Depression

I Forgot. . . My Life is Not My Own. When You Attempt Suicide Due to Chronic Pain

March 12, 2012 By admin 3 Comments

By Claudette Palatsky It’s not a pretty story all wrapped up neatly, bow nestled nicely on top. Well, maybe it looked like that on the outside—we chronic pain sufferers understand that, “Oh, you look so good.” Looks, though, can be deceiving; appearances misleading, right? Who knows what it took just for you to get out of bed, let alone out the door, so that someone could comment on how wonderful you look behind that grimace of pain they think is a smile. You would think after more than 20 years of a right relationship with God, in service to Him, seeking Jesus, and loving His Word, that my testimony would be beautiful. So, what a shock to the friend who found me passed out, a bit of vomit on my chest, pasty, and barely … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Articles - Read, Depression, Loneliness, Share Your Story, Spiritually Struggling, Suicidal Thoughts Tagged With: can't bear the pain, Christ, chronic illness and suicide, Chronic pain, chronic pain and suicide, coma-state, considering suicide, do you go to heaven if you commit suicide, God, Good news (Christianity), grace, HolySpirit, Jesus, mental ward, Rest Ministries, suicidal, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide, thinking about suicide, You Attempt Suicide Due to Chronic Pain

When One Word Prayers Are All You Can Handle

December 14, 2011 By admin 1 Comment

When the pain is excruciating, when it takes all you have just to stay conscious. . . When you know you need the Lord but you cannot read the Word, you cannot focus, you can barely form the sentences to say a prayer. . . can you whisper a word? Just a word, as a prayer? Yes! Recently during Rest Ministries Fall Bible Study many people shared that they do this, or are learning to do it. God understands even when our prayers don't make sense If you have ever felt like you could barely put a complete sentence together, don't not pray. "The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes with sighs too deep for words." (Romans 8:26) Sighing the name of "Jesus" will always … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Coping Skills, Depression, Person w/ Illness, What's New?, Worry Tagged With: God, Jesus, Lord, Prayer, Rest Ministries

5 Ways to Stop Discouragement From Getting the Best of You

November 22, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

By Leslie Vernick Discouragement and disappointment are normal emotions we all experience, even as Christians. Peter felt discouraged with himself when he realized that he wasn't as courageous as he thought he was, even though Jesus had warned him that he would deny him before the rooster crowed (Matthew 26:31 and 74,75). We too can feel discouraged and even depressed when we fail to live up to our own or other's expectations. Job felt discouraged and frustrated with his friends. They didn't get it. Trying to be helpful, they only heaped more shame and blame on Job for his afflictions. We also can feel let down by our friends and family. They don't understand what we're going through or don't offer to help as we wish they would. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Depression, Fear, Parent of Ill or Disabled Child, Person w/ Illness, What's New? Tagged With: Anger, Chronic pain, coping skills, cronic pain, discouragement, Emotions, frustration, Illness, leslie vernick, leslievernick

How Memories Can Help Us Cope With Pain

August 24, 2011 By admin 2 Comments

Nichole Fogleman Do you ever think about the past and smile about a lovely memory? Or feel a sense of calm when a pleasant memory has glimpsed your presence. God has given you this capability to bring back memories. I find remembering a certain experience from my past to be very calming to my soul. Sometimes I lie awake at night trying to fall asleep and I can go back in time and remember my childhood memories. These memories take me somewhere else in my present moment and provide an euphoria almost comparable to a drug. Even when I go for a long run sometimes, just thinking about memories helps me lose myself in the moment of physical distress that exercise can sometimes bring. For patients of chronic pain, memory therapy can be … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Alternative Treatments, Articles, Depression, What's New?

Interview with Angela Dugi, Author of “What I Learned Lying Down: Hope for the Chronically Ill”

July 28, 2011 By admin 6 Comments

Bridget Gazlay Even though I've known Angela Dugi for only a short while, I have come to think of Angie as a dear friend and soul mate as we both travel on the road of chronic illness. I watched her struggle just to have the energy and focus to answer my questions. Every second is precious to her because she doesn't know how long that second will last before she needs to rest. Her book, What I Learned Lying Down: Hope for the Chronically Ill gives an intimate look into her private journal as she shares how God used her illnesses for good during this fourteen-year pilgrimage. Living with chronic fatigue, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, osteoporosis, and asthma--all while being a wife and mom to three children--is … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Books, Depression, Person w/ Illness, Profiles, What's New? Tagged With: Amazon Kindle, Christ, Chronic, Freelancer, God, Health, Illness, West Michigan

When You Are Tempted to Speed Up the Trip to Heaven – Part 3

July 15, 2011 By admin 4 Comments

When You Are Tempted to Speed Up the Trip to Heaven - Part 1 When You Are Tempted to Speed Up the Trip to Heaven - Part 2 By Lisa Copen Friends aren't perfect (even Jesus' friends couldn't stay awake when He asked them to!) but they make the journey easier. Sometimes they can make even the horrible, laughable. Why are Chevy Chase's National Lampoon's Vacation movie series so popular? Because we can relate! Someone else has vacations that include kids fighting in the backseat, car problems, strange relatives, and closed amusement parks. When my family drove four hours out of the way to an amusement part that was closed, my mom made us get out of the car and take photos at the gate and sign that said "closed for renovations." We … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Depression, Loneliness, What's New? Tagged With: Christ, Christianity, God, Heaven, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Joni, Joni Eareckson Tada

When You Are Tempted to Speed Up the Trip to Heaven – Part 2

July 14, 2011 By admin 1 Comment

Did you miss yesterday's article? Read it here: Yesterdays When You Are Tempted to Speed Up the Trip to Heaven - Part 1 By Lisa Copen Just as with Job and Jesus, although you may be tempted, God has provided the power to overcome the temptation; "No temptation [will] seize you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it" (1 Corinthians 1:13). In those dark moments of a sleepless, painful night, shadows of temptation may dance on your walls, encouraging you to take a few extra pills and relieve the pain, but angels are attending you. Before the sun set to create this night of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Depression, Loneliness, Person w/ Illness, Suicidal Thoughts, What's New? Tagged With: Christian, First Epistle to the Corinthians, God, Jesus, Religion & Spirituality, Satan, Temptation, Temptation of Christ

When You Are Tempted to Speed Up the Trip to Heaven – Part 1

July 13, 2011 By admin 9 Comments

By Lisa Copen [Click here for printable copy of all 3 Parts of this article] Heaven. The pain will subside. The joy will abound. We will know the presence of God's glory unlike we can even imagine. Sounds pretty good, doesn't it? Even the apostle Paul said, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21). He too was eager to see an end to his suffering here on earth and spend eternity with God. The topic that I am confronting here, however, is not the blessed event of entering His gates at His moment of appointment, but the word that Christian leaders are hesitant to confront--suicide. More frequently than I would like I hear from a people who are seriously questioning why God would want them to remain … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Depression, Loneliness, Person w/ Illness, Suicidal Thoughts, What's New? Tagged With: Christ, Christianity, God, Jesus, Religion & Spirituality, Satan, Storm Within, Temptation of Christ

Moments That Take My Breath Away:

June 21, 2011 By admin 1 Comment

Darlene Palermo Fatigue was taking over my body. I barely had enough energy to dress myself or prepare a simple meal. Earlier that year I had noticed other changes in my physical health. My feet shuffled along, feeling as if they were too heavy to lift, and a slight tremor moved my left hand involuntarily. I dismissed these symptoms as part of the aging process and tried to get more sleep, assuming I was just overtired. Having been out of work for six months, beginning a new job was a challenge. I suspected the symptoms were evidence of a serious disease. One month after being hired, I went to a chiropractor who suggested I see a neurologist. This doctor visit launched my battle with a condition with which I was unfamiliar. The … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Attitude, Depression, Share Your Story, What's New? Tagged With: California, God, parkinsons disease, Prayer, Psalm, Psalm 27, Southern California, The Lord Is My Light

Q & A: How Do I Know if God Has Motherhood In My Future?

April 20, 2011 By admin 4 Comments

I have been married for four years and have multiple sclerosis. My husband and I have been trying to conceive for some time and it's not happening. I think I am capable of being a mom, despite my illness, but it's making me nervous to see the clock ticking--and for those of us with illness, it ticks a whole lot faster! I don't want to grow bitter about not getting pregnant yet, but my friends are having kids, doing family events, and now, not only do I feel ousted because my illness slows me down, but I am just not at soccer games and Chuck E. Cheese. How do I cope with all these mixed up feelings? Leslie Leslie, My heart aches for you. I remember my own similar journey for years back in the late nineties until the day our son was … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Adoption, Depression, Fear, Founder's Blog, Help! Q/A, Parenting, Spiritually Struggling, What's New? Tagged With: Chronic, Chuck E. Cheese, Diet Coke, God, Health, Home, Infertility, Mother, Mother's Day, Parent, Parenting, Prayer, Rest Ministries

Devotion: God’s Grace Helps Us Be Complete and Effective, Even In Our Weakness of Illnesses

April 3, 2011 By admin 5 Comments

rope-weaknes-in-illness-grace-sufficient

"But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. (2 Corinthians 12:9) I just finished a Bible study on God's grace and I learned some amazing things. One thing that stood out to me was the verse above, 2 Corinthians 12:9. I did some word studies on this scripture, and here is what I learned from breaking down this verse and looking at the meanings behind some of it's words. He has said: originally, "lay down to sleep," used of laying an argument to rest, moving to a conclusion Sufficient: be content, be enough, suffice Power: ability to perform; power through God's … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Depression, Devotionals, What's New? Tagged With: Christ, Chronic pain, Divine grace, Failed back syndrome, God, Pain, rhonda sawtelle, Second Epistle to the Corinthians, weakness

Does Grief Have a Timeline?

March 29, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

By Georgia Shaffer "My friend is stuck in grief. . . what can I do to help?" This is a question I often hear, and I've learned to ask, "What do you mean your friend is stuck in grief?" Usually they will say something like, "Well, her husband died 14 months ago, and she's still very depressed. Isn't it about time she moves forward with her life?" Or, they may say, "His wife moved out a year ago, and he's in worse shape now than when she left him." Surprisingly, the problem isn't that these people are stuck in grief. The issue is that their friends don't realize how long it can take to heal and rebuild after a heart-wrenching loss. As a psychologist and someone who has experienced deep sorrow, I've seen too many people hurt by … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Church Leader, Coping Skills, Depression, Friend Has Illness, Overwhelmed, Person w/ Illness, Support Group Leader, What's New? Tagged With: Anger, Chronic Illness, georgia shaffer, God, grief, Grief Loss and Bereavement, grief cycle, Health, Mental Health, Pain, Pennsylvania