Mental Health Ministries Winter Spotlight from Susan Gregg-Schroeder of the Mental Health Ministries in San Diego, California, United States for Tuesday, 15 November 2016
Mental Health Ministries e-Spotlight
Winter 2016
In the winter nature sleeps. Darkness overtakes the light. We experience the Winter Solstice, the darkest day of the year. Winter offers us the opportunity to practice spiritual disciplines that we often overlook or would like to avoid...silence, meditation and simplicity. In the darkness and the silence, we can open ourselves to the inward journey of solitude by cultivating time alone. This season of bare trees and stark landscapes invites simplicity and looking at what we need to let go from our lives.
Winter 2016
In the winter nature sleeps. Darkness overtakes the light. We experience the Winter Solstice, the darkest day of the year. Winter offers us the opportunity to practice spiritual disciplines that we often overlook or would like to avoid...silence, meditation and simplicity. In the darkness and the silence, we can open ourselves to the inward journey of solitude by cultivating time alone. This season of bare trees and stark landscapes invites simplicity and looking at what we need to let go from our lives.
During the darkest nights of the winter, many faith traditions celebrate religious holidays that focus on light. The rising of the sun on the winter solstice, out of the darkest day of the year, echoes the birth of the light from the dark void on the first day of creation. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And there was light. (Genesis 1)We all have winter seasons in our lives when we feel alone in or personal darkness and despair. Sue Monk Kidd writes, Who has not come upon a season when the water of the soul is disturbed? And does not God meet each of us as we brave the swirling dark in search of wholeness? May it be so for you.
Blue Christmas and Blue Holiday Worship Services
Not everyone is feeling merry this time of year. Faith communities are increasingly attentive to the needs of people who are "blue" during this holiday season. They are creating sacred space and hospitable settings to include those who face various kinds of losses, grief or depression. Such services are reflective, accepting the reality of where we are emotionally. They offer a message of hope and the assurance of God’s presence with us in the midst of our darkness.
There are a number of sites on the internet that provide worship resources suitable for use at a "Blue Christmas" or "Longest Night" worship services. One example is the Blue Christmas Worship Resource Index. There are samples of Blue Christmas and a Blue Interfaith Holiday Service in the Worship section under Resources on the Mental Health Ministries website.
Bulletin Insert - What is Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)?
As winter approaches and the days get shorter, many people suffer with a form of depression called seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Although SAD isn’t totally understood, it is a real illness with real symptoms that vary in frequency and intensity. Symptoms can include:
- Sleep Problems - Desire to oversleep, disturbed sleep or difficulty staying awake
- Lethargy - A feeling of fatigue and inability to carry out normal routines
- Overeating - Craving sugary or starchy foods
- Social Problems - Irritability and desire to avoid social situations
- Anxiety - Tension and inability to tolerate stress
- Loss of Libido - Decreased interest in sex or physical contact
- Mood Changes - Extremes in mood and/or short periods of hypomania
Video - Eating Disorders: Wasting Away
One of the things we enjoy about the holidays is sharing our favorite and traditional foods at social gatherings and at holiday meals with family and friends. With the coming of the New Year, one of the most popular resolutions is to lose weight. What a dilemma! We are bombarded with media images of the ideal body image and diet products are a huge business in this country.
While it is healthy to watch what we eat and to get enough exercise, people with eating disorders do harm to their bodies because of their obsession about their weight. Approximately ten million people in the United States have an eating disorder with more than 90 percent of those who have eating disorders are women between the ages of 12 and 25. Two families share their struggle in dealing with eating disorders on a show produced by Mental Health Ministries, Eating Disorders: Wasting Away. It is available on the MHM You Tube channel. It is also available on our DVD, Mental Illness and Families of Faith.
Newsletter - The Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health
The Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health's offers an excellent e-newsletter,Crossroads. The purpose of the newsletter is to help create a community of those interested in spirituality and health and keep the community informed. Crossroads comes out on a monthly basis and provides a wealth of information about what is happening in the field of religion, spirituality and health. Included are brief summaries of the latest published research on spirituality and health from around the world, with commentaries on the findings.To sign up, go the Sign up for Mail List button on the lower left hand corner of the Center's Homepage and click on orange button to enter your e-mail address and contact information. To examine previous e-newsletters, go to their website.
Newsletter - Wellsprings
Wellsprings is a helpful newsletter from Carole J. Wills, chair of the national NAMI FaithNet advisory committee. The fall newsletter included a helpful resource, Sharing the Journey, available on the Mental Health Ministries website in the Handouts/Flyers section. You can subscribe to this newsletter by emailing Carole at carolejwills@gmail.net.Snippets from Susan:
Look for the Light
The deeper the darkness
the brighter the light shines.
For love refuses
to be extinguished by despair.
Resilience and hope cannot be quenched
while the light of love burns steadily,
fueled by courage and by compassion.
Look for the light
and there you will find love.[Author Unknown]
Susan Gregg-Schroeder
Rev. Susan Gregg-Schroeder
Coordinator of Mental Health Ministries
www.MentalHealthMinistries.net
6707 Monte Verde Drive
San Diego, California 92119, United States
BROCHURE -
Mental Illness:
Coping with the Holidays
The holiday season is supposed to be a time of joy, parties and gatherings with friends and family. But the holidays can be a stressful time even under the best of conditions. The commercialization of the holiday season bombards us with unrealistic expectations especially in a world that seems to be full of problems. The brochure, Mental Illness: Coping with the Holidays, provides helpful self care tips for persons living with a mental illness, tips for families, friends and tips for communities of faith. You can download this resource from the Mental Health Ministries website in English or Spanish.
ARTICLE -
Our Holiday Journey
Connie and Rex share an inspirational article published in the Winter, 2014 issue of the Survivors of Suicide Loss (SOSL) San Diego about coping with the loss of a loved one to suicide during this holiday season. It is available here.Our Holiday Journey by Connie Kennemer
Todd took his life a week before Thanksgiving 2005. Loss of
any kind is traumatic, but a suicide death is surreal and stigmatizing. Thanksgiving was a blur for us that year. Time has softened the memories of that first holiday without our son. Close to a decade later I remember the compassion and care of this new neighborhood of loss: A deliciously prepared Thanksgiving dinner from a well-known eatery, compliments of friends on the East Coast; calls from around the world; friends manning our phone and contacting family and friends. They spoke for us in our stunned silence. Trusted companions appeared daily to feed us, listen to us and remind us to breathe. They carried our pain and made it their own—the beauty of community.Then came Christmas, that “Queen of Holidays”. It was wasted on us. December 25 came and went that first year, void of celebration. Those in our inner circle were caring, sensitive and sacrificial. It was almost as if our pain was more important than their pleasure. There is much about that season Rex and I just blocked out because we were disoriented and paralyzed. The less we thought and processed, the safer our world felt.
In reflecting back to the first winter holidays, I see how shock protected us. Had we felt the full weight of the trauma, it would have taken us out. Shock acted as a numbing agent, temporary but necessary. When all you can swallow is a teaspoonful of pain, it’s foolish to use a soup ladle. I treasured those first days of “comfortable denial” because they served as a buffer against the awful truth.
Navigating holidays became an important part of our grief work that first year. We learned that everyholiday left us in harm’s way, even those that we didn’t usually observe. Todd’s absence made even Columbus Day painful. We discovered that having a plan for special days was essential. The more we “populated holidays with people”, the better we fared.
Five years into our grief journey, Rex and I tried something different. We had been making festive attempts, some that worked and others that flopped. There was nothing magical about the fifth year; we were just moving toward a healthier level of acceptance. Todd was gone—we had survived, with the expected bruises. We had been encouraged by a grief therapist to allow the loss to stretch our souls in regard to compassion for others who suffer great loss. And what season felt as awful, awkward and loss-sensitive as the Winter Holidays? Thus began the Annual “Decking the Halls the Night After” Party.
I go to parties; I abhor planning them! But this seemed purposeful, rewarding and fun. We made a guest list of friends and acquaintances that had experienced difficult losses of any kind. It was lengthy! I wrote up the following rhyme:
It’s the Night after Christmas—the holiday’s past;
And for those who are grieving, it’s over! At last!
We MADE it! Survived it!—this difficult season,
No “decking the halls”, there wasn’t much reason.
But we’re celebrating the friends on the block,
This new neighborhood that was formed in the dark.
So the party’s not finished, and may I be candid?
Tonight is for those we KNOW understand it!
COME CELEBRATE—A DAY LATE!
Guests dropped in throughout the evening, bringing finger food and hearts that needed support from folks that got it. There was music, laughter, conversation, tears and tissues. One year we had a survivor entertain us with a piano solo! This festive event became a new normal for some mourners, a time during a complex season when they could be transparent and painfully genuine.The party became the highlight of our grief work in memory of our son Todd—who caroled on his kazoo in his flip-flops on Christmas Eve. There is always something to celebrate. Always.
“The heart is the only broken instrument that works.”[T.E Kalem]
Connie and Rex also tell their story about the loss of their son, Todd, to suicide in a video produced by Mental Health Ministries, "Suicide: Healing After the Death of a Loved One." The video is available on the Mental Health Ministries YouTube channel and on the DVD, PTSD, Trauma and Suicide: Stories of Healing and Hope.
ARTICLE -
Breaking the Taboo:
How the Church Can Help People with Mental Illness
ARTICLE -
Breaking the Taboo:
How the Church Can Help People with Mental Illness
Tricia Brown outlines the importance of educating faith leaders and congregations about mental illness. She shares ways to provide encouragement along with ways to support family and friends. "Churches are places of refuge. Church members are spiritual families. Still, it is more difficult than it seems. There is just something very quieting about mental illness, something that condemns people to suffer alone - even though they are not alone." Available here.
Photo illustration by Kathleen Barry for United Methodist Communications
Breaking the taboo: how the church can help people with mental illness by Tricia Brown
How do you tell your pastor not to rush to the ER again, that your mother’s “life-threatening illnesses” are really just ailments she has imagined? How do you explain to the youth leader that your daughter comes home every day and makes herself vomit because she thinks she is fat? How do you share with your Sunday school class that you don’t have money for groceries because your husband is too depressed to get out of bed? How do you tell your prayer group that your teenage son talks to himself or that you struggle with thoughts of suicide?
It shouldn’t be hard. After all, churches are places of refuge. Church members are spiritual families. Still, it is more difficult than it seems. There is just something very quieting about mental illness, something that condemns people to suffer alone — even though they are not alone.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that about a quarter of all American adults have a mental disorder, and almost half will develop at least one during their lifetime. Still, when you listen in to the prayer requests offered in most church services, you are not likely to hear the term “mentally ill.” Although some churches have managed to bring the needs of people living with mental illness to light, a great deal of stigma continues to be associated with mental health issues, especially among the religious community.
Since about one in four people in the United States will suffer some sort of mental illness this year, at least one person sitting in your pew this week is probably among them. The United Methodist Church’s statement of beliefs regarding ministries in mental illness encourages churches to love, welcome and pray for all individuals, especially those who are suffering. The church can be an agent of change through education and encouragement.
Educate
- Get the facts. Much of the misconception regarding mental illness begins with ignorance. According to the Mayo Clinic, “Mental illness refers to a wide range of mental health conditions — disorders that affect your mood, thinking and behavior.” While many people can experience mental health issues, mental illness occurs when the symptoms cause frequent stress or begin interfering with the normal functions of everyday life. While the most common mental disorders are anxiety or depression-related, the spectrum is very wide and includes addictive personalities, eating disorders, schizophrenia and bipolar mood disorder as well as many others. Help inform your church.
- Ask a mental health professional to attend a leaders’ meeting and discuss how to understand mental illness and how to know when intervention is needed.
- Use resources such as the Congregational Resource Guide and Creating Caring Congregations to educate church leaders on the importance of helping people with mental illness.
- Download and print infographics and fact sheets about mental illness. Post them in offices and in Sunday school classrooms throughout your church.
- Make sure that everyone knows when, where and how to get help. Post numbers for suicide helplines, support groups and local mental health organizations. See if mental health professionals in your church will take referrals.
- Excessive emotional responses (extreme worry, sadness, anger) or extreme mood swings
- Confused thinking or an inability to concentrate
- Social withdrawal or the inability to relate to other people
- Changes or difficulties in sleeping or eating
- Difficulty perceiving reality (delusions, hallucinations, paranoia)
- Multiple physical ailments without a physical cause
- Inability to do daily tasks
Intervene when necessary. People with mental illness often do not understand that they need help. Sometimes they do not want help, even when they recognize that a problem exists. However, monitoring mental illness is important because untreated mental illness is associated with a higher occurrence of certain physical illnesses, loss of income, homelessness, substance abuse, criminal tendencies and suicide. Just as some people live with certain physical illnesses for a lifetime, some people also live and function with a mental illness for a lifetime. Not everyone who has a mental illness needs your intervention, but some will. While it can lead to awkward situations, it is imperative that church leaders know when to try and how to help someone with a mental health problem. If you believe intervention is necessary, you may want to begin with the following steps:
Address your concerns with the individual in a private, loving, nonjudgmental way.
Provide practical information on where and how the person might obtain help. Offer to go with him or her to an appointment with a health-care professional.
If the person does not seem open to your intervention, cautiously consider talking with a family member, close friend or loved one about the situation.
Always remember that if you believe an individual is a danger to himself or herself or anyone else, you must call 9-1-1.
Maintain confidentiality and compassion. Even as you open the doors for communication, make sure to keep a tight lid on anything that might be construed as gossip or hate speech. Never share anything that has been told to you in confidence. Mental illness is devastating and often results in embarrassing situations. Be discreet in how details are discussed in public situations, even among families and friends.
Encourage
- Create an open dialogue. Don’t be afraid to use the term “mentally ill.” Talk openly about mental illness in classes and services. If you have a personal experience that you are willing to share, do so. Simply knowing that someone else relates can be the key to opening a discussion. As you request prayer concerns, specifically ask, “Are there any mental illness issues that we need to pray about?” Make sure your congregation is not afraid to talk about mental illness.
They may benefit from having a meal or a food basket brought to them.
They may need financial assistance when a breadwinner is out of work or when dealing with additional medical bills.
They may need help with household tasks, transportation issues or childcare.
They definitely need people to understand, to be their friends, to listen and to pray.
Get MyCom tips for church leaders in my inbox.
Remember even caregivers need caring. Be especially sensitive to the needs of children. Find ways to support the siblings of those with special needs.
In years past, people with mental illness were ostracized, alienated and even abused. Today, most would agree that mental illness is better understood and better treated. However, some of the contempt and cruelty of the past has been replaced with silence and indifference in the present. It is time for the church to step up and make a difference, to move beyond the taboo and reach out to people who suffer from mental illness.
MHM on Facebook
We encourage you to "Like" us on our Facebook page to get timely updates on resources, articles, and ideas of what other people are doing. We also encourage your comments, contributions and notifications about programs or events.
No comments:
Post a Comment