St. James' Episcopal Church - Potomac 301-762-8040 office@stjamespotomac.org
Helping Loved Ones Struggling with Mental Health Issues

Helping Loved Ones Struggling with Mental Health Issues

Hello all,
 
Welcome back from Thanksgiving holiday. It will be good to gather together again on Zoom!
 
What can we do when those we care about have mental health issues? Hear from people with mental health conditions and their loved ones who are there for them. 5 Ways to help someone struggling with their mental health | Mental Health Season – BBC Ideas
Warmup: If you could bring back one superstar of any field for one final performance, who would it be (Babe Ruth, James Dean, Elvis Presley…)?
8 Things to Know About Depression and Anxiety

8 Things to Know About Depression and Anxiety

Hi all,

This week we have an article to read instead of a video. It’s short though, so we can read it together if you don’t get to it before the meeting.

The article is “I Have Depression and Anxiety – 8 Things I Wish People Knew About It.”

Please bring your thoughts and questions to the discussion.

Warmup question: Tell us two boring but unlikely-to-be-known facts about yourself.

Dysfunctional Family Sundae

Dysfunctional Family Sundae

Hello friends,

I hope you had a very merry Christmas and, if possible, have been spending lots of quality time with loved ones. I’m enjoying time with extended family here in Georgia, but it’s not all perfectly smooth sailing. It got me thinking: what strategies should we use when time with family challenges our mental health?

I came across this really wonderful article on coping with family dynamics during the holidays. The author recalls a favorite dessert — “The Dysfunctional Family Sundae” — offered at a nearby restaurant:

The Dysfunctional Family Sundae, a blend of three ice creams, brownies, chocolate cookies, whipped cream and sauces (chocolate, butterscotch, and strawberry), all topped with a cherry. This dessert required sharing among multiple friends. The tag line went something like this: all the ingredients are good on their own, but when placed together are sure to elicit indigestion, just like a dysfunctional family. Thus, cope with the dysfunction by sharing with friends.

Fortunately the author also offers more than a dozen practical strategies for preserving (or gaining back) positive mental health when the family sundae brings about distress, gastrointestinal or otherwise. In fact, many of these strategies are great to use for building strong family bonds even if there are no mental health concerns! I look forward to discussing them together as a group this week.

Our warm-up question for this week:

What “TV family” (e.g., The Brady Bunch) is most memorable for you, and why?

See you soon,
Alex

Continuing to Challenge Our Assumptions

Continuing to Challenge Our Assumptions

Hello friends,

A couple of weeks ago we explored how culture can shape our assumptions about mental illness. This week we’ll explore a related topic: how behavior and mannerisms influence our assumptions about mental health and well-being. This is a good time to discuss this topic because as many of us know, the holiday season is a time when people can experience both “high highs” and “low lows” in mental health.

We’ll watch a brief but powerful video about checking in with others, which was developed in partnership with a mental health organization called Samaritans. Hopefully we’ll have a candid and compassionate conversation about our own experiences with mental health symptoms and how they are or are not understood by others.

Our warm-up question for this week:

Describe your favorite dish from Thanksgiving in mouth-watering detail. Bonus points if you also describe an “epic fail” dish!

See you soon,
Alex

Wednesday Thanksgiving Check-In

Wednesday Thanksgiving Check-In

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