• The General Mental Health Forum is now a Read Only Forum. As we had two large areas making it difficult for many to find, we decided to combine the Mental Health & the Recovery sections of the forum into Mental Health & Recovery as a whole. Physical Health still remains as it's own area within the entire Recovery area.

    If you are having struggles, need support in a particular area that you aren't finding a specific recovery area forum, you may find the General Struggles forum a great place to post. Any any that is related to emotions, self-esteem, insomnia, anger, relationship dynamics due to mental health and recovery and other issues that don't fit better in another forum would be examples of topics that might go there.

    If you have spiritual issues related to a mental health and recovery issue, please use the Recovery Related Spiritual Advice forum. This forum is designed to be like Christian Advice, only for recovery type of issues. Recovery being like a family in many ways, allows us to support one another together. May you be blessed today and each day.

    Kristen.NewCreation and FreeinChrist

Some Things to Think About Regarding Posting Here

mothcorrupteth

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A new video from Robert Whittaker, whose channel is excellent in general.

Summary:
  • Don't just receive; give. Offer support when you're well. Follow up on people.
  • When you offer support, give something more substantial than "thoughts and prayers." Try making empathy statements that reiterate what the person feels, or talk about solutions you have experience with.
  • Take talk about suicide seriously.
 

yeshuaslavejeff

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or talk about solutions you have experience with.
Yes! .... we found more help this way, than from the regular professional paths... people who had had the same troubles, and were delivered some way part way or all the way, were able to give us the best information of anyone.
 
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AlexDTX

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When you offer support, give something more substantial than "thoughts and prayers."

Agreed. Write out an actual prayer for them to read to know your petition towards God.
 
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mothcorrupteth

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Yes! .... we found more help this way, than from the regular professional paths... people who had had the same troubles, and were delivered some way part way or all the way, were able to give us the best information of anyone.
I find personally that there is nothing so obnoxious as someone who doesn't have the illness trying to act like they understand it. Give me people with the illness who are naive about it. Give me people without the illness who are humble and show they want to learn. Even give me people with the illness who think the solutions they've found are guaranteed to work with us, even though everyone is different and there may be multiple causes of the disorder. But dear God, don't give me someone without the illness who thinks they know exactly what to do with us, whether they've got credentials or not. Nothing makes me feel so hopeless and alone in the world as that. Especially since many if not most of such people have only one Plan B if their solution doesn't work: punish us.
 
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AlexDTX

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But dear God, don't give me someone without the illness who thinks they know exactly what to do with us, whether they've got credentials or not.
So you think a doctor who has not had the illness is not qualified? Jesus was never sick, so he was not qualified? I am playing devil's advocate. I know you are simply asking for people to be humble (as you said) and compassionate.
 
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mothcorrupteth

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So you think a doctor who has not had the illness is not qualified? Jesus was never sick, so he was not qualified? I am playing devil's advocate. I know you are simply asking for people to be humble (as you said) and compassionate.
Jesus was fully human and fully God--4th Ecumenical. He may not have been exactly tempted as I am, but I imagine the temptation to forego his mission in the face of death is a close analog. Yet even a mortal human who has faced death would form an exception to what I admit is a blanket generality I have drawn. When I have a particularly symptomatic day for the depression, I feel something that I can only imagine is what Athanasius felt opposing himself to the entire world of authorities. (I'm not saying I have delusions of grandeur that I am anywhere as great as Athanasius--that might come with the hypomania, however.)

But psychiatrists and counselors... Most of them have had maybe a fraction of the number of occasions that we have had that cause intense, unmanageable emotion. They may have experienced modest embarrassment over holding to wrong beliefs, but never the torrent of humiliation that comes from medication shedding away months or even years of all-encompassing delusion. How many of them have to deal with depression over unextraordinary events that happened a decade ago? It's their job, not their life, and that only amplifies what I myself feel as a person with bipolar, i.e. that there is no one on this earth with whom I can talk who understands my perspective and experience.
 
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AlexDTX

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But psychiatrists and counselors...

As I said, I understand your point. Frankly, I have little regard for psychiatrists and counselors. Not because I think the work has no value, but because of the secular humanist bias many have. I know there are Christian psychiatrists and counselors, but they are still influenced by humanist world view of the industry.

Everyone, I think, at some time or other has had depression and suicidal thoughts. This gives all a modicum of sympathy. I suppose it is not the same dark night of the soul that some experience in deep depression.

But, as the Indian proverb goes, don't judge a man until you have walked a mile in his moccasins.
 
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HisGraceAbounds

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Bi-polar is often misunderstood by the majority of people. It's often misunderstood by those of us who deal with it on a daily basis (I'm Bipolar II). To be honest, the only way to avoid the unsolicited 'help' from people is to not say anything and try to find your own answers.

That's my approach though, so it's not appropriate for everyone else. I do like reading the pearls of wisdom from the Internet Experts though because I find it entertaining.
 
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yeshuaslavejeff

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I find personally that there is nothing so obnoxious as someone who doesn't have the illness trying to act like they understand it.
That's why people who have recovered and continue supporting others are the best ones to find out from, when no one else seems to know what to do .
 
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