Last week I shared my belief that sin isn’t a checklist, which leads to pride and judgement; it’s more a way of life, and, therefore, doesn’t have to be something we’re scared of doing because, as I taught the week before that, sin is something that should lead us to praising God – a very different … [Read more...]
Should I Take Medication?
I was recently talking to someone who asked me if I thought they should take anxiety medication. I’m not a doctor; I cannot tell people what to do in regards to taking medication, but I can still give some thoughts (but again, I’m not a doctor). In this situation, I started by asking, “On a scale … [Read more...]
Is It Really Depression?
As a psychotherapist, my work week is pretty much a qualitative study of humanity. One of my favourite parts of the job is learning about people and the patterns that can be found. For instance, I’ve noticed sometimes people will say they’re depressed, but they’re using the wrong word because what … [Read more...]
Dad Depression
The pattern for what I call “mom depression” is pretty easy to see and diagnose: moms who are burnt out. This is the result of the mom putting way too much pressure on herself for being perfect and keeping up with everything. This can also be the result of the mom playing the martyr too often … [Read more...]
How to Reduce Depression on a National Level
“You should do it because you want to do it for yourself,” or “Do what makes you happy.” Here are two of the biggest lies our world teaches right now, and it’s adding to the growing depression rates in our culture. From my experience, a lot of women will tell their husbands the former, but that’s … [Read more...]
Is this a Mid-Life Crisis? (& what to do)
For the past few months, in the back of my mind, I’ve had this increasingly pushy thought that revolves around the futility of life. As a big fan of Ecclesiastes and its message that most things in life are meaningless, like chasing the wind, this shouldn’t be surprising. I normally see this … [Read more...]
Playing the Victim vs. Playing the Martyr
This past week I realized there’s a difference between playing the victim and playing the martyr, which is a rather important distinction to know. Both behaviors are unhealthy, but one is sinister while the other is more self-deprecating. Playing the victim is when you spin things to be all … [Read more...]
The 2 Kinds of Depression & 2 Ways to Handle It
From my experience as a therapist, there are two kinds of depression: I’m really nice to others, but I’m really hard on myself I’m a helpless victim (aka “The world is against me,” “This is all my parents’ fault,” “The world owes me,” and “Life is hard, so I’m hard on others.”) Note: People in … [Read more...]