I pray that everyone had a peaceful Thanksgiving this year, and that everyone is celebrating a very holy first Sunday of Advent.
Because Christmas will fall on the fourth Thursday of December, we will once again be moving our meeting up by a week.
We will meet again on Thursday, December 18, at 6:30pm in the Parish Center Fireplace Room. Please join us as we support each other through this Advent season!
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Article: "What If We're Wrong About Depression?"
Anna North, "What If We're Wrong About Depression?" The New York Times, November 26, 2014.
North examines two new lines of thinking about depression in medical research, one that considers the possibility that depression is related to infectious disease, and one that considers depression from the point of view of evolutionary psychology. Both ideas are leading to innovations in diagnosis and potential treatment. And both are leading to a consideration that what we've been calling by the same name - Major Depressive Disorder - may not be one disease at all, but may in actuality be different illnesses with many different causes.
North examines two new lines of thinking about depression in medical research, one that considers the possibility that depression is related to infectious disease, and one that considers depression from the point of view of evolutionary psychology. Both ideas are leading to innovations in diagnosis and potential treatment. And both are leading to a consideration that what we've been calling by the same name - Major Depressive Disorder - may not be one disease at all, but may in actuality be different illnesses with many different causes.
Friday, November 28, 2014
Article: "The View from Vista Bridge"
Christen McCurdy, "The View from Vista Bridge,"Narrative.ly.
McCurdy narrates the story of her housemate's suicide by jumping off the Vista Bridge in Portland, her experience of grief, and the community's disputed efforts to build a protective fence around the bridge to prevent future attempts. McCurdy covers a lot of ground here, from Portland's reputation as a city of suicidality to the inadequate efforts of public health and law enforcement in treating the suicidal. A touching and informative read.
McCurdy narrates the story of her housemate's suicide by jumping off the Vista Bridge in Portland, her experience of grief, and the community's disputed efforts to build a protective fence around the bridge to prevent future attempts. McCurdy covers a lot of ground here, from Portland's reputation as a city of suicidality to the inadequate efforts of public health and law enforcement in treating the suicidal. A touching and informative read.
Monday, November 3, 2014
Article: "The Secret Dual Lives of People Living with Mental Illness"
David Rosenberg, "The Secret Dual Lives of People Living with Mental Illness," Slate 10/28/2014.
David Rosenberg covers photographer Liz Obert's series "Dualities," in which she documents the "dual lives" of those with depression and bipolar disorder. As a sufferer from bipolar II disorder herself, Obert feels that it's important to expose these dualities, which she says many people with mental illness must use to "mask their symptoms so they can function in the outside world." The result of Obert's efforts is a series of striking portraits of people with mental illness as they show both what their internal world of struggle is, and how they want the world to see them as they try to hide their struggles.
David Rosenberg covers photographer Liz Obert's series "Dualities," in which she documents the "dual lives" of those with depression and bipolar disorder. As a sufferer from bipolar II disorder herself, Obert feels that it's important to expose these dualities, which she says many people with mental illness must use to "mask their symptoms so they can function in the outside world." The result of Obert's efforts is a series of striking portraits of people with mental illness as they show both what their internal world of struggle is, and how they want the world to see them as they try to hide their struggles.
Monday, October 27, 2014
Next Meeting: November 20!
Because Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday of November, we will move our next meeting up by a week.
We will meet on Thursday, November 20 from 6:30pm - 8:00pm in the Parish Center Fireplace Room. Please join us for an evening of prayer, reflection, and support! Thank you to all who made our last meeting a warm and grace-filled experience.
We will meet on Thursday, November 20 from 6:30pm - 8:00pm in the Parish Center Fireplace Room. Please join us for an evening of prayer, reflection, and support! Thank you to all who made our last meeting a warm and grace-filled experience.
The Hound of Heaven
Recommended by a group member:
I pleaded, outlaw-wise,
By many a hearted casement, curtained red,
Trellised with intertwining charities;
(For, though I knew His love Who followed,
Yet was I sore adread
Lest, having Him, I must have naught beside.)
But, if one little casement parted wide,
The gust of His approach would clash it to:
Fear wist not to evade, as Love wist to pursue.
Across the margent of the world I fled,
And troubled the gold gateway of the stars,
Smiting for shelter on their clanged bars;
Fretted to dulcet jars
And silvern chatter the pale ports o' the moon.
I said to Dawn: Be sudden—to Eve: Be soon;
With thy young skiey blossom heap me over
From this tremendous Lover—
Float thy vague veil about me, lest He see!
I tempted all His servitors, but to find
My own betrayal in their constancy,
In faith to Him their fickleness to me,
Their traitorous trueness, and their loyal deceit.
To all swift things for swiftness did I sue;
Clung to the whistling mane of every wind.
But whether they swept, smoothly fleet,
The long savannahs of the blue;
Or, whether, Thunder-driven,
They clanged his chariot 'thwart a heaven,
Plashy with flying lightnings round the spurn o' their feet:—
Fear wist not to evade as Love wist to pursue.
Still with unhurrying chase,
And unperturbed pace,
Deliberate speed, majestic instancy,
Came on the following Feet,
And a Voice above their beat—
'Naught shelters thee, who wilt not shelter Me.'
I sought no more after that which I strayed
In face of man or maid;
But still within the little children's eyes
Seems something, something that replies,
They at least are for me, surely for me!
I turned me to them very wistfully;
But just as their young eyes grew sudden fair
With dawning answers there,
Their angel plucked them from me by the hair.
Come then, ye other children, Nature's—share
With me’ (said I) 'your delicate fellowship;
Let me greet you lip to lip,
Let me twine with you caresses,
Wantoning
With our Lady-Mother's vagrant tresses,
Banqueting
With her in her wind-walled palace,
Underneath her azured dais,
Quaffing, as your taintless way is,
From a chalice
Lucent-weeping out of the dayspring.’
So it was done:
I in their delicate fellowship was one—
Drew the bolt of Nature's secrecies.
I knew all the swift importings
On the wilful face of skies;
I knew how the clouds arise
Spumèd of the wild sea-snortings;
All that's born or dies
Rose and drooped with; made them shapers
Of mine own moods, or wailful divine;
With them joyed and was bereaven.
I was heavy with the even,
When she lit her glimmering tapers
Round the day's dead sanctities.
I laughed in the morning's eyes.
I triumphed and I saddened with all weather,
Heaven and I wept together,
And its sweet tears were salt with mortal mine:
Against the red throb of its sunset-heart
I laid my own to beat,
And share commingling heat;
But not by that, by that, was eased my human smart.
In vain my tears were wet on Heaven's grey cheek.
For ah! we know not what each other says,
These things and I; in sound I speak—
Their sound is but their stir, they speak by silences.
Nature, poor stepdame, cannot slake my drouth;
Let her, if she would owe me,
Drop yon blue bosom-veil of sky, and show me
The breasts o’ her tenderness:
Never did any milk of hers once bless
My thirsting mouth.
Nigh and nigh draws the chase,
With unperturbed pace,
Deliberate speed, majestic instancy;
And past those noisèd Feet
A voice comes yet more fleet—
'Lo! naught contents thee, who content'st not Me.'
Naked I wait Thy love's uplifted stroke!
My harness piece by piece Thou has hewn from me,
And smitten me to my knee;
I am defenceless utterly.
I slept, methinks, and woke,
And, slowly gazing, find me stripped in sleep.
In the rash lustihead of my young powers,
I shook the pillaring hours
And pulled my life upon me; grimed with smears,
I stand amidst the dust o' the mounded years—My mangled youth lies dead beneath the heap.
My days have crackled and gone up in smoke,
Have puffed and burst as sun-starts on a stream.
Yea, faileth now even dream
The dreamer, and the lute the lutanist;
Even the linked fantasies, in whose blossomy twist
I swung the earth a trinket at my wrist,
Are yielding; cords of all too weak account
For earth with heavy griefs so overplussed.
Ah! is Thy love indeed
A weed, albeit an amarinthine weed,
Suffering no flowers except its own to mount?
Ah! must—
Designer infinite!—Ah! must Thou char the wood ere Thou canst limn with it?
My freshness spent its wavering shower i' the dust;
And now my heart is as a broken fount,
Wherein tear-drippings stagnate, spilt down ever
From the dank thoughts that shiver
Upon the sighful branches of my mind.
Such is; what is to be?
The pulp so bitter, how shall taste the rind?
I dimly guess what Time in mists confounds;
Yet ever and anon a trumpet sounds
From the hid battlements of Eternity;
Those shaken mists a space unsettle, then
Round the half-glimpsed turrets slowly wash again.
But not ere him who summoneth
I first have seen, enwound
With glooming robes purpureal, cypress-crowned;
His name I know and what his trumpet saith.
Whether man's heart or life it be which yields
Thee harvest, must Thy harvest-fields
Be dunged with rotten death?
Now of that long pursuit
Comes on at hand the bruit;
That Voice is round me like a bursting sea:
'And is thy earth so marred,
Shattered in shard on shard?
Lo, all things fly thee, for thou fliest Me!
'Strange, piteous, futile thing!
Wherefore should any set thee love apart?
Seeing none but I makes much of naught' (He said),
'And human love needs human meriting:
How hast thou merited—Of all man's clotted clay the dingiest clot?
Alack, thou knowest not
How little worthy of any love thou art!
Whom wilt thou find to love ignoble thee,
Save Me, save only Me?
All which I took from thee I did but take,
Not for thy harms,
But just that thou might'st seek it in My arms.
All which thy child's mistake
Fancies as lost, I have stored for thee at home:
Rise, clasp My hand, and come!'
Halts by me that footfall:
Is my gloom, after all,
Shade of His hand, outstretched caressingly?
'Ah, fondest, blindest, weakest,
I am He Whom thou seekest!
Thou dravest love from thee, who dravest Me.'
The Hound of Heaven
by Francis Thompson
I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;
I fled Him, down the arches of the years;
I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind; and in the midst of tears
I hid from Him, and under running laughter.
Up vistaed hopes I sped;
And shot, precipitated,
Adown Titanic glooms of chasmed fears,
From those strong Feet that followed, followed after.
But with unhurrying chase,
And unperturbèd pace,
Deliberate speed, majestic instancy,
They beat—and a Voice beat
More instant than the Feet—
'All things betray thee, who betrayest Me'.
I pleaded, outlaw-wise,
By many a hearted casement, curtained red,
Trellised with intertwining charities;
(For, though I knew His love Who followed,
Yet was I sore adread
Lest, having Him, I must have naught beside.)
But, if one little casement parted wide,
The gust of His approach would clash it to:
Fear wist not to evade, as Love wist to pursue.
Across the margent of the world I fled,
And troubled the gold gateway of the stars,
Smiting for shelter on their clanged bars;
Fretted to dulcet jars
And silvern chatter the pale ports o' the moon.
I said to Dawn: Be sudden—to Eve: Be soon;
With thy young skiey blossom heap me over
From this tremendous Lover—
Float thy vague veil about me, lest He see!
I tempted all His servitors, but to find
My own betrayal in their constancy,
In faith to Him their fickleness to me,
Their traitorous trueness, and their loyal deceit.
To all swift things for swiftness did I sue;
Clung to the whistling mane of every wind.
But whether they swept, smoothly fleet,
The long savannahs of the blue;
Or, whether, Thunder-driven,
They clanged his chariot 'thwart a heaven,
Plashy with flying lightnings round the spurn o' their feet:—
Fear wist not to evade as Love wist to pursue.
Still with unhurrying chase,
And unperturbed pace,
Deliberate speed, majestic instancy,
Came on the following Feet,
And a Voice above their beat—
'Naught shelters thee, who wilt not shelter Me.'
I sought no more after that which I strayed
In face of man or maid;
But still within the little children's eyes
Seems something, something that replies,
They at least are for me, surely for me!
I turned me to them very wistfully;
But just as their young eyes grew sudden fair
With dawning answers there,
Their angel plucked them from me by the hair.
Come then, ye other children, Nature's—share
With me’ (said I) 'your delicate fellowship;
Let me greet you lip to lip,
Let me twine with you caresses,
Wantoning
With our Lady-Mother's vagrant tresses,
Banqueting
With her in her wind-walled palace,
Underneath her azured dais,
Quaffing, as your taintless way is,
From a chalice
Lucent-weeping out of the dayspring.’
So it was done:
I in their delicate fellowship was one—
Drew the bolt of Nature's secrecies.
I knew all the swift importings
On the wilful face of skies;
I knew how the clouds arise
Spumèd of the wild sea-snortings;
All that's born or dies
Rose and drooped with; made them shapers
Of mine own moods, or wailful divine;
With them joyed and was bereaven.
I was heavy with the even,
When she lit her glimmering tapers
Round the day's dead sanctities.
I laughed in the morning's eyes.
I triumphed and I saddened with all weather,
Heaven and I wept together,
And its sweet tears were salt with mortal mine:
Against the red throb of its sunset-heart
I laid my own to beat,
And share commingling heat;
But not by that, by that, was eased my human smart.
In vain my tears were wet on Heaven's grey cheek.
For ah! we know not what each other says,
These things and I; in sound I speak—
Their sound is but their stir, they speak by silences.
Nature, poor stepdame, cannot slake my drouth;
Let her, if she would owe me,
Drop yon blue bosom-veil of sky, and show me
The breasts o’ her tenderness:
Never did any milk of hers once bless
My thirsting mouth.
Nigh and nigh draws the chase,
With unperturbed pace,
Deliberate speed, majestic instancy;
And past those noisèd Feet
A voice comes yet more fleet—
'Lo! naught contents thee, who content'st not Me.'
Naked I wait Thy love's uplifted stroke!
My harness piece by piece Thou has hewn from me,
And smitten me to my knee;
I am defenceless utterly.
I slept, methinks, and woke,
And, slowly gazing, find me stripped in sleep.
In the rash lustihead of my young powers,
I shook the pillaring hours
And pulled my life upon me; grimed with smears,
I stand amidst the dust o' the mounded years—My mangled youth lies dead beneath the heap.
My days have crackled and gone up in smoke,
Have puffed and burst as sun-starts on a stream.
Yea, faileth now even dream
The dreamer, and the lute the lutanist;
Even the linked fantasies, in whose blossomy twist
I swung the earth a trinket at my wrist,
Are yielding; cords of all too weak account
For earth with heavy griefs so overplussed.
Ah! is Thy love indeed
A weed, albeit an amarinthine weed,
Suffering no flowers except its own to mount?
Ah! must—
Designer infinite!—Ah! must Thou char the wood ere Thou canst limn with it?
My freshness spent its wavering shower i' the dust;
And now my heart is as a broken fount,
Wherein tear-drippings stagnate, spilt down ever
From the dank thoughts that shiver
Upon the sighful branches of my mind.
Such is; what is to be?
The pulp so bitter, how shall taste the rind?
I dimly guess what Time in mists confounds;
Yet ever and anon a trumpet sounds
From the hid battlements of Eternity;
Those shaken mists a space unsettle, then
Round the half-glimpsed turrets slowly wash again.
But not ere him who summoneth
I first have seen, enwound
With glooming robes purpureal, cypress-crowned;
His name I know and what his trumpet saith.
Whether man's heart or life it be which yields
Thee harvest, must Thy harvest-fields
Be dunged with rotten death?
Now of that long pursuit
Comes on at hand the bruit;
That Voice is round me like a bursting sea:
'And is thy earth so marred,
Shattered in shard on shard?
Lo, all things fly thee, for thou fliest Me!
'Strange, piteous, futile thing!
Wherefore should any set thee love apart?
Seeing none but I makes much of naught' (He said),
'And human love needs human meriting:
How hast thou merited—Of all man's clotted clay the dingiest clot?
Alack, thou knowest not
How little worthy of any love thou art!
Whom wilt thou find to love ignoble thee,
Save Me, save only Me?
All which I took from thee I did but take,
Not for thy harms,
But just that thou might'st seek it in My arms.
All which thy child's mistake
Fancies as lost, I have stored for thee at home:
Rise, clasp My hand, and come!'
Halts by me that footfall:
Is my gloom, after all,
Shade of His hand, outstretched caressingly?
'Ah, fondest, blindest, weakest,
I am He Whom thou seekest!
Thou dravest love from thee, who dravest Me.'
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Resources: Further Reading
Recommended by members of our group:
1. Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression, by Brooke Shields.
An honest and open account of the actress' unexpected slide into depression after the long-awaited birth of her daughter. In a culture where so many women are shamed into silence when experiencing post-partum depression, Shields' courageous account allows us to see that we are not alone, and that help is out there.
2. Shock: The Healing Power of Electroconvulsive Therapy, by Kitty Dukakis and Larry Tye.
Though controversial and often characterized as primitive, cruel, and barbaric, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is one of the most effective treatments for severe depression. Kitty Dukakis recounts her experience with ECT and presents medical evidence to combat the stigma against it.
3. The Five People You Meet In Heaven, by Mitch Albom.
This novel recounts the story of Eddie, who dies on his 83rd birthday trying to save a young girl's life, and who meets five people in heaven who reveal to him the meaning of his life on earth.
4. Tuesdays with Morrie, by Mitch Albom.
A memoir recounting the author's reconnection with the inspiring college professor who becomes a spiritual mentor.
1. Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression, by Brooke Shields.
An honest and open account of the actress' unexpected slide into depression after the long-awaited birth of her daughter. In a culture where so many women are shamed into silence when experiencing post-partum depression, Shields' courageous account allows us to see that we are not alone, and that help is out there.
2. Shock: The Healing Power of Electroconvulsive Therapy, by Kitty Dukakis and Larry Tye.
Though controversial and often characterized as primitive, cruel, and barbaric, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is one of the most effective treatments for severe depression. Kitty Dukakis recounts her experience with ECT and presents medical evidence to combat the stigma against it.
3. The Five People You Meet In Heaven, by Mitch Albom.
This novel recounts the story of Eddie, who dies on his 83rd birthday trying to save a young girl's life, and who meets five people in heaven who reveal to him the meaning of his life on earth.
4. Tuesdays with Morrie, by Mitch Albom.
A memoir recounting the author's reconnection with the inspiring college professor who becomes a spiritual mentor.
Monday, October 13, 2014
Article: "Depression and Suicide - A Catholic Perspective" (National Catholic Register)
Aaron Kheriaty, "Depression and Suicide - A Catholic Perspective," National Catholic Register.
Catholic psychiatrist Aaron Kheriaty, author of The Catholic Guide to Depression, cites the example of Robin Williams to remind us that depression can strike "anyone, of any temperament and personality." The tragedy of depression, he writes, is that it distorts our thinking, making us unable to see ourselves as others see us and as God sees us. He also encourages Catholics to take a holistic approach to depression - one that integrates medicine, theology, and psychology - in order to assist those who suffer.
Catholic psychiatrist Aaron Kheriaty, author of The Catholic Guide to Depression, cites the example of Robin Williams to remind us that depression can strike "anyone, of any temperament and personality." The tragedy of depression, he writes, is that it distorts our thinking, making us unable to see ourselves as others see us and as God sees us. He also encourages Catholics to take a holistic approach to depression - one that integrates medicine, theology, and psychology - in order to assist those who suffer.
Article: "Suffering and Suffering-With" (Ethika Politika)
Elizabeth Stoker Bruenig, "Suffering and Suffering-With," Ethika Politika.
In this touching essay, the author relates her experience growing up with her brother who suffered from depression. She speaks of the exhaustion and feelings of helplessness that the families of those who are depressed can feel when they see their loved ones suffer. But, drawing on the example of Christ and the disciples in Gethsemane, she has come to believe that, even if compassion can't always save the depressed, the act of "suffering-with" those who are depressed and suicidal still has value - both for the depressed person and for the person striving to be with them in their pain. She writes: "If we see that someone is suffering and we know that he may very well feel compelled by his agony to consider suicide, it is in fact our duty to approach him with love and support rather than shame and suspicion." As Christians who believe in a God who came precisely to suffer with and suffer for us, we too are called, always and everywhere, to respond with compassion to the hopelessness of the depressed.
In this touching essay, the author relates her experience growing up with her brother who suffered from depression. She speaks of the exhaustion and feelings of helplessness that the families of those who are depressed can feel when they see their loved ones suffer. But, drawing on the example of Christ and the disciples in Gethsemane, she has come to believe that, even if compassion can't always save the depressed, the act of "suffering-with" those who are depressed and suicidal still has value - both for the depressed person and for the person striving to be with them in their pain. She writes: "If we see that someone is suffering and we know that he may very well feel compelled by his agony to consider suicide, it is in fact our duty to approach him with love and support rather than shame and suspicion." As Christians who believe in a God who came precisely to suffer with and suffer for us, we too are called, always and everywhere, to respond with compassion to the hopelessness of the depressed.
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Next meeting: October 23!
Please join us on Thursday, October 23, 2014, for the next meeting of the St. Agnes Depression Support group. We will meet in the Parish Center Fireplace Room from 6:30pm-8:00pm. Thank you to all who made our first meeting a grace-filled, prayerful, and healing experience.
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Event: Christian Psychology Approaches to Emotional Problems
From the Waltham Patch:
Christian Psychology
Approaches to Emotional Problems
When: Sunday, November 9, 2014
Registration 9:30am, Program 10:00am-5:00pm
Presenter: Dr. Michael Murphy, Christian Psychologist
Where: Espousal Retreat Center, Waltham
554 Lexington Street, Waltham, MA 02452
Depression and anxiety cripple millions of Americans and prevent millions more from reaching their full potential. Christian Psychology offers several different approaches to dealing with these problems that can help restore the fullness of life. This day will present powerful techniques from Christian Psychology including 12 Step, Positive Psychology, Forgiveness, Centering Prayer, and Mindfulness.
The day will include teaching, Mass, and lunch.
Suggested offering: $45 (includes lunch)
To register,
email espousalmarriageprep@gmail.com
or call 781-209-3120.
email espousalmarriageprep@gmail.com
or call 781-209-3120.
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Inspiration from Scripture and the Saints
"Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7)
"Let nothing disturb you, nothing cause you fear. All things pass; God is unchanging. Patience obtains all. Whoever has God needs nothing else; God alone suffices." (Teresa of Avila)
"Stop listening to your fears. God is your guide and your Father, Teacher, and Spouse. Abandon yourself into the divine bosom of His most holy good pleasure. Keep up your spiritual exercises and be faithful in prayer." (St. Paul of the Cross)
"Anxiety is the greatest evil that can befall the soul - sin only excepted. . . When our heart is troubled and disturbed within itself, it loses the strength necessary to maintain the virtues that it had acquired. At the same time, it loses the means to resist the temptations of the enemy, who then uses his utmost efforts to fish, as they say, in troubled waters." (St. Francis de Sales)
[From: Fr. Joseph Esper, "How the Saints Faced Anxiety," The Catholic Exchange]
"Let nothing disturb you, nothing cause you fear. All things pass; God is unchanging. Patience obtains all. Whoever has God needs nothing else; God alone suffices." (Teresa of Avila)
"Stop listening to your fears. God is your guide and your Father, Teacher, and Spouse. Abandon yourself into the divine bosom of His most holy good pleasure. Keep up your spiritual exercises and be faithful in prayer." (St. Paul of the Cross)
"Anxiety is the greatest evil that can befall the soul - sin only excepted. . . When our heart is troubled and disturbed within itself, it loses the strength necessary to maintain the virtues that it had acquired. At the same time, it loses the means to resist the temptations of the enemy, who then uses his utmost efforts to fish, as they say, in troubled waters." (St. Francis de Sales)
[From: Fr. Joseph Esper, "How the Saints Faced Anxiety," The Catholic Exchange]
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Article: "What I Wish People Knew About Depression" (National Catholic Reporter)
Therese Borchard, "What I Wish People Knew About Depression," National Catholic Reporter.
Excerpt:
I wish people knew that depression comes and it goes, and in its ebb and flow are found pockets of peace that can sustain a person for the journey.
I wish people knew, more than anything else, that there is hope.
Beyond every action imaginable, there is hope.
In reaching beyond the self without fear to others who understand.
In sharing the familiar yet unique story of one's illness with someone who knows.
In finding purpose and meaning.
In gently turning one's pain to love and service.
Monday, September 15, 2014
Article: "Tech Has a Depression Problem" (The Atlantic)
Roni Jacobson, "Tech Has a Depression Problem," The Atlantic.
Though this article speaks about a small portion of the population - founders of technology start-ups - I think the issues addressed here apply to a broader proportion of our population. As technology becomes more widespread and societal changes occur more rapidly, our cultural sense of isolation, futility, and fatalism is only bound to increase. We as a society need to think more carefully about the problems technological change might cause for those vulnerable to mental illness, and whether the advances in technology are worth the costs to our mental health.
Though this article speaks about a small portion of the population - founders of technology start-ups - I think the issues addressed here apply to a broader proportion of our population. As technology becomes more widespread and societal changes occur more rapidly, our cultural sense of isolation, futility, and fatalism is only bound to increase. We as a society need to think more carefully about the problems technological change might cause for those vulnerable to mental illness, and whether the advances in technology are worth the costs to our mental health.
Monday, September 8, 2014
Resources: Reading List
Here are some books to help Catholics struggling with depression:
1. Beyond Blue: Surviving Depression and Anxiety and Making the Most of Bad Genes, by Therese Borchard.
Written by a Catholic wife, mother, and blogger, Beyond Blue speaks of the everyday struggles of living with mental illness, from the toll it takes on her family to the role her faith plays in her battle for healing. Its wry, conversational style and down-to-earth approach make it very accessible, and Borchard makes for an amiable companion on the journey through depression and anxiety.
2. Surviving Depression: A Catholic Approach, by Kathryn J. Hermes.
Sr. Kathryn Hermes, herself struggling with bipolar depression, provides a consoling, peaceful voice on the path towards healing with her recommendations for prayer, meditation, and contemplation.
3. Wrestling with Our Inner Angels: Faith, Mental Illness, and the Journey to Wholeness, by Nancy Kehoe.
Sr. Nancy Kehoe is a licensed psychologist who examines the role of faith and spirituality in treating the mentally ill. She speaks of her struggles in getting the psychiatric community to take spirituality and religion seriously in the lives of patients with mental illness, and she testifies to the triumphs of the spirit in her own clients as they come to terms with their faith and their illnesses.
4. The Catholic Guide to Depression: How the Saints, the Sacraments, and Psychiatry Can Help You Break Its Grip and Find Happiness Again, by Aaron Kheriaty.
Dr. Aaron Kheriaty is a Catholic psychiatrist who explains depression from both a theological and a clinical perspective, helping patients and their families see that depression is not a moral failing but an illness that requires professional treatment but that can also benefit from prayer and spiritual support.
1. Beyond Blue: Surviving Depression and Anxiety and Making the Most of Bad Genes, by Therese Borchard.
Written by a Catholic wife, mother, and blogger, Beyond Blue speaks of the everyday struggles of living with mental illness, from the toll it takes on her family to the role her faith plays in her battle for healing. Its wry, conversational style and down-to-earth approach make it very accessible, and Borchard makes for an amiable companion on the journey through depression and anxiety.
2. Surviving Depression: A Catholic Approach, by Kathryn J. Hermes.
Sr. Kathryn Hermes, herself struggling with bipolar depression, provides a consoling, peaceful voice on the path towards healing with her recommendations for prayer, meditation, and contemplation.
3. Wrestling with Our Inner Angels: Faith, Mental Illness, and the Journey to Wholeness, by Nancy Kehoe.
Sr. Nancy Kehoe is a licensed psychologist who examines the role of faith and spirituality in treating the mentally ill. She speaks of her struggles in getting the psychiatric community to take spirituality and religion seriously in the lives of patients with mental illness, and she testifies to the triumphs of the spirit in her own clients as they come to terms with their faith and their illnesses.
4. The Catholic Guide to Depression: How the Saints, the Sacraments, and Psychiatry Can Help You Break Its Grip and Find Happiness Again, by Aaron Kheriaty.
Dr. Aaron Kheriaty is a Catholic psychiatrist who explains depression from both a theological and a clinical perspective, helping patients and their families see that depression is not a moral failing but an illness that requires professional treatment but that can also benefit from prayer and spiritual support.
First Meeting to be held September 25!
The first meeting of the St. Agnes Depression Support Group will be held on Thursday, September 25, 2014, in the Parish Center from 6:30pm - 8:30pm. Please join us as we pray for, share with, listen to, and learn from each other.
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