Often, when someone expresses anxiety in the context of the Church or Christian community, more than likely they will hear somebody, at some point, recite the famous words of the apostle Paul in Philippians 4:6. "Do not be anxious...." is the beginning of that verse,...
The Depression Equation I am a big believer in the equation that insight + practice = transformation. In fact, in an earlier post on anxiety I shared the same equation, highlighting Angela Duckworth's work on the concept of deliberate practice in her work. In her book...
Reframing Depression "What if this depression you are experiencing is helping inform you about your life? What if we listen to it together, it may give us some clues about what is going on with your life. Maybe it will give us some direction about what kind of changes...
What Is Underneath Depression Like anxiety, one of the most difficult aspects of depression is trying to figure out what are the underlying roots of it. But without properly identifying its underlying roots it's possible that one may see depression simply as a...
When serving in ministry there are many opportunities to come in to contact with people who are depressed. I say this, because churches are often what I refer to as the "gatekeepers" in mental health, therefore, those employed or volunteering in ministry are often on...
"Are you depressed?" I asked him in session. "Depressed? What.....depression? No, I'm not depressed." he said to me as if that was a crazy question to ask. There was some silence between us for what seemed like a few minutes, and then he said. "Well...I mean, I may...
When I encourage people to look for opportunities to practice their anxiety, I am often given a blank stare in return. It almost sounds crazy to ask someone to practice something that is already at times, making them feel like they are crazy. But perhaps a better way...
"Deliberate practice is a behavior, and flow is an experience." Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth When I was 21 years old and sitting alone in my college apartment, full of anxiety, but knowing my life needed to change, I had some inkling...
"Learning to love ambiguity can be a very powerful, if rather counterintuitive, act. By love here, we're not talking about falling in love or being in love. We mean love as an act. You can learn to care for and cherish ambiguity. You can invite it into your house for...
In October of 2016 I spoke at the first ever Restoration Therapy Summit on the topic of anxiety and fear in the Restoration Therapy model, and more specifically, trying to differentiate between what exactly is anxiety, and what is fear. I even recorded a Part 1 and...
