“This is gonna disqualify me.”

Have you ever had that thought? It’s what I pondered when I completed my training as a mental health therapist and was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and Dysthymia (Persistent Depression). The latter meant that I had been suffering worse than I had realized (because the diagnosis requires two years of active symptoms). How could this be?

Discipleship and friendship in the journey of depression and anxiety is not typical ministry training topic. Here’s what I wish we knew and can help you!

Learning to provide comfort and encouragement for those who are experiencing dark days can be challenging. In tough times we are told that the “ministry of presence” (just being there) for others is what they need . . . but how does that work, practically? Here are 5 useful tips anyone can do!

“This scripture almost sounds like James is addressing ‘weak faith’ (ask the elders to pray for you) as well as sin as a possible culprit (confess your sins…be healed). So, how does this scripture relate to someone dealing with mental health difficulties or disorders?"

All of humankind is and always has struggled to find the answer to a universally common question: “Who am I?” This is a question of identity and individual uniqueness. It’s the question we subconsciously ask ourselves and arrange our lives around in an attempt to find meaning with our own existence. Throughout our lives, we subtly attempt to answer this question in different ways: “I am a basketball player,” “I go to Harvard,” “I am the class clown,” and so on and so forth.

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of restoring broken pottery or china. Rather than discarding the fragmented pieces of pottery, the artist reassembles them using a precious metal- such as liquid gold- to highlight the repairs. There is no attempt to make it look new or hide the “scars” of its brokenness. The technique adds value to the original object as the master artists creates something more beautiful than when it was new. Each Kintsugi becomes a unique work of art!