May 15, 2017
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and here on the Link of the Day blog we are featuring relevant links.
Today we are linking to a few blogs written by some progressive Christians who have been open about their encounters with mental illness. All are well worth checking out. Enjoy!
Unorthodox and Unhinged: Tales of a Manic Christian
“I have been 12 years certifiably crazy. I say this with great affection. Bipolar brains are the gift that keep giving in my family and I got the gift. My brain is not disordered; it is different. To be balanced and bipolar is actually a great gift. As my life has expanded and shrunk and expanded yet again, I have experienced this world with an intensity I don’t believe otherwise possible. Balance is an art I practice every day. Some days better than others.”
Foolish Hosey (a few thoughts on the foolishness of faith)
Here’s an excerpt from David Hosey’s upcoming book, Christ on the Psyche Ward:
“For centuries, Christian thought on the topic of sin has relied on a story that, despite its prominent place in theology and popular culture, is really rather odd. It involves a snake, and some fruit, and a God who is apparently in the habit of taking evening strolls. I am speaking, of course, of Genesis 3, of the man and the woman who eat the fruit that God told them not to. Biblical scholar Susan Niditch notes that it is difficult to present fresh readings of this text: ‘All too often readers come to Genesis weighed down by Augustine’s or Milton’s interpretation of the story.’ Yet it’s exactly a fresh reading of this text that is helpful in untying the threads of sin, shame, and suffering, and which can perhaps lay the groundwork for a destigmatizing theological understanding of mental health struggles.”
Blessed Are the Crazy: Breaking the Silence About Mental Illness, Family, and Church.
Read this blog by Sarah Griffith Lund, author of the book Blessed are the Crazy (2014, Chalice Press).
“What if we could talk as easily and openly about our mental health as we could about our physical health? Said differently, what if we could talk as easily and openly about our mental illness as we could about our physical illness? Aren’t they the same thing? My brain fitness depends not only on enough sleep, healthy diet and exercise, but also working with a skilled therapist, spiritual practices such as prayer, and time spent relaxing, all on a regular basis. My brain status today is improving, thanks to professional mental health care and intentional self-care.”
Jenny Lawson’s blog: “The Bloggess”
“I’ve been blogging about my strange little life for almost a decade. It’s mainly dark humor mixed with brutally honest periods of mental illness. I’m not sure how it happened but somehow this became a very popular, award-winning blog.”
Posted by Lē Weaver.
Special thanks to Leigh Finnegan-Hosey, David Finnegan-Hosey, and Sarah Griffith Lund
