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.

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]

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.

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.

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.

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.