Article: "What happens when you try to prevent every single suicide?"

The Henry Ford Clinic has implemented an innovative new program designed to prevent every single suicide among its patients - and it has achieved a certain degree of success.  Given the inadequacies of current suicide-prevention efforts, Henry Ford's program screens all patients for depressive symptoms and aggressively promotes proactive therapy that incorporates safety plans and gets the patient's family on board.  Especially inspiring is the training that therapists receive, which emphasizes that no patient is beyond hope.  Let us keep all those contemplating suicide, along with their family, friends, and health care providers, in our prayers!

Article: "Sleep Interruptions Worse for Mood than Overall Reduced Amount of Sleep"

A recent study has found that disrupted sleep is more detrimental to one's mood than simply sleeping less overall, a study that is sure to have implications for those whose depression is linked to postpartum sleep deprivation or other sleep disorders like sleep apnea!  Here's hoping that more research and treatment options for these conditions are forthcoming.

Next Meeting: November 19!

Please join us for our November meeting, which will be held this Thursday, November 19, from 6:30pm-8:00pm in the St. Agnes Parish Center.  With colder weather, darker days, and holidays approaching, let's join together and support each other in prayer and conversation!

Next Meeting: September 17!

My apologies to all for the late posting!  Our next meeting will be held this Thursday, September 17, at 6:30pm in the St. Agnes Parish Center's fireplace room.  Please join us!  We look forward to meeting you and traveling on the road toward healing together.

"Here, Hoping"

One of our group members has passed along this incredibly moving blog post.  In it, the author poignantly expresses the way despair and sadness can make us feel alienated from the beauty and goodness of creation.  In such a state, the act of hoping is revealed not as superficial, naive optimism, but rather a painful cry for help.  To trust that we, too, broken and hurt as we are, are part of "God's wonderful works" is the difficult task we all face - especially when we are in the throes of discouragement.

Mental Illness Monsters Explained Through the Eyes of an Artist

For some people, mental illness - depression included - can feel like your mind is being taken over by something beyond your control.  This artist beautifully depicts "mental illness monsters" that hijack our minds and moods.  I hope you enjoy them - and remember, these monsters CAN be beaten!

Article: "Stillness and Silent Prayer," by Debbi Geller

Again courtesy of one of our generous group members, here is a lovely essay on the restorative power of silence and prayer.  Recent research has suggested that the rise of technology has contributed to the rise in depression in contemporary culture.  The irony, of course, is that quite often we use technology to "escape" from our problems - but the escape only makes the problem worse.   Geller reminds us that silence is frightening because it doesn't allow us to hide from our problems - "our fears, insecurities, regrets, remorse, and shame" - but she also reminds us that it is only by confronting these problems in the presence of God that we can overcome them.  Her piece provides tender evidence that, for the sake of our mental and spiritual health, we need to create spaces of silence and peace in order to hear and be transformed by God.  

"Today I Simply Suffer," a prose poem by César Vallejo

One of our group members was kind enough to pass on this gorgeous piece of writing, a poetic reflection on the nature of suffering.  When one is in the midst of suffering, it can be hard to find words to describe one's pain to someone who is not suffering and who wants to know the "why" and "how."  But the mystery of suffering is that often there is no why or how - it simply is.  Vallejo's poem beautifully captures this mystery.  I hope his words bring you a moment of grace.

Next Meeting: August 27!

My apologies to our members for neglecting to post last month's meeting!  Thank you to all who made it.  As always, it has been a great grace and blessing to get to know you.

Our next meeting will be held on August 27 at 6:30pm in the Fireplace Room of the St. Agnes Parish Center.  We look forward to seeing you there!

Article: "What No One Tells You About Depression"

Ronald Barba, "What No One Tells You About Depression," Greatist (August 4, 2015).

In this piece, Mr. Barba recounts his own experience with depression and suicidality and traces it to a culture that valorizes superficial appearance and achievement at all costs.  He encourages sufferers to break free of the inward self-collapse that depression tries to force upon us and to seek out help and support from others.

Article: "How I Learned to Stop Hiding from My Anxiety Disorder"

Ashley Zlatapolsky, "How I learned to stop hiding from my anxiety disorder," Washington Post (July 15, 2015).

Ms. Zlatapolsky's account of her struggle with her anxiety disorder - and her eventual acceptance of it - provides a valuable lesson in learning how to learn from our experiences with mental illness. Quite poignant is her last line: "I know my anxiety will never go away completely, so there’s nothing left to do except to make the best of it and use it to better understand the world around me because I’m stronger than my thoughts, and I always will be."

The Power of Poetry

A member of our group has passed along this truly lovely poem, by the late Jane Kenyon, former poet laureate of New Hampshire, who struggled from depression and died an untimely death from leukemia.  Her poem, "Let Evening Come," is a beautiful prayer for acceptance, patience, and hope when darkness enters our lives.

Poetry - whether we're reading it or writing it ourselves - can help us express the otherwise wordless and inexpressible movements of our souls, and can put us in contact with the transcendent beauty that lies above and beyond all human experience, even depression.  Quaker Elder Parker J. Palmer reflects in this essay on the power of poetry to be a light in the darkness that guides us to face the day with faith and hope.

Next Meeting: June 25!

My apologies for the long delay in posting!  We have continued to meet, but I've been so busy I've neglected this blog!

Our next meeting will be on Thursday, June 25, 2015, in the St. Agnes Parish Center Fireplace Room, from 6:30-8:00pm.  Hope to see you there!

Article: "America's Imperial Mental Illness"

Eve Tushnet, "America's Imperial Mental Illness," The American Conservative (February 20, 2015).

Eve Tushnet reviews Ethan Watters' Crazy Like Us: The Globalization of the American Psyche, which explores the ways in which the experience and treatment of mental illness has been culturally shaped and conditioned.  Watters' narrative, Tushnet contends, provides us with a critique of the American model of mental illness and might illuminate other ways of thinking about mental illness.

Article: "Black Dog Days"

Some good advice from The Catholic Gentleman on how to deal with the Black Dog Days of depression.

Next Meeting: February 26!

I hope everyone is surviving this horrible weather in safety and warmth! Thank you to those who made our January meeting despite the cold. It was wonderful to catch up.

Our next meeting will be held on Thursday, February 26, 2015, from 6:30pm-8:00pm in the Parish Center Fireplace Room. Hope to see you there!

Article: "Is Depression a Kind of Allergic Reaction?"

Caroline Williams, "Is Depression a Kind of Allergic Reaction?" The Guardian, January 4, 2015.

Recent studies have correlated depression with inflammatory illness (similar to an allergic reaction) and have found that markers of inflammation are elevated in people with depression.  The implications may mean that finding ways to treat inflammation in the body - through medications, diet, and stress reduction - can improve depressive symptoms.

Article: "Childhood Guilt, Adult Depression?"

Jenny Chen, "Childhood Guilt, Adult Depression?" The Atlantic, January 5, 2015.

Reporting on studies that show a link between excessive feelings of guilt during childhood and the onset of depression in adulthood, this article demonstrates that feelings of guilt can cause physical changes in the brain that may contribute to psychiatric illness.  These findings could enable doctors to identify children at risk for developing depression, and they provide even more motivation for parents to practice healthy parenting strategies and steer clear of "guilt-inducing" tactics.  The research also targets guilt as a primary feature of depression and anxiety, indicating that learning to manage feelings of guilt might play an important role in managing depression.

Next Meeting: January 29!

My apologies to everyone for canceling last month's meeting.  An unexpected turn happened in my pregnancy, and my baby arrived two weeks early!  I thank you for your ongoing prayers on our behalf.  I hope everyone had a merry Christmas and a lovely New Year.

With the holidays behind us, we will resume meeting on the last Thursday of the month.  Our next meeting will be Thursday, January 29, 2015, from 6:30pm-8:00pm in the Parish Center Fireplace Room.  Please join us as we usher in a new year of hope, healing, and support!