Walking toward wellness
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.—Various attributions According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, 20 percent of all Canadians will personally experience a mental illness in their lifetime. Those statistics apply to people in our congregations as well, even if we don’t always like to talk about them in…
Learning to let go
When she was admitted to hospital at the age of 14, it didn’t take long for doctors to diagnose Julia Klassen with anorexia nervosa. She displayed all the classic symptoms: a fear of gaining weight and a strong desire to be thin. She was malnourished, the result of restricting her eating for three months. Klassen’s…
Guard your heart and mind
I memorized Philippians 4:4-9 more than 20 years ago when I was on bed rest during my pregnancy with my son Aaron. I had lost three babies before him—and one after him—so pregnancy for me was an obvious cause for anxiety. If truth be known, I am actually a professional worrier, so passages like this…
Depression resurrection
Today begins like any other, the type that has become common for me. I cheerfully get out of bed at a decent time, feed my children a healthy breakfast, tidy up and then do a boring 20 minutes on the elliptical machine while they begin their chores. It may not sound revolutionary, but I marvel…
‘I am still holding out hope that I will be free of this one day’
What is it like being a young adult journeying with mental illness? Canadian Mennonite spoke with three people from Mennonite Church Canada congregations to find out. Melanie Kampen Melanie Kampen sought help for her anxiety when it got so bad last summer that she couldn’t get out of bed. A psychiatrist diagnosed the 26-year-old with…
