Struggle – A contemporary log of fragmentary pleasures

It’s Been a While

I’ve had some changes in life recently: book about to be published, new apartment, more exercise, better diet. There’s been a lot of good going on, yet my mind gravitates toward the negative. For instance, I have a job interview in a few weeks for what on the surface seems like a better job. ButContinue reading “It’s Been a While”

Navigating the Stormy Seas of Mental Health, pt. 2

See part 1 here I’d like you to remember that there are no medical cures for depression or anxiety disorders, only treatment to lessen or manage symptoms. Doctors or other healthcare providers who currently claim they have cures, whether scientific or pseudoscientific (aka “natural cures”) are being deceptive. With that in mind, let’s look atContinue reading “Navigating the Stormy Seas of Mental Health, pt. 2”

Interlude #2

Sometimes the happy face you wear slips but you catch it before it falls off. And for a moment you feel it in your hand: you run your fingertips across the sharpness of the ceramic. Then like a china doll you return to your preset position to please your owner, but the frequency of theContinue reading “Interlude #2”

Navigating the Stormy Seas of Mental Health, Pt. 1

In talking to my patients over the years and through dealing with my own experiences, I’ve found that getting help for conditions like depression and anxiety can be hindered by several obstacles. The main ones I find prevalent are stigma, time, money, and our own preconceived beliefs about what mental help is. Stigma Stigma isContinue reading “Navigating the Stormy Seas of Mental Health, Pt. 1”

“Worry Not?” Are You Sure?

Everyone gets anxious at some point. Maybe it’s on a first date, or during a class presentation, or maybe you’re starting at a new job. In all these cases, anxiety is an expected, normal reaction. But there are times when our anxious reaction is out of proportion to the situation. Though “out-of-proportion” is a measurementContinue reading ““Worry Not?” Are You Sure?”

Must I Choose between Pride or Shame?

The other day over coffee, my best friend and I were talking about our week and I brought up my blog. I told him about how I feel pride and shame are two sides of the same coin, like I wrote about some here. He immediately told me I was right on the money, andContinue reading “Must I Choose between Pride or Shame?”

Too Good to Not Believe

Time to get real. This world we know is a flaming dumpster nuke fire of injustice, disease, and pain that, if we saw the true extent thereof, we’d look away in burning scorn, searing tears, and stinging heartache. You think your individual life is a mess? Consider the billions alive today suffering in some wayContinue reading “Too Good to Not Believe”

O Death, You Filthy Piece of Crap, Where is Your Sting?

Death is final. It is the end of all things. It catches up to us all, for it is the most powerful and unstoppable force in existence. No one, not one, can evade its bony grasp. We must all succumb to the darkness and be forgotten. There is no escape. All that is a lie.Continue reading “O Death, You Filthy Piece of Crap, Where is Your Sting?”

When the Lyrics don’t Match, pt 3

Part 2 here One of the wisest men ever, second only to Solomon, was Ethan the Ezrahite, briefly mentioned in 1 Kings 4:31. We don’t know much else about him, but he did write Psalm 89, which begins like many worship songs we sing in church today do: “I will sing of the Lord’s unfailingContinue reading “When the Lyrics don’t Match, pt 3”

When the Lyrics don’t Match Up, pt. 2

Part 1 here King David is usually portrayed as a passionate worshiper, a man who praised God fervently through any storm in his life, from the time the previous king was trying to murder him to when his own son Absalom betrayed him to divide his kingdom. The image is that David stood strong inContinue reading “When the Lyrics don’t Match Up, pt. 2”