Although I am not educated in the field of mental health, as I mentioned in my Frequently Asked Questions page, I have had a plethora of experience with various mental health problems in my life. Growing up with parents with Narcissistic Personality Disorder, then being married for a few years to a man who continued that same type of abuse did quite a lot of damage to me. The worst being Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. As a result, in my life, I also have personally experienced:
- Anorexia and Bulimia
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Nervous Breakdowns(I have had five at the time of writing this)
- Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (which includes anxiety, depression, nightmares, flashbacks, sleep disturbances, and much more)
Psychological abuse is absolutely insidious! It is astounding the amount of damage it can cause! Words have such tremendous power! I would like to take a small sideline to discuss this power in words. Words have the ability to build a person up, giving them a healthy self-image, or tear them down, destroying their self-confidence, even to the point of not trusting their own feelings, perceptions of reality or possibly even their sanity such as in the case of gaslighting. Here are two examples from the Bible that prove that our words are vessels of tremendous power:
- Proverbs 15:4 “A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.” (KJV)
- Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” (KJV)
Words have caused most of the problems I have faced, and continue to face. Please think before you speak! Thoughtless or deliberately cruel words can create lifelong damage! To read more on the topic of words, please check out my free ebook called, “The Power Of Words.”
Also, while the words of others do have an effect on us, we are to get our self-esteem and self-image from God, not from people. God loves you unconditionally. He will tell you everything wonderful about you, and will gently and lovingly tell you your flaws, while helping you overcome them. Many years ago, I wrote a book called, “Baptism Of Joy.” At the end of the book, I included some information on what God has to say in the Bible about your identity as a born again child of God. I have included that information on this website here: Positive Affirmations I strongly encourage you to check it out. This is information every Christian needs to know to keep a healthy self-image!
So, while I may not have book knowledge on these mental health problems, I do have plenty of personal experience. More than a person should be allowed, in my opinion! I want to share some of what I have learned. I firmly believe that while God did not wish these things to happen to me, He did want me to use my experiences to help others. As a writer, the best way I know to help others is to write about my experiences, and what I have learned from them. I hope the information below will help you!
If someone close to you does not know what to do for you regarding your mental health issues, then you may want to show him or her this page.
Below are some other links you may find helpful:
Salvation Through Jesus Christ (In my opinion, this is the best place to start when dealing with any problems life has to offer!)
Growing Up With An AbusiveParent
Narcissistic Personality Disorder
Types Of Abuse And Ways To Cope