Mental health struggles have been taboo for far too long; especially in faith communities.
That's why Anxious Faith exists; it's a place to ask the difficult questions, find resources to help you in your journey, and be encouraged by the stories of people who are seeking and wrestling with God through their mental illness.
Through their journeys, we’ll explore what people with mental health conditions face, and how we can all better understand, love, and support those within our midst who may be suffering in silence.
We'll also talk with experts in the field of mental health and faith - doctors, psychologists, counsellors, pastors, youth workers, carers, and more - to continue learning about how faith and mental health interact, and how we can be better equipped and informed to deal with these challenges.
Whether you struggle with your mental health, know someone who does, or are just a person of faith, we hope you'll be part of our community as we tackle the big questions.
Be away from toxic worlds pple eat clean stop procesed food and sugen and gluten and pray tooooooooo much for jesus christ 24h open your bible everyday go to the church confess be modest❤🙏✝️♾️
If you look around, the very existence of creation says otherwise. I was once an unbeliever too and doubted God because of my suffering. Jeremiah 29:13. Regardless of what you believe, I pray that peace be upon you and your life.
@@henryzhao4622hello, I have suffered with OCD, and POCD, i am a Christian, and I love the lord. And I saw something that said, if you aren’t healed immediately from something, or you’ve suffered for a long time, God has plans for your build up in resilience, and testimony, to share with people who need to feel like they can make it. Jesus Loves You and wants you to know that everything is gonna be alright. And you will be healed someday.
I understand what you are saying and also how flippant and unhelpful the comments above are to you. I see how you feel with my son. Although he doesn't say theres no god, he says God hates him and he hates god because he created him like this and is also responsible for sending him to hell. I see the intrusive lies that are bombarding his mind. I see how he is mentally unwell and therefore cannot see the truth. It doesn't matter how many times I tell his God is good and will never leave him, he argues back using biblical verses (out of context but appear to relate to him now, today). It's a struggle but ultimately, as with everything, God has already won the fight.
Great content, so grateful for Amelie’s willingness to share. She’s so poised and wise for someone so young! A note on the audio, though. The quality was awful. Amelie was distorted a good bit of the time and James could hardly be heard. When I turned the volume up to hear him it blasted me when it would switch back to Amelie.
Hey Amy, thanks so much for the feedback! We're so glad you found this episode helpful, and we agree - Amelie has a lot of wisdom to share! We're sorry about the distortion of some of the audio, and thanks for letting us know. You might notice that every episode is slightly different when recorded with our remote guests, as unfortunately we don't have control over the sound quality of each person's recording device. However, if you're after better sound quality you might like to listen to the episodes that have been recorded with guests in-studio (you'll notice these are the videos where the guest also has a navy blue background and a recording mic in front of them). Hope that helps! Thanks again.
I hope this helps anyone who is going through this: It's easy to get addicted to it. You have something to release your "anger" on, you feel instant relief from the endorphins... it should be treated as an addiction and not a disgusting disease that is easily stopped. That's how you become more addicted because you lose hope. What helped me stop is using an elastic band instead of permanently scarring my body. It feels similar and you don't end up hating yourself for what you did because it just dissappears after half an hour. The problem with scars is that some people are reminded of it and they don't care about the consequences because... the damage is already there. But the thing is, there is always a lot worse. Even if your whole arm is scarred up to your shoulder or even half of your body. Don't lose hope. Its ok to work on yourself mentally for a while and still relapse. It's an addiction! Which is why i think the elastic band is a good method. That way you can slowly stop doing it. (only for people who are already addicted!!)
Thank you so much for sharing from your experience. We know it's so powerful for those who are in the midst of the struggle or addiction to self-harm to hear from people who have walked the same journey and have found freedom from it. Your elastic band technique is a good one! We hope you find further encouragement listening to Gabby's full story in this episode 🤍
We're really sorry to hear that, Andrew. Thanks for sharing with us. We know OCD isn't easy to live with, and we're praying you can find good support from friends, family and professionals.
This is what the LORD says, “I am going to bring disaster on you from your own family: I will take your wives and give them to another before your very eyes, and he will sleep with them in broad daylight.” 2 Samuel 12:11 CSB (See 2 Samuel 12:7-12 for context.)
Hi, Luke! The verses you've shared here are the prophet Nathan speaking to King David after David slept with Uriah's wife and had Uriah killed on the battlefield. We're not quite sure how they're relevant to the conversation around accessing mental health supports, but we're glad to have you here!
We're so glad you found Jemimah's story helpful, April! We hope you'll take encouragement from the other stories we share of people with OCD (if you haven't already, you can find Amelie's story here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-sKm8eLl-2hA.html and Mary's story here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-hDyzcQ3wM78.html)!
Does australia psychology prescribe to feminism and DEI? Amy Gallagher is suing NHS. If a white male christian you should be depressed because you are a sexist oppressor is what they are taught and agree with or dont get their clinical psych licence. If aus Psychology body prescribes to this when did they bring it in? Only see a Psych who graduated BEFORE this brought in. Outrageous.
Hi Nikita, to our knowledge this is not a required belief for psychologists in Australia. We've spoken with several Christian clinical psychologists and psychiatrists on the podcast, and all have shared that they were trained to support patients in their journeys regardless of a person's background. Thankfully, we've yet to come across any mental health professional who suggests that anyone can deserve to wrestle with a mental illness because of their faith, gender or ethnicity. We hope you'll find our chats to these Christian professionals helpful!
Hi there i just wanted to comment to say this episode is amazing! It takes soooo much courage to open up about mental health problems especially ones like OCD .I believe there is a HUGE fear of being judged as people do not understand the absolute dread intrusive thoughts bring. As someone who has struggled with OCD and is a Christian i feel that their isn't alot of Christian's perspective on OCD. It was nice to see a non judgemental, kind and an understanding of the trauma mental illness can bring. This was a massive comfort to listen too! Keep spreading God's word and hope! Thankyou so much God Bless you both!
Hi Shardae, thank you so much for taking the time to encourage us! We passed on your kind words to Jemimah and she was thrilled to know that her story is continuing to bring other Christians with OCD hope. You're so right that there's a big fear of being judged in opening up about these struggles; particularly with the shame and misconceptions often associated with intrusive thoughts. We're so glad to know this comforted you! Feel free to check out our website (anxiousfaith.org) and type 'OCD' in the search bar to read, watch or listen to other testimonies of Christians with OCD!
God wants to teach you, how other people are suffering and u need to pray for them. Another one, if u are away from God, then will loose God's grace and devil will control entire.
Do you really believe that a God whos all knowing and powerful would find pleasure in something so material and little like that? You cannot be serious. I understand you're going through a lot of hurt, or at least have to the point where you believe that. But I assure you, God cares and just because you feel like you can't hear him or feel like he isn't there when you need him the most, it doesn't mean he's not there. God will NEVER leave ones side on this Earth. If you are still breathing, you can still receive Gods eternal salvation. A gift is not a gift if it's forced, that's why we have free will. God is so merciful he doesn't even force you to believe in him.
This is a wonderful and enlightening conversation. Thank you. Could you put a link to the book mentioned in your blurb also please. I think it's called Untangling Emotions but I didn't hear the authors name and so on
Hi Gail, thank you for the encouragement and feedback! Oh yes, the book is ‘Untangling Emotions: God’s Gift of Emotions’, written by J. Alasdair Groves and Winston T. Smith. ☺
If God is a God of love why does he not act and Intervene in some divine way I feel your pain and my heart goes out to you I suffer from mental health And i'm close to End of my life through suicide. 💔
Hi Raziel, we're so sorry to hear that you're struggling. Mental illness is painful and it's normal (and good!) to be seeking answers and bringing your questions and doubt to God. Each of us on the team has seen God work through some pretty miraculous circumstances, despite what we were each going through. Though God doesn't always answer our prayers in the way we'd want or expect, He is always present and waiting to hear from us when we seek Him. You’re right, God is love - but because of the broken world we live in, that sadly doesn’t mean we won’t go through trials and tragedy. His promise is to be with us through life’s storms. And in the meantime, we can find hope in knowing that God has already won the battle, and that ultimately we have freedom and peace in Him (as Pippa talks about in this episode). As for divine intervention, we’d encourage you to check out Joshua’s story in episode 16, ‘Surviving Being Suicidal’ - he was about to end his life when God brought his mum home just in time. We hope you’re able to find some encouragement in Pippa’s story and others' we’ve shared, and that you will know beyond a doubt just how deeply God does care for you. Please tell someone in your life about what you’re going through so they can help; whether it’s a local pastor, counsellor, close friend or your doctor. It’s important that you reach out so you can be supported. Our team's prayers are with you. Thank you for reaching out.
I have ocd since childhood, ive tried telling my couple friends few years back but they laughed it off and completely forgot about it. People dont realise what a hell of a place it us to be, you cannot function normally and your mind is always constantly thinking going through every thought every compulsion its like reading a very long and boring book line by kine word by word countless times and if you fuck up even a word anywhere in that book you have to start all over gain. And thats just for a single thought, now imagine the countless number if thoughts, the anxiety, the frustration, finally getting through it just to start it all over again, getting fixated on certain words. Man its hell
Hi there, we're so sorry your friends reacted like that. We're praying you'll be able to find community with like-minded people who understand the struggle (or want to learn about it) and can show compassion instead of ridicule. Come and join us over on socials to connect with others who get it!
For me the problem isn't so much the intrusive thoughts any longer, it's about the groinal response they create. One day i suddenly had a sexual intrusive thought, i I thought "did I want this" and automatically checked if there was a response and I've been stuck ever since. The thoughts have gotten gradually worse and I'm really struggling at this point in my life. I know im supposed to ignore the thoughts but how do I go about ignoring the intrusive response and the feelings that says it's me and I like it? The thoughts surround my faith and most of them are of unforgiveable sexual intrusive thoughts/acts and blasphemy 😔
Hey there! We're so sorry to hear that you struggle with unwanted intrusive thoughts, that sounds really difficult and we can only imagine it's challenging to separate who you are from those thoughts. We'd really encourage you to seek professional help through a trained counsellor or psychologist who will be better equipped to help you navigate how to respond to those thoughts and take back control from your OCD. In the meantime, we hope you'll draw encouragement from our community of like-minded people who understand the struggle! Feel free to join us over on socials or subsribe to our mailing list at anxiousfaith.org so you can be the first to hear about upcoming events, Q&A's and more. Our first episode in the new year is actually with a girl whose OCD focussed around sexual thoughts, so you might like to listen to that one when it comes out in a few weeks! Our team is praying for you in your struggle.
Thank you Jeanette, we're so glad to hear you found it helpful! You can also check out the accompanying blog post (which includes a recording of the mindfulness exercise) on our website: www.anxiousfaith.org/blog/what-is-mindfulness-how-can-it-help-us
THANK YOU 🥰 I NEEDED TO HEAR EVERYTHING SHE’s SAID🥰🥰 MY DAUGHTERS FATHER ( MY EX) COMMITTED SUICIDE🥰 AND NO ONE UNDERSTANDS THIS EXPERIENCE UNLESS YOUVE BEEN THERE !! AND … KNWING GOD LOVES FOR US IS ENDLESS!! 🙏🙏🥰♥️
Thanks for sharing this with us. We're so sorry to hear you've experience losing someone to suicide, but we're glad you were able to relate to Pippa's story. Yes, God's love for us in unconditional!
