Articles
What is High-Functioning Depression?
You might’ve heard the phrase “high-functioning depression.” What comes into your mind when you hear that phrase? “High-functioning depression” can describe the condition of anyone who continues to take care of their responsibilities despite ongoing, overwhelming feelings of sadness, despondency, low spirits, etc. Picture waking up, getting ready, and going to work all day, only to come home and walk your dog, cook dinner, do the dishes, and relax for a little while before going to bed on time. Yet the whole time, you’re unmotivated and you have to force yourself to go through the motions because you feel down, hopeless, [...]
Boundaries: Creating Space for Your Soul
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” - Proverbs 4:23, NIV ". . . It determines the course of your life.” - Proverbs 4:23, NLT In an article published by The Harvard Business Review entitled, "The Daily Routines of Geniuses," the author compared the schedules and lifestyles of 161 artists, scientists, philosophers, and other exceptional thinkers and found several commonalities among them, such as: Creating a workspace that is fresh and calming with minimal distractions Scheduling a mid-day walk as an important part of daily work Making a clear distinction between work that is important [...]
How to Practice Active Listening
Listening is the most important thing people need to implement in relationships, but it is also one of the hardest. Active listening helps people feel safe, heard, and understood, and it also can lead to growth and change. “When people talk, listen completely.” - Ernest Hemingway It is a sign of strength and humility, of wisdom and maturity. It is a skill underused and often forgotten, but when done poorly, it leads to broken relationships. People do not like to feel unheard. In therapy, the term “active listening” is used to describe an effective style of listening. Counselors use this method [...]
Journeying Toward Recovery from Sex and Pornography Addiction
When God created us, He created us as sexual beings. This was good. Sex is good. Not only is sex good, but sexuality and sexual pleasure is a good gift from our Creator. Unfortunately, many “religious” communities often cast sex as inherently shameful—as though God winced His way through His creation of human sexual passion. These shame narratives have made talking about sex uncomfortable and complicated for many people. We no longer live in the “before,” when all was right in the world. We live in the times beyond Genesis 3, where the world is broken, sin enslaves our flesh, and [...]
What Causes a Fear of Abandonment?
At some point in our lives, most of us have felt a fear of abandonment. In childhood, we may have wondered if a parent was going to come back home after leaving us. As a teen, we wondered if our friends were truly faithful to us. In adulthood, we may have wondered if the person we were romantically involved with was going to stick around. A fear of abandonment is something the majority of people will feel at one point or another in their lives. For some people, these fears can become pervasive. They can interfere with daily life and even [...]
What Does it Mean to Take Every Thought Captive?
The Bible instructs us to take every thought captive. It’s an essential part of Christian living that eludes many of us. But what does it mean to take thoughts captive, why does this matter, and how do we do this? Today we’ll break down each of these questions one by one and give you tips for handling anxiety in your thought life, according to the principles in God’s Word. Every day we have thousands of thoughts that run through our minds. When thoughts go unexamined, they can do a lot of harm. They can get out of control and cause negative [...]
Resentment in Relationships: What’s the Cure?
Resentment in relationships can have many different faces. Resentment is more than jealous feelings; it is bitter indignation that you are being treated unfairly. It is only seeing one side and feeling sincerely hurt to the point of letting it interfere with your relationship or feelings toward someone else. Resentment between friends might be intense envy when a best friend can have a child and the other is having a difficult time conceiving. It might be losing sight of being happy for them and becoming angry because they became pregnant on the first try while you have been trying for years. [...]
Depression in Men: Types, Causes, and Treatment Options
Acknowledging one’s own experience of depression (or any other mental health issue for that matter) can be difficult for many individuals. It requires one to be brutally honest and admit vulnerability. This can be particularly true for men, whom society expects to be strong, silent, and unmoved. Any admission of emotions or internal hardship is a sign of weakness to be avoided at all costs. Most men do not feel safe to come out and acknowledge their struggle with mental health issues, especially depression. Adding to the complexity, the emotional experience of “sadness” is not the most common manifestation of male [...]
Effective Listening: Tips for How to Be a Better Listener
Have you ever had a conversation with someone that left you feeling like you’ve disappeared? Become inaudible? When we get the sense that the people we care about aren’t really listening, the hurt cuts so deeply within us. We will never outgrow the need to have our feelings known. We have a yearning to be understood; to be seen, known, and accepted in a shared relationship. How do we then respond to this yearning in others as well as in ourselves? For many of us, learning to listen well and practice effective listening is something we do because we recognize the [...]