May 8, 2024 | Mental Health Ministry, Stronger Together Support Group
Hello everyone.
This Thursday, at Stronger Together, I would like to suggest that we begin with a discussion question: “Describe a time when you remember feeling relaxed or at peace.”
Then for the mental health discussion, I would like to facilitate us talking about “Mental Health Days,” using this brief news article about a school district in central Texas as a starting point.
Remember that you are loved, and we hope to see you on Thursday evening. You are not alone; we are stronger together.
In Christ,
Apr 10, 2024 | Mental Health Ministry, Stronger Together Support Group
Whether you’re the type of person who considers themselves easily angered, or the type of person who rarely feels angry, as a human being you do experience anger and there are good reasons why. We’re often taught, however, that “being angry” is bad, which can make us feel conflicted or shameful when we inevitably experience these powerful emotions.
This week we’re going to learn some practical strategies and tactics for dealing with anger. Not avoiding it, but dealing with it in a healthy way that allows us to feel validated and to grow. We’ll work from a short but very helpful article from NPR on “4 steps to calm anger and process it.” I look forward to the discussion and what we will learn from each other!
Our warm-up question for this week:
How would you describe joy to someone who has never experienced it?
See you soon,
Alex
Apr 3, 2024 | Mental Health Ministry, Stronger Together Support Group
There’s a good chance you’ve already come across an article or interview about a new book, “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness” by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt. He offers a compelling thesis, which is that the introduction of the “phone-based childhood” in the early 2010s has caused a cascade of mental health issues revolving around mood disorders.
In this week’s conversation we’ll listen to an 8-minute selection of an interview the author did for NPR’s Hidden Brain podcast (starting at 33:33 if you want to listen ahead of time, but I encourage you to listen to the whole podcast episode if you have time, or at least speed read the transcript).
While the impact the author traces is felt most profoundly by youth, particularly adolescent girls, I’m pretty sure you’ll find many of these “phone effects” relatable in one way or another. I look forward to the conversation!
Our warm-up question for this week:
If you could invent a smartphone app to do ANYTHING imaginable, what would it do and why?
See you soon,
Alex
Mar 6, 2024 | Mental Health Ministry, Stronger Together Support Group
Hello friends,
Last week we talked about narcissism as a form of mental illness, which led to a thoughtful conversation on the challenges of dealing with narcissists. We can all agree there are plenty of types of “difficult” people beyond just narcissists, however! I’ll bet if you paused right now to see how long it takes you to come up with the name of one “difficult” person you’ve had to deal with… actually, try that right now and let me know how long it took you.
I came up with two names in less than two seconds, and just thinking about them started to make me feel tense. And that’s the point of this week’s discussion: how can we deal with difficult people without it feeling so painful? We’ll watch a helpful, short interview with an expert who sums up the guidance for psychologists quite well. I think the advice we hear in this interview will resonate in some ways, and challenge our assumptions in others.
Our warm-up question for this week:
What’s one thing you cherish about spring?
See you soon,
Alex
Jan 10, 2024 | Mental Health Ministry, Stronger Together Support Group
Hello friends,
The quote, “change is the only constant in life” is typically attributed to the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus, though I prefer two alternate translations: “all entities move and nothing remains still” and “everything changes and nothing stands still.” I like these two translations because they frame change as a natural state of being, rather than as a disruptive force.
Who am I kidding, though: change feels inherently disruptive.
That’s why this week we’re going to watch a quick video titled, “The Four Stages Of Coping With Change” and talk about our own experiences managing (or maybe just suffering through) these stages of change. This is a good time of year to contemplate how we might better cope with change in the months ahead… or at least better prepare ourselves for the possibility of change.
Our warm-up question for this week:
When you were a kid, what was a big change/hope/dream you wished for?
See you soon,
Alex
