According to the National Alliance on Mental Health, one in five adults in the United States experience mental illness every year. For one in twenty-five US adults, that experience is serious. A woman who suffers with mental illness describes its impact on her and her children. Read how she made peace with it, thanks to the power of Christ.
Have you heard about the man who had a plane to catch at an early hour? Having set his alarm, he sat on the edge…
Love him, my mind demanded. Tears dripped from my chin, wetting a pale blue nightgown I still wore late afternoon. The stubbornness of my heart…
Janice [1] opened the closet door, knelt, pushed shoes aside, and crawled into the farthest corner, shutting the door behind her. In the dark, she…
The hospital emergency room bustled with activity around nine o’clock on a weeknight. My mother and father checked me in to triage. I stood between…
As I clasped the flower necklace, slipped on my pink wedge shoes, and threw the bright green purse over my shoulder, I took one last…
Life is a deep black hole and I’m stuck. Physical problems bombard my body — or do they exist only in my mind? I’m drowning…
I sat in a corner of the mental hospital, my legs shaking up and down. Diagnosed with alcoholic’s psychosis, I was considered clinically insane. I…
“It’s organic, and there’s nothing you can do about it.” My shoulders sagged as I absorbed my doctor’s statement. My problem was not burnout, PMS,…
“Gayle, your husband called me,” my gynecologist said over the phone, “and he seems very worried about you.” “About what?” I asked, well aware of…
I am no hero. I am just an ordinary woman who did what an ordinary person would do in a difficult time. You won’t find…
What are the signs of a poor self-image, and what are the causes? Here are some insights and suggestions to lead us into the light of God’s truth.
As the train rumbled past the East Coast countryside, taking my daughter and me to New York City for a vacation, my thoughts were as…
The door swung shut behind me, and the automatic lock clicked on. Shoes and socks, watch, purse, and even my wedding ring were confiscated at…
In February 1996 my ex-husband Frank Velez, a former deputy sheriff from Los Angeles County, was released from prison. He had served ten years for…
I sit in another office with cool, “restful” colored paint, muted lighting, and nondescript art on the walls. A desk, bookshelf full of books, chairs…
“Please help me, God,” I prayed silently. Tension squeezed the muscles in my upper back, crawling into my shoulders, climbing up my neck. I smiled…
When we feel alone and worthless, we often look for satisfaction in all the wrong places. Jesus stands ready to fulfill our heart’s deepest desires.
A poor self-image can cause a lot of damage in a teenager, especially when other emotional issues are involved. One mother sought help for her daughter when she continued to waste away from a drastic diet. Both of them learned how God shows us who we really are in Him.
Christy (not her real name) wept as we spoke on the phone. She is bipolar and deeply depressed. “I feel nothing. I can’t worship, and…
I lay on the bed, staring at the camera perched in the upper corner of the room and wondering what the people on the other…
“I know you’re frightened about being hospitalized, but remember that God cares about you. Here is a Bible verse that has helped me cope with…