Dec 28, 2023 | Mental Health Ministry, Stronger Together Support Group
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
Dec 13, 2023 | Mental Health Ministry, Stronger Together Support Group
Hello friends,
We have some really creative and artistic people in this discussion group. There’s also people like me, who perhaps aren’t naturally artistic but strive to be more creative and appreciative of the art we encounter. This week we’re going to explore a few different ways in which mental health and art can intersect, from giving us a language to express complex feelings to connecting us with people and ideas that can bring healing.
Our warm-up question for this week:
Check out this website of Texas Mental Health Creative Arts Contest winners. Which image stands out to you, and why?
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
Sep 5, 2023 | Mental Health Ministry, Stronger Together Support Group
Hello friends,
I’m excited because we’re going to make a new friend this week! It’s someone you’ve known for a while, but probably have had a cordial relationship with, at best: stress. That’s right, we’re going to make friends with stress.
Right about now you might be asking yourself, “with friends like these, who needs enemies?” Let’s just say stress is that neighbor, family member, or co-worker who is kind of intense, but just misunderstood.
We’ll learn more by watching parts of the video “How to Make Stress Your Friend” by psychologist Kelly McGonigal, who walks us through a few studies to elucidate key points about the effects of stress, and importantly, how we can create a “biology of courage” in the face of stress.
Our warm-up question for this week:
What’s the most courageous thing you’ve witnessed someone do? Try to think of someone you knew well, and not a distant celebrity, historical, or political figure.
Jul 14, 2023 | Mental Health Ministry, Stronger Together Support Group
Hello friends,
Have you ever wanted to yell at someone to “stop being so emotional!” Perhaps someone has said something similar to you? Or maybe sometimes you feel overtaken by emotion, and you wonder how other people are able to keep them at bay?
It turns out that a lot of what we think is happening with our emotions is closer to mythology than fact. Worse yet, our own brain will trick us into thinking emotions are something other than what they really are. What should we do about this to support strong mental well-being?
As always, we need to start with awareness and education. This week we’re going to watch a helpful video to get better educated about emotions and debunk some commonly-held myths. This learning can go a long way to helping us not just understand our own emotions better, but also turning them into a tool for personal growth.
Our warm-up question for this week:
Who is the most “emotional” character you can think of from a movie or TV show, and what makes them “emotional”?
See you soon,
Alex
