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When Unruly Thoughts Refuse to Be Taken Captive
Violent, deathly images flashed through my mind. I gripped the cold porcelain and gritted my teeth as the images pelted me. I first imagined myself holding up a shield against them, yet they simply punctured it. Then I sought to gather each of them up and stuff them in a cage like vermin, but they continued to break free.
How to Be Helpful When a Loved One Tells You They’re Anxious
I understand how anxiety can hijack physiology and rational thought at any time, in any place: at the grocery store, at work, in mid-conversation on a coffee date — it has no regard for students’ classwork or adults’ busy agendas. It doesn’t care. Everybody’s anxiety is different, though, which is why this post is about asking the right questions, rather than giving the right advice.
6 People in the Bible Who Struggled With Their Mental Health
Each of these people in the Bible is a reminder that those of us who struggle with our mental health are not alone. But beyond that, we can also learn valuable lessons from those who’ve gone before us in how they dealt with and responded to their struggles. Let’s take a look.
What’s My Next Step?
You might find yourself feeling like you’re treading water. You aren’t in the places that you’ve left behind, but you aren’t yet in the places that you thought God was calling you to. There’s a constant back and forth between what was and what is not yet, but all the while you feel like you aren’t really anywhere.
Clinical Anxiety Isn’t What the Church Thinks It Is
All I knew about anxiety had come from my church. And all my church taught was that anxiety was worry. It was a failure to trust God with my future. And if I prayed and ‘genuinely gave it to God’, it would go away.
10 Surprising Things I’ve Learned About Having Good Mental Health
I’ve never struggled with depression or anxiety – until a few years ago. I had a panic attack on a small aircraft as it was flying through a storm, bouncing around like a dodgem car. And for a good year after that incident, I felt incredibly anxious whenever I boarded aircraft. But I sought help and began the journey of responding well to anxiety.
When It Feels Like We're Drowning
When I’m in a place of utter chaos, floundering around and feeling like I’m going under, who am I calling out to? Am I jumping on social media and looking for validation and safety in other people’s content? Or am I catching my breath and calling out to the One who never left me in the first place, the One who was present from the beginning telling me I could “come” despite the chaos of the storm swirling around me?
What the Bible Says About Peace
There’s so much going on in the world, and it can be overwhelming. Whether we’re struggling with troubles in our own lives or feeling the barrage of bad news every time we look at the headlines, peace can feel elusive – if not impossible. All that can leave us wondering, “How can we find peace with everything going on?”
I’m Haunted by Intrusive Thoughts
Intrusive thoughts are far more prevalent than many of us realise. Perhaps you’re one of those people who struggles. And perhaps like me, these thoughts rattle you and your faith at times. What’s wrong with me? How can I, one redeemed by Christ and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, experience these kinds of disturbing, violent, or sexual thoughts?
With Trauma Came OCD, but Then Came Jesus
I knew I had anxiety, but I couldn’t help but notice mine was different to what my friends would describe. While theirs seemed to be about a consistent worry or fear, mine changed when something more traumatic or worrying than the last thing reared its ugly head.
Asking God “Why?” in the Midst of OCD
In the midst of the peak of my OCD, there was a very deep fear that I couldn’t bring myself to face: Where was God? And why was He letting me go through this?
Help! I Can’t Stop Overthinking!
This issue of destructive thought patterns has been on my heart for some time, and I have learned that we can claim back our imaginations—we have to! The reality is, our feelings are extremely misleading and can’t always be trusted.
What Do We Do When We’re Paralysed by Choice?
There are important decisions we all face that are wise to deliberate on, of course, like what to study, which job to take, and if/who to marry. But what do we do when we’ve prayed about it, written the pros and cons list, and we still can’t choose?
When Your Friends Don’t Get It: The Story That Led to Anxious Faith
In a recent episode of the podcast, we turned the tables on our host James, and instead asked him the questions. He shared his journey of mental health–both his own, and his family’s–and how it led to what is now Anxious Faith. In this blog post, James shares one of the moments that was part of that journey.
The Truth Behind the Verse That Says “Don’t Be Anxious”
I’m sure we’ve all seen Philippians 4:6 plastered on a cosy-looking book cover or quoted in a talk at church or maybe even rattled off by a well-meaning friend when we’ve shared something we’re worried about: “Do not be anxious about anything…” But if you’ve had those words spoken to you—whether by an inanimate object or an actual person—I wonder if they’ve always been what you needed to hear?
It’s Hard to Be Open About Mental Illness as a Guy
However you define a true-blue Australian man, there seems to be one universal agreement: Men should not be weak. Not surprisingly, men are far less likely to access mental health services than women, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Sadly, this desire to be strong does not dismiss our mental suffering. Instead, it exacerbates it.
I Was a Pastor With Depression
I was still pastoring a church when I began experiencing dissonance between my faith and emotions in the form of anxiety and depressive thoughts. This would happen especially during sermons. But surely it was just stress that would pass?
Dating Someone With Anxiety: What I’ve Learned
I’d been exposed to mental illnesses, but had never walked that journey intimately with someone. I won’t lie; it was hard. But I’m now three years (and a wedding) down the road, and have learned so much about what it means to be in a relationship with someone who struggles with their mental health.
I’m Anxious, My Partner Isn’t
It was somewhat disconcerting to begin with, being with someone who’d never felt the tumble-drier effect of a panic attack, the crippling waves of anxiety or the unexplained heaviness of depression.
Why Is Vulnerability So Important?
For me, being deeply honest about my feelings and struggles comes easily. I feel freed when I speak those things out into the open. But I know that isn’t the case for a lot of people.