Mental Illness & the Stages of Emotional Response

Has anyone heard of the Stages of Emotional Response? Let me explain what they are. The stages are: denial, anger, grief, bargaining, acceptance. These are the stages someone will go through when there is a trauma. NAMI teaches the Stages of Emotional Response in their Family-to-Family and NAMI Basics course. It’s touched on in Peer-to-Peer.... Continue Reading →

April 8, 2019 0

Self-Injury: The Scarred, but Whispered, Reality

It’s something not widely spoken of publicly. It’s something even less often understood. Self-injury (aka self-harm or self-mutilation) is not as uncommon as it is acknowledged. Before going further, let’s get some facts and figures out of the way: - An average of 1 in 5 females and 1 in 7 males will self-injure in... Continue Reading →

March 1, 2019 0

Being Bold: Advocating while Educating

I had the privilege of being the keynote speaker for a local school district’s Mental Health Summit. The Summit was attended by 100 high school students from the various high schools in the district- all of which were chosen by teachers, counselors, and administrators. These teens attended the Summit in order to become mental health... Continue Reading →

January 31, 2019 0

Echoes of Jealousy, Weakness, & Will

I’ve been trying to decide how to approach this post. I’ve been trying to get my thoughts together and emotions worked out. August 2012. I started to feel the slight rise of mania. I contacted my psychiatrist. We adjusted the medication we were using as a mood stabilizer. I continued going up. The cause, we... Continue Reading →

November 24, 2018 0

The War Room

The War Room My church has what we call The War Room. It is a place of prayer and solace. A place to take your troubles and triumphs to God. The first Wednesday I came to church during my latest mental health struggle I sat in the sanctuary. Last week I had to come on... Continue Reading →

July 12, 2017 0