Foolish Hosey: Lent: Not giving up on stories

Friday, March 1, 2013

Lent: Not giving up on stories

Mental illness sucks.

Talking about it means that, sometimes, people who are going through hell are willing to talk about it with me.

And the shared stories make everything a bit less lonely for everyone.

This Lent, I'm not giving up on stories.

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Mental Health Resources

Since I write and speak about my experiences with mental health and mental illness, I think it's important to share resources for folks who are struggling:

-- Remember, the most important resource for folks struggling with mental illness is people and communities who are willing to just show up -- to listen non-judgmentally and to reduce isolation

-- If you're in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255. You can find out more about the Lifeline at their website or the website of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

-- Many denominations have begun developing mental health resources for use in churches, such as the UCC's Mental Health Network and the UMC's Caring Community Program

-- Mental Health First Aid training, which I highly recommend for anyone, but particularly people -- from pastors to from security guards to church front desk volunteers to parents -- who often end up being the 'first on the scene' during mental health crises.

-- A number of organizations like NAMI and Recovery International have peer-to-peer support groups.

-- For pastors and leaders of faith communities, the best book-length resource I can recommend is John Swinton's Resurrecting the Person: Friendship and the Care of Persons with Mental Health Problems. It combines insightful research on mental health, theological depth, and practical proposals for ministry contexts.

-- Sarah Lund's book, Blessed are the Crazy, has a number of helpful resources in an appendix. Other books that have been helpful to me in my journey have been Andrew Solomon's The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression; Kay Redfield Jamison's An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness; Monica A. Coleman's Not Alone: Reflections on Faith and Depression and Bipolar Faith: A Black Woman’s Journey with Depression and Faith; and Jean Vanier's very short and easy to read Seeing Beyond Depression.

Foolish Hosey

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Friday, March 1, 2013

Lent: Not giving up on stories

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