March 27, 200710:11 am
posted by Aric Thorpe, MHR
God’s Grace during Bulimia
“My stomach was empty- but so was my heart.”
Personal accounts of bulimia highlight the vicious cycle of the illness. One woman gave account of her bulimic past relaying that feelings of inadequacy led her to the need to control her image. Since she could not control her eating habits, she gained a sense of empowerment from purging after gorging on foods that she liked. This led her to feelings of guilt. Her cycle of bulimia began with feelings of inadequacy, ended with feelings of guilt, and ultimately perpetuated a cycle of depression.
This woman realized that she had a problem when eventually she began to purge at public restaurants. She still struggles with the temptation to purge to this day. However, she claims that she has found grace in the knowledge of God’s forgiveness, enabling her to move away from an attitude of self-sufficiency and toward a perspective of reliance on God’s love and grace. The follow is an excerpt of the woman’s story.
Bulimia still occasionally rears its ugly head in my life. There are times when my life seems to whirl out of control, and I can turn back to the cycle of binging and purging to provide a temporary illusion of control, or I can turn to Christ, who is part of my life now. My relationship with Him is an alternative to help me through those rough times. But just because I am a Christian doesn’t mean I am “cured” or that I don’t struggle. And I don’t always succeed. I would be lying if I claimed that. But being a Christian does give me a measure of mercy, grace, and a forgiving perspective. I also get a chance at a new start every day, even during those times I backslide.
Christ wasn’t a part of my life when I first slid into the cycle of binging and purging. I was in control (so I thought) and lived with the theology of self-sufficiency.
I have replaced the self-sufficient theology with God’s Word and find the following Scripture a help when I am struggling:
So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help (Hebrews 4:16, The Message).
But sometimes, along with God’s Word, we also need professional resources and organizations that can help us through.
Click here to read the entire story
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March 16, 200710:48 am
posted by Aric Thorpe, MHR
Veterans of Middle East Conflict bring back Mental Health Disorders
A recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine revealed some intriguing information about the mental health of war veterans. The study found that approximately one quarter of all veterans of the Afghan and Iraq conflicts that were treated at VA hospitals had developed mental health problems. Additionally, almost half of the vets with mental health disorders were diagnosed to have two or more total MH disorders. Among the mental health disorders found in the vets studied, PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) was the most common. 52% of patients in the study diagnosed with a mental health disorder were found to have PTSD. Researchers found that vets most susceptible to PTSD were between the ages of 18 to 24. The following is an excerpt of an article from Med Page Today that reviews the study:
A quarter of all veterans treated at VA hospitals after returning home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan brought mental health problems back with them, reported investigators here.
When psychosocial and behavioral problems were thrown into the mix, nearly a third of all veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq who sought care at VA facility had a diagnosis of a mental-health-related disorder, reported Karen H. Seal, M.D., M.P.H., from the University of California San Francisco, and the San Francisco VA, and colleagues.
Click here to read the rest of the Med Page Today article.
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March 8, 20077:52 pm
posted by Aric Thorpe, MHR
Installing Love
Life is full of busyness. Family, work, church, friends, projects, commitments, the list goes on and on. In light of how busy life is, do we really have time to be bogged down with hurts, grudges and resentment? Life can be much less stressful when we let go of these negative emotions and let love reign in our hearts. The following is an entertaining and inspiring script entitled “Installing Love.”
Installing Love-
Tech Support: Yes,… how can I help you?
Customer: Well, after much consideration, I’ve decided to install Love. Can you guide me through the process?
Tech Support: Yes, I can help you. Are you ready to proceed?
Customer: Well, I’m not very technical, but I think I’m ready. What do I do first?
Tech Support: The first step is to open your Heart. Have you located your Heart yet?
Customer” Yes, but there are several other programs running now. Is it okay to install Love while they are running?
Tech Support: What programs are running?
Customer: Let’s see, I have Past Hurt, Low Self-Esteem, Grudge, and Resentment running right now.
Tech Support: No problem, Love will gradually erase Past Hurt from your current operating system. It may remain in your permanent memory but it will no longer disrupt other programs. Love will eventually override Low Self=Esteem with a module of is own called High Self-Esteem. However, you have to completely turn off Grudge and Resentment. Those programs prevent Love from being properly installed. Can you turn those off?
Customer: I don’t know how to turn them off. Can you tell me how?
Tech Support: With pleasure. Go to your start menu and invoke Forgiveness. Do this as many times as necessary until Grudge and Resentment have been completely erased.
Customer: Okay, done! Love has started installing itself. Is that normal?
Tech Support: Yes, but remember that you have only the base program. You need to begin connecting to other Hearts in order to get the upgrades.
Customer: Oops! I have an error message already. It says, “Error- Program not run on external components. “What should I do?”
Tech Support: Pull down Self-Acceptance; then click on the following files: Forgive-Self; Realize Your Worth; and Acknowledge your Limitations.
Customer: Okay, done.
Tech Support: Now, copy them to the “My Heart” directory. The system will overwrite any conflicting files and begin patching faulty programming. Also, you need to delete Verbose Self-Criticism from all directories and empty your Recycle Bin to make sure it is completely gone and never comes back.
Customer: Got it. Hey! My heart is filling up with new files. Smile is playing on my monitor and Peace and Contentment are copying themselves all over My Heart. Is that normal?
Tech Support: Sometimes. For others it takes awhile, but eventually everything gets it at the proper time. So Love is installed and running. One more thing before we hang up. Love is Freeware. Be sure to give it and its various modules to everyone you meet. They will in turn share it with others and return some cool modules back to you.
Customer: Thank you.
- Anonymous
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