“It is sometimes easier to be happy if you don’t know everything.”
―Alexander McCall Smith, Morality for Beautiful Girls
Last week, I listed 10 Ways Mental Illness Is Stigmatized in Our Culture. And as I mentioned in an earlier post, I devoted an entire chapter of Troubled Minds to discussion of stigma. This week, I’ll list 10 ways many churches are guilty of reinforcing that stigma, adding to the sense of shame people feel [...]
Earlier this week, I wrote about the stigma surrounding mental illness. And as I mentioned in that post, I devoted an entire chapter of Troubled Minds to discussion of stigma. This follow-up post lists some of the ways we’re all guilty of reinforcing that stigma, which not only keeps people trapped in shame, but also [...]
Last week, the White House hosted the National Conference on Mental Health, an event that served as real encouragement to many mental-health professionals and people directly affected by mental illness. We need to direct national attention and resources to caring for mental health more effectively and with greater compassion. The purpose of the conference was, [...]
For the first couple of decades of Mom’s full-blown illness and my family’s crisis, one of the greatest catalysts to our pain was the sense that we were alone. Because we suffered mostly silently, we didn’t find other people who were suffering in the same way. And because they were silent too, we all thought [...]
As the 2012-13 NBA season began, Houston Rockets rookie Royce White caused a minor sensation with his alternative plan for transportation between games: a bus. Conventionally, NBA teams fly from one city to another, but whenever possible, Houston made an exception for White. NBA fans were not shocked to hear that a young star–even a [...]
My story begins as many do–quietly, and with only a hint of what is coming. I grew up in the Midwest, one of four kids in a loving family. Dad was a pastor for ten years, serving two small rural churches. Mom was a homemaker. Our family loved to go camping, and all of my [...]
This week, Adrian Warnock continues hosting a widespread conversation about mental health and faith on his Patheos blog. Earlier this month, I answered a question he posed: How has your religious community historically seen mental illness? And how does your faith, today, shape the way you see mental illness? His new question is this: How [...]
With the recent release of Silver Linings Playbook on DVD, I’m posting this article I initially published at Her.meneutics. Among the films nominated for Academy Awards this year was the quirky picture Silver Linings Playbook. It’s quirky because it defies traditional categories of film. Part romantic comedy, part intense drama, the movie also provides a [...]
In celebration of the launch of my new book, Troubled Minds, I decided to post the article that started it all. This was published in Leadership Journal two years ago, and it was the first time I ever wrote about mental illness and my family’s experience. This project started a life-changing journey for me, and [...]
© 2013 Amy Simpson.