May 16, 2024 | Mental Health Ministry, Stronger Together Support Group
Good Afternoon Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I am grateful to Brian for suggesting the topic for our conversation tomorrow. It reminds me of God’s call to St. James’ for the Mental Health Ministry. Since 2018, our mission for the ministry has been to help reduce the silence and stigma that surrounds mental illness and increase compassionate awareness and accurate understanding of it. In the attached short CBS interview, we hear Patrick J. Kennedy who struggles with Bi-polar and his efforts to reduce the persistent stigma leading to silence and shame around mental health problems. Yes, it takes real courage to talk about family and personal problems. As you watch this short interview, please think about what you would like to have done differently as you encountered people with mental illness, including your loved ones.
Please try to watch this video before our meeting, just in case I am not able to to share screen.
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/patrick-j-kennedy-works-to-reduce-stigma-around-mental-health-substance-use-with-new-book/
Our warm-up question for this week:
What is the hardest thing you have ever done? What was the motivation behind that?
See all of you who can make it tomorrow,
Sampson
May 1, 2024 | Mental Health Ministry, Stronger Together Support Group
Hello Stronger Together Group,
I know when things don’t go my way I can start ruminating about them, and it can be challenging get out of that place even if I know I am doing it. The short video below is about all of that. We will have to get past the short advertising by the presenter for her other products and we are not endorsing them here:)
Here is the link to the video: Two Things You Can Do To Stop Ruminating
Idea for a warmup question: What is your favorite time of the day, and why?
See you all tomorrow, Thursday, at 7pm. Stay cool!
Dee
Feb 15, 2024 | Mental Health Ministry, Stronger Together Support Group
Hello friends,
It’s tempting to think of mental illness in terms of diagnoses, and to some extent it makes sense to do so. After all, by necessity there are commonalities in how people experience clinical depression or any other named health outcome. The problem is that there are wide ranges of experiences “within” a diagnosis; how one person experiences and recovers from clinical depression can be dramatically different from the next person.
This is yet another reason why it’s so important to anchor our understanding of mental illness on the perspectives of those whose lives are touched by it. Through this lens we can begin to appreciate how much diversity there is in mental illness experiences and outcomes. We’ll get a chance to do just this as we watch and respond to a video titled, “Mental Health: In Our Own Words” during our conversation this week. I hope to see you there!
Our warm-up question for this week:
Imagine you were going to take a cross-country road trip anywhere in the world…where would you go, and what kind of vehicle would you want to travel in?
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
Oct 5, 2023 | Mental Health Ministry, Stronger Together Support Group
Last week we had a great conversation about clinical depression, and (thanks to the power of metaphors!) walked away with a deeper and more nuanced understanding of what this form of mental illness can feel like to those who experience it. This week we’re going to swing the pendulum in the exact opposite direction…which is what, exactly?
One way to think about the “opposite” of experiencing depression is experiencing joy. According to developmental psychologist (and Presbyterian minister) Dr. Pamela King, “[a] helpful way of thinking about joy is understanding what matters most in human life.” In the article Dr. King goes on to identify three areas that inform joy: (1) growing in authenticity and living more into one’s strengths, (2) growing in depth of relationships and contributing to others, and (3) living more aligned with one’s ethical and spiritual ideals.
We’re going to complement this cerebral, albeit brief article on joy with a video that is also short but offers a Biblically-oriented exploration of joy. How do these two understandings overlap, and what does that tell us about the relationship between feeling joy and feeling depressed?
Our warm-up question for this week:
What do you want to do for your next birthday party?
See you soon,
Alex
