Focus Friday: Let's Focus on Mental Health

Sometimes I wonder if my readers get sick of hearing about mental health from me.

I'm focusing on it again because October 7-13 is Mental Health Awareness Week.

I hope you'll stick with me for a few minutes and think about this important topic.

Even if you have never been diagnosed with a mental illness, your mental health is worth contemplating. 

When our brains are functioning well, our mental health is good and life is manageable and satisfying. When we have problems in the ways our brains function, life can rapidly deteriorate into something overwhelming and hopeless.

So it's good for all of us to think about mental health this week.

If you have good mental health, thank the Lord for that.

If you are struggling, ask for help. You don't have to go for years and years feeling bad and missing out on the happiness that's possible.

If you love or know someone with a mental health challenge, try to be supportive and understanding. Learn all you can about their illness and don't expect them to just "snap out of it." But you can't let them wallow in their illness, either. It's tough to find that balance, but you need to do it.

If all of us work on having good mental health and get more comfortable talking about it, the world can be a better place.

People will be more aware of how their brains function and they'll take steps to get healthy as soon as they notice any movement toward a downward spiral. 

People won't hide their feelings and stubbornly keep their "happy masks" on. They'll drop their guard and get support when they need it.

People won't ignore the symptoms they see in a friend or loved one's life. They'll ask questions and help get that person back to a healthier place.

Thanks for reading, everyone, and I pray that all of you do all that you can to enjoy good mental health.

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (John 14:27 NIV)

Do you struggle with a mental health diagnosis? Do you know someone who does? How can focusing on God help you (or that person) get to a healthy place again?

Focus Friday: Let's Focus on Brene' Brown

I have been binge-watching Brene' Brown TED talks and other interviews with her on Youtube this week.

It all started when I was looking for something to show and discuss at Fresh Hope on Thursday night. I found a great video by Brene' called Why Your Critics Aren't the Ones Who Count.

I watched it several times and wrote up some questions for our discussion. It was so good, I just knew it would help those of us who were meeting to get support and encouragement for our mental health.

After soaking up that talk, I went on to watch lots of other talks and interviews with Brene'.

A thought that kept popping up was the fact that shame and other negative emotions can often keep us "small," afraid to face criticism and judgment.

(Image from theshamelady.com)

Maybe that's why I often go through my day avoiding difficult, but ultimately fulfilling, tasks like writing articles and books. I fill my hours with trivial pursuits instead of getting serious about reaching my goals.

I find myself thinking "One of these days, I'll _________," but those days never seem to arrive. I keep spinning my wheels and don't make progress on much of anything.

It seems kind of silly that I even use inspiring TED talks to avoid doing the good work that God has called me to. 

Brene' Brown and other speakers can teach us and inspire us to grow emotionally. 

Chris Freytag and other coaches can teach us and inspire us to grow (or shrink) physically.

Beth Moore and other speakers can teach us and inspire us to grow spiritually.

We have to remember, though, that Brene', Chris, and Beth aren't going to do the work for us. We are the ones that have to choose different ways of thinking. We are the ones that have to spend some time moving our bodies and making healthy food choices. We are the ones that have to open our Bibles and spend quality time with the maker of our souls.

I'm ready to quit spinning in place. It's time to move forward, emotionally, physically, and spiritually...maybe after one more TED talk.

"Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint [I'm determined], and I know I will not be put to shame." (Isaiah 50:7 NIV)

Do you sometimes do things that keep you from moving forward in life? How can focusing on God help you to quit avoiding hard work and begin facing it so you can move ahead? 

Focus Friday: Let's Focus on Staying Away From the Edge

It has been a little over a year and a half since I went through a severe bout with depression. Depression and anxiety robbed me of all hope and sent me to the hospital. I'm so thankful for the help I got there.

Now I have joy, confidence, and hope most days, but the negatives often try to creep back in. It catches me off guard and discourages me so much. I'm learning to catch those thoughts and turn them around so that it doesn't turn into a depression that debilitates me, but it is difficult.

I'd like to focus on "staying away from the edge" in this week's post. Have you ever traveled somewhere and experienced that moment of vertigo when you are overlooking some beautiful vista? Niagara Falls, The Grand Canyon, a hike in the mountains with a deep ravine next to your footpath? You realize that one false step could send you plummeting to your death. If you are wise, you make sure you are staying away from the edge so that you are safe. 

I think we can also do that emotionally. Mental illness can mean the death of us if we keep going in spite of all of the danger signs and fall over the edge. I'd like to explore some of the ways we can stay away from the edge when it comes to our mental health. I'll share some of the ways I do that in next week's post, but I'd like to ask for your help. Would you be willing to share some of the ways you "stay away from the edge" as you live with a mental health diagnosis?

 Email me at robynmulder @ hotmail.com or send me a message on facebook.* I would love to hear from you and share some of your ideas with others who are also dealing with their mental health. Please share this post with others who may also be struggling.

Most of all, please get help if you are teetering on the edge and you don't feel like it's worth it to get back to safe footing. You can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) if you need help.

Let's all make sure we're staying away from the edge.

"...I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life,...." (Deuteronomy 30:19b-20a NIV)

Do you ever feel like you might go over the edge? How can focusing on God help you to stay away from the edge and enjoy a fulfilling life in spite of a mental health diagnosis?

*(You can try leaving your ideas in the comments, but I've had quite a few people say that they've had their comments disappear after they write them. So sorry about that!) 

Focus Friday: Let's Focus on Mental Health

May is Mental Health Month, so it seems fitting to focus on that this week. There is still such a stigma associated with mental illness. People hesitate to talk about their struggles with mental health issues for a variety of reasons. Maybe they don't want to seem weak. Perhaps they are embarrassed to admit that they see a counselor or need to take medicine for their symptoms. We need to remove the stigma so that people get the help they need and live happier, more fulfilling lives in spite of a mental health diagnosis.

This week our courthouse held a special event to let people find out about local providers of resources for mental health. Gary and I were privileged to be included and provided information about Fresh Hope - a Christian support group that will be starting in Allison in September. (There is also a group in Hampton that will be starting in June.) Fresh Hope is a peer led support group for those who have been diagnosed with a mental health issue and for their loved ones. Most weeks there is a large group meeting and then the group divides so that those with a diagnosis can discuss the topic and those who are loved ones can discuss the topic and support each other. What's great about Fresh Hope is that it works alongside the medical community and encourages people to keep seeing their doctor and/or counselor and to keep taking their meds so that they can get well and stay well. We're excited about getting this group started and pray that it will touch many lives.

As we've talked with people in Allison and other nearby communities, we've realized that most people have someone in their life that has had a mental health diagnosis. At the event on Thursday, Joan Becker was there to sell and sign copies of her new book "Sentenced to Life." Her book tells the story of her son, Mark Becker, who shot and killed Coach Ed Thomas in Parkersburg in 2009. Mark suffered from paranoid schizophrenia at the time and is now serving a life sentence in prison. Hopefully, Joan's book will help people recognize the signs of mental illness in a loved one and will prompt them to get the help they need before something tragic happens.

We don't like to talk about mental illness, but by being more open about it we can encourage others to get help and not just suffer in silence with their symptoms.

"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 our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows." (2 Corinthians 1:3-5 NIV)

Do you struggle with mental illness or know someone who does? How can focusing on God as you work with doctors and counselors help you to get to a healthier place emotionally?

A few resources:
www.freshhope.us - Fresh Hope
mentalhealthandthechurch.com - Rick Warren's
www.afsp.org - American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
www.nami.org - National Alliance on Mental Illness
www.mentalhealth.gov
www.mentalhealthamerica.net