disorders.  I use those tools in conjunction with prayer, medication and reading the Word of God.

            If the church, as Jayson Bradley states in his blog post, Sinners Anonymous: Less Church, More Recovery, could successfully minister to ALL people struggling with mental illness and addictions, then “outsiders would come to us for sanctuary from themselves.”

            I’m a member of the clergy and learned, a long time ago, not to share my personal pain and emotional struggles with many people in the church.  The church’s hands-off approach towards mental illness feeds the stigma and pushes those of us who seek to reconcile our weakness with our faith -- outside the doors of the church.  Is this really what Christ intended?

            I think not.

            So, many days, I practice my spirituality in private by listening to sermons on YouTube, reading the Word of God and speaking with my therapist, in detail, about myself, my thinking, my behavior, weaknesses and struggles in light of my perceptions of God and how the Word impacts my thinking and behavior.  So far, so good.  I’m healing one day at a time.

 

Triad by Katrina Joyner

            The results of my faith grounding me looks like my mind is more settled.  I have called a moratorium on self-harm and I have taken several steps away from self-destructive thoughts and behaviors.  I’m not cured yet, but, I am on the path of recovery from co-occurring disorders. 

Yes, “they” also forgot to tell us depression and anxiety can be cured with an 80% success rate! 

So, this post is a word of encouragement to those of us that are not “normal” and need to creatively sustain our productive, healthy existence on earth.  Remember, We Do Recover! Therefore, creatively use your faith to ground you in your recovery and sustain you in managing life.

Be Blessed,

Mystic Michelle

A Father’s Sacrifice

Terry Jr and III

Three Ways Godly Fathers Demonstrate Love

            Secretly, I’ve always been fascinated by the lack of selfishness real men possess.  They take their responsibility of protector and provider seriously and without complaint.  Selflessly they sacrifice their personal desires for what is best for their family, children and other loved ones.  It is a sacrifice I consider courageous and admirable.

            The biblical character Job sacrificed on behalf of his children.  (Job 1:4-5) Now, the use of the word sacrifice in this context is a bit different.  Job went to God on behalf of his children.  After his sons and daughters would party, Job would give God a gift and ask God to forgive his children, in case they had offended God.  Admirable.

            His actions, in my opinion, align with attitude of present-day fathers who sacrifice their will, emotions, time and treasure for their children.  These fathers give themselves as a gift to their children.

Three Sacrifices of a Great Father

1.     Time.  After working all day and thinking about the family and praying to God for direction in his role as a man in his children’s lives, one way a great father sacrifices is by spending time with his children.  These small people can be demanding, energetic and a challenge to manage.  However, they also bring joy, peace and hope into the lives of men too.  Great fathers sacrifice their time by interacting with their children.  In fact, this sacrifice helps a man to maintain a sense of peace and proper focus on what is important in life.

2.     Emotions.  Men have feelings.  They have an emotional response to life.  Parenting children comes with feelings of love, warmth, joy, frustration, confusion, worry, etc.  Great fathers push their feelings to the side and pursue a course of action that will benefit their children.  They sacrifice how they feel in order to do God’s will in their child’s life.  Many times, this can’t be easy.  No one wants to watch their child cry because they had to correct their unruly behavior or enforce a rule.  But great fathers do it anyway, in moderation, to help the child function well in life.

3.     Will.  Great fathers do what has to be done.  They earn the money, share the money, take the family on trips, clothe the children, and provide food on the table and much more.  They handle their responsibilities.  Instead of pursuing the purchase of a new motorcycle or tickets to a Super Bowl game, they make sure their children’s needs are met before they pursue their own personal agendas.  They sacrifice their will.  They give themselves as a gift to their children, as often as possible, because it is right, responsible and honorable.  It is part of God’s plan for the family.

Michael, Sr and Jr.

Responsible parenting isn’t always easy.  It is an investment of ourselves into the lives of people we brought into the world.  There are many men who are fully invested in their role as a parent and we can tell because their behavior demonstrates good parenting.  They don’t just talk about it, they do it.

            Honor the father figures in your life today.  Enjoy their presence and salute the emotional, financial, spiritual and physical sacrifices they have made on your behalf.

Spirituality Helps Achieve A Balanced Mental Health

“It is not that ‘spirituality can cure depression, but [that it] may provide a

grounding in the midst of despair…”

~ Rev. John Parker Maxwell, Baltimore’s First Unitarian Church

                One of my personal, working definitions of spirituality is “engaging my faith in God to help me remain hopeful about the future.”  Another one is, “using my relationship with God to cope with daily life experiences.”

                Depression and anxiety are my normal, habitual responses to life events.  Denying the existence of these conditions leads me back to self-destructive responses when life seems too much to bear.  Therefore, I tap into my relationship with God as an additional support to manage my mental health.

                Now, many people believe that faith or spirituality alone is all a person needs to achieve a balanced, mental state.  I tried it that way.  It doesn’t work for me. 

                For me, I need to exercise my faith and step outside my comfort zone, and society’s expectations, to take care of me.  For this reason, therapy, medication and attendance at 12-step meetings are the additional tools and resources necessary for my continuous, uninterrupted recovery from my co-occurring disorders.  I use those tools in conjunction with prayer, medication and reading the Word of God.

                If the church, as Jayson Bradley states in his blog post, Sinners Anonymous: Less Church, More Recovery, could successfully minister to ALL people struggling with mental illness and addictions, then “outsiders would come to us for sanctuary from themselves.”

                I’m a member of the clergy and learned, a long time ago, not to share my personal pain and emotional struggles with many people in the church.  The church’s hands-off approach towards mental illness feeds the stigma and pushes those of us who seek to reconcile our weakness with our faith -- outside the doors of the church.  Is this really what Christ intended?

                I think not.

                So, many days, I practice my spirituality in private by listening to sermons on YouTube, reading the Word of God and speaking with my therapist, in detail, about myself, my thinking, my behavior, weaknesses and struggles in light of my perceptions of God and how the Word impacts my thinking and behavior.  So far, so good.  I’m healing one day at a time.

                The results of my faith grounding me looks like my mind is more settled, I am causing harm to myself less often and I have taken several steps away from self-destructive thoughts and behaviors.  I’m not cured yet, but, I am on the path of recovery from co-occurring disorders. 

Yes, “they” also forgot to tell us depression and anxiety can be cured with an 80% success rate! 

So, this post is a word of encouragement to those of us that are not “normal” and need to creatively sustain our productive, healthy existence on earth.  Remember, We Do Recover! Therefore, creatively use your faith to ground you in your recovery and sustain you in managing life.

Be Blessed,

M