Nov 21, 2023 | Mental Health Ministry, Stronger Together Support Group
Hello friends,
First off, thank you so much to Sampson for stepping in and facilitating last week’s conversation. I am so grateful for the support!
It’s Thanksgiving week as you surely know, so instead of our normal Thursday evening discussion we’ll have a brief (usually 30-minute) “holiday check-in” Wednesday at 7 p.m. instead. There’s no predetermined discussion topic, just an opportunity to see how everyone is doing, offer an encouraging word of support, and maybe swap a recipe or two. It’s a wonderful way to add a little joy to your day.
We still have a warm-up question this week, so get ready!
Making small talk can be fun for some people, and awkward for others. What’s a “go-to” question you use to initiate small talk with someone you don’t know well?
See you soon,
Alex
Nov 15, 2023 | Mental Health Ministry, Stronger Together Support Group
Hello friends,
We have many preconceptions about mental illness that we may or may not be aware of—who it affects, what it looks like, how it should be addressed—that are ingrained in us through the images we see, the voices that get (or don’t get) elevated, and the many other ways in which mental health is represented in our society. These preconceptions can make it a lot harder for some people to get the help they need when facing mental health challenges because they invite stigma, intentionally or otherwise.
This can be especially true for people in cultures where mental illness is not yet widely regarded as a treatable illness, for men who have been trained to suppress emotions to avoid projecting weakness, and for people of faith who have been taught that seeking help “apart” from God is a betrayal of religious conviction. In today’s conversation we’re going to hear from one person for whom this was the reality of seeking help for mental illness. Some questions to consider as you watch this 9-minute video:
- Do we have an assumption about what “being mentally ill” looks like? How has that changed over time?
- What role does culture play in determining who does or doesn’t get help for mental illness?
- Do we have a problem with mental illness education and awareness being overly represented by people from some cultures or backgrounds?
- What preconceptions do we have about mental health that intentionally or unintentionally create stigma?
Our warm-up question for this week is more of an activity than a question:
Choose one person in the discussion and tell us something you appreciate about that person. The more specific you can be, the better!
See you soon,
Alex
Nov 8, 2023 | Mental Health Ministry, Stronger Together Support Group
Hello friends,
However many decades ago, post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, was a relatively unknown form of mental illness. There have since been massive public education campaigns on PTSD and how it can affect people who experience significant tragedies, particularly soldiers involved in war. In the however-many-decades since, education efforts have increased awareness to the point that you often hear people jokingly or half-seriously talking about having PTSD, similar to how people often talk about depression and anxiety.
Awareness is good, but it’s a double-edged sword: we throw around mental illness labels like PTSD too frequently and unseriously, and as a result we may think we know what PTSD really entails, but probably we don’t understand it as well as we should. The result is both a tendency to self-diagnose (don’t do this!), as well as dangerous misperceptions about how the illness actually affects people (stereotyping and prejudice… don’t do this either!).
How do we address these risks? First, we actively seek to learn, even when we think we already have the right answers. Second, we actively seek to listen with compassion and curiosity to those whose lives have been directly affected by mental illness. And that’s exactly what we’re going to do in this week’s discussion, starting with a brief but highly informative video on PTSD inspired by a mental health advocate who has lived with the condition. Another great opportunity to become more educated and to expand our capacity to empathize!
Our warm-up question for this week:
Would you rather be good at writing books, or writing songs? What’s one book or song that you wish you could have written?
See you soon,
Alex
Nov 2, 2023 | Mental Health Ministry, Stronger Together Support Group
Hello friends,
We’ve talked before about the virtues of journaling for promoting mental well-being, but there’s a slightly different form of writing that has been shown to be especially powerful for helping people recover from traumatic situations and generally “getting out of our own heads.” It’s called expressive writing, and it helps us make better sense of ambiguous or otherwise anxiety-causing thoughts and feelings. Once we make better sense of them, it’s easier to move forward.
It sounds simple because it is! We’ll start this week’s discussion by watching a brief video about the power of expressive writing and how to get started with the practice. From there we’ll reflect on when and how writing/journaling exercises such as this one have (or could have) made a positive impact on our well-being. We might even try a mini-exercise together during the discussion!
Our warm-up question for this week:
Flashbulb memories are vivid, long-lasting memories about a surprising or shocking event from the past. What’s a flashbulb memory from your childhood?
See you soon,
Alex
Oct 19, 2023 | Mental Health Ministry, Stronger Together Support Group
Hello friends,
The Dalai Lama is often quoted, “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”
That sounds great and all, but let’s get real: there are many times when our anger, frustration, sadness, and fear make it all-but-impossible to feel compassion for some people. Sometimes these “some people” are neighbors or colleagues, and sometimes these “some people” are political tribes, militaries, or entire nations. What is the disconnect between this obvious reality and what the Dalai Lama is talking about?
The truth is that I don’t know the answer to this question, but I do think I’ll learn a lot from each of you if we explore it together. We’ll start by watching two brief segments from an interview with a Buddhist teacher about compassion for our enemies, and allow the discussion to evolve from there.
Please consider joining the conversation this week. There are no right or wrong answers, no good or bad feelings. The only thing that matters is showing up, being present, and being willing to support one another.
Our warm-up question for this week:
Finish this sentence: As I see the leaves change color during fall, it makes me…
See you soon,
Alex
Oct 12, 2023 | Mental Health Ministry, Stronger Together Support Group
Just last week we had a lighthearted (but thoughtful and productive) conversation about joy. What a difference a week can make.
I suspect you are as heartbroken as I am, and maybe more. Let’s talk about it tomorrow, shall we?
I also want to share with you an article sent to me that was published in WaPo. On the surface it’s about Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, which we’ve discussed previously in Stronger Together. The underlying theme, however, is about how we prepare for mental health struggles ahead. The article was published Oct. 5, two days before the attack on Israel.
Our warm-up question for this week:
How are you feeling right now, and what have been the range of emotions you’ve felt over the past few days?
See you soon,
Alex
