Through A Glass Darkly

On today's episode I talk with Craig, a Registered Psychotherapist in the adult outpatient mental health program at Mississauga Hospital. We talk about hellfire and brimstone preaching and the enduring anxiety it has caused, grieving the death of his father, how addiction is often a reasonable response to suffering, and how attachment theory can connect with Christian theology.

Warning: This episode contains a few swear words.

Questons? Comments? Suggestions? Please write to [email protected]. I'd love to hear from you!

In part 2 of my conversation with Jess we talk about how purity culture fed on the shame connected with her eating disorder, moving away from a self-help understanding of faith, struggling to understand sin, repentance, and confession in a healthy way, and how the Church can love well those living with a mental illness.

Trigger warning: this episode contains a detailed discussion of bulimia.

Questons? Comments? Suggestions? Please write to [email protected]. I'd love to hear from you!

Today's episode is the first part of a two part conversation with my good friend Jess. In this first part we cover a lot of ground, from the impact of defining mental illness as a sin, how ministry can lead to a lot of pressure but also a sense of self worth, being sure of God's love for others but not being able to experience it herself, how severe anxiety contributed to the development of an eating disorder, and as well as an aside on the Heaven's Gates and Hell's Flames play and the Left Behind series. You don't want to miss it!

Trigger warning: In this episode we talk about bulimia.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Please write to [email protected]

On today's episode I talk with Steph about connecting with God in the darkness, learning that her identity might not be just in what she can do, the surprising scope of God's grace, and the joys and struggles of parenting.

Also, Steph is an amazing photographer. Check out her work at ironbragg.com.

In this episode I talk with Jessica about trauma, PTSD, and mental illness, the shame that often surrounds homelessness and living with a mental illness, a different way of approaching sobriety, and how all of her experiences shape how she cares for those experiencing homelessness and living with a substance use disorder.

Trigger warning: This episode contains references to sexual assault, substance use, and suicide.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Please write to [email protected]

In this episode I speak with Paula about the joy and pain of belonging, holding on to truth in the midst of depression, and how the experience of God's kindness and care pulls her through the dark times of a borderline personality disorder.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Please write to [email protected]

Welcome to Through a Glass Darkly, the podcast about following Jesus while living with a mental illness. Hosted by Matt Escott, each episode will share one person's story of how mental illness has shaped how faith is understood and lived out, as well as how faith has influenced the experience of living with a mental illness. And because life is so much more than faith and mental illness, we will also discuss the interplay between faith, mental illness, and the stuff of everyday life: parenting, marriage, community, and vocation, to name only a few.

Join me in listening to these incredible stories from some amazing people. Subscribe or follow wherever you get your podcasts, and write to [email protected] to share your questions, feedback, and suggestions.