Spiritual Sight and Self-Awareness

Spiritual Sight and Self-Awareness

Much of what happens in counseling is uncovering why we so often repeat the same self-defeating behaviors. It can be easier in some ways to turn a blind eye to our own issues and blame others, justifying reactions and rationalizing behavior, but growth requires insight that we often lack all on our own. The Jahari Window is a tool that can help us grow in self-awareness, communication, and trust. This article explains how we can use the tool and how it intersects with Jesus’ ministry of bringing spiritual sight those who are otherwise blind.

Symptoms As Signs

Symptoms As Signs

For some, the arrival to counseling signifies an admission of defeat, hoping a kind stranger can take away the pain and get them back to having it all together. In the West and in the Church, our efforts to avoid pain know no bounds. But what if healing is found not by treating symptoms with contempt, but with care and compassion? Could anxiety and depression, lust and anger, be messages sent by God not to shame us but to show us areas of our heart he wants to meet with his love?

Interdependence and Healthy Relationships

Interdependence and Healthy Relationships

At the heart of God’s intention for human connection is interdependence. This simply refers to the integral balance between unity and distinction, togetherness and separateness, one-ness and many-ness. It means we are simultaneously dependent on one another and independent from one another. When that balance is lost—when we lean too far into sameness or too far into separateness—we see problematic patterns emerge in family, friendship, marriage, and work.

Calling Off Clichés

Calling Off Clichés

When someone is going through a season of grief or suffering, we often find ourselves responding with clichés and platitudes like, “be strong,” “everything happens for a reason” or “you’ll get over this.” Despite our well-intentioned (or in some cases misguided) reasons for using them, platitudes are actually counterproductive to the goal of providing comfort and encouragement. Why is that? And what can we do to offer sincere and meaningful support instead of platitudes?

Truth or Stigma

Truth or Stigma

Mental health stigma is cause for concern, but this is especially the case when it exists within faith-based communities, as it often does in Christian culture. Being directly associated with something as sacred as our shared faith, these forms of stigma produce even deeper layers of confusion and shame for those struggling with mental health. This occurs despite the fact that mental illness is just as prevalent among Christians as it is within the general population and is just as prevalent among church leaders as among any other member of a congregation. For something that is exceedingly normal, why do we as Christians so often treat it as something that makes us unfit or unworthy?

Marks of a Healthy Friendship

Marks of a Healthy Friendship

No friend is perfect, and similar to every individual, each friendship is unique and may bring out different sides of us. Some friendships last a season, while others may last a lifetime. However, healthy friendships tend to have certain things in common regardless of those differences. Here are some “green flags” to look out for in your friendships and reflect on as you consider the type of friend you want to be to others.

An Advent Prayer for Those Who Aren't Feeling It

An Advent Prayer for Those Who Aren't Feeling It

When we are struggling with difficult emotions, it can feel as though God is not with us or for us at all. This can be especially difficult during the holiday season when we feel as though we should feel “merry and bright.” But the miracle of the Incarnation - the very thing we anticipate throughout Advent and celebrate at Christmas - actually takes on profound significance in those very same hard places. It assures us that Jesus knows the burdens of our hearts and minds not in some distant or abstract sense, but intimately and personally, because He chose to take them upon himself for our sake.

When the Seasons Change and My Mood Follows

When the Seasons Change and My Mood Follows

For many of us, winter is not always the wonderland we hope or expect it to be. As the weather gets colder and days get darker, our mood often follows suit. Fewer daylight hours and drops in temperature can also mean increased feelings of sadness, irritability, isolation, and fatigue. And although we can’t control the weather, we can take steps to decrease depressive symptoms and improve our overall mood this coming winter.

Preparing for the Holidays

Preparing for the Holidays

For many people, the holidays can bring up anxiety, sadness, distress, or a sense of overwhelm. With the fun and festivities of the season can also come painful memories, tense conversations, and complicated relationships. If this is something you’ve struggled with in the past, here are some practical ways to prepare for and protect your mental health this upcoming holiday season.

 

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