Meandering Thoughts of a Psychologist

Depression is often viewed as a condition of “sadness” by the general population, and I wish we could all move beyond this perception to help both individuals struggling with depression and their support systems understand the magnitude of the illness. Yes, gratitude and thinking positive can be helpful suggestions, but they sometimes make an individual with depression feel more guilty and responsible for their own suffering. In a depressive episode, an individual can feel a complete lack of motivation and energy . Simple tasks like showering can feel challenging, which is why personal hygiene can deteriorate in extreme cases. One of the most challenging symptoms of depression is the decline in cognition – the ability to prioritize tasks, make decisions, think competently at work, read and comprehend, and process information is diminished. Oftentimes and especially if the person has experienced past trauma, critical and almost paranoid intrusive thoughts emerge reinforcing your sen...

At the bottom of this post is a link to an old video I commonly use when working with girls and women on body image issues. At some point we have to grasp how being of a slender build, perceived as attractive, having a lighter skin pigment, born into wealthy families or with US citizenship, etc. are a genetic lottery win in our society that has been built to influence standards of beauty and success. The human brain is built to categorize information for ease of navigating our lives, but we are also blessed with higher order critical thinking skills to challenge the stereotypes, messaging, and systemic oppression that exists in this world. We are naive to think that our creator is not observing how these human influences are impacting our character and whether or not we are using our privileges to speak out to fight the oppression and injustice of others. In ancient times, people did not grasp why Jesus healed the gentiles and others outside of his Jewish race. They would've been a...

My take on the harm of using the terms “sin” and “spiritual warfare” comes from my experience of understanding addiction based on my lived experience with an eating disorder, extensive research, and clinical practice. When I say addiction, I am referring to emotional eating/"gluttony," substance abuse, sex addictions, and a variety of other process addictions. Recovery from an eating disorder only comes with a solid relapse prevention approach to normalizing the struggle with relapse as a part of the process to recovering, addressing guilt and shame with compassion, and treating the addiction in a multifaceted approach (psychology, psychiatry, support groups, spirituality, etc). I have treated and known a multitude (thousands) of people with eating disorders, and I don’t know a single one who has achieved solid recovery via reliance on prayer, spiritual practice, and “giving it to God” alone. I have only seen this method fail and cause more suffering. This is because it’s not...

I care very deeply about how the world is getting a polarized view of the Christian Faith and who Jesus was on this earth. This blog is for individuals who hear Christianity aligned with modern day politics and question why in the world individuals of sound mind would cling to the old testament scripture. Let me first say – I wrestle with it myself. In all honesty, I’ve wanted a church that follows the New Testament and specifically the Gospels. It’s obvious it was difficult even for the disciples of Jesus to decipher many of his teachings, so I try to stick to the specific (specific as possible with translations) words and actions of Jesus while on earth. To me, this makes the most sense considering my understanding of psychology and humanity and the tendency of humans to not report history without the influence of their own understanding and culture. God and Jesus are divine (people are not). I am, however, trying to understand the entirety of the Bible and explore whether or not the...

 My Personal Statement for Duke Divinity Masters Program - Due Date November 1st! I grew up in a small Baptist church in rural North Georgia, where Sundays were a blend of potluck casseroles and occasional Sunday School lectures on how my goals of pursuing a career instead of mothering seemed “selfish.” Similar to how my opinion on mothering changed, my spirituality also evolved over the years. I learned early how sometimes our struggles in life become the milestones that shape our journey. One of my earliest spiritual memories is of sitting in the church fellowship hall, watching a video series based on Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life. At the time, I was an adolescent struggling with depression and disordered eating. Twenty years ago, the stigma of mental health issues was much more pronounced, and I interpreted my issues as moral failings: evidence that I was not praying hard enough, believing deeply enough, or living righteously enough. In that context, Warren’s message—t...