Darkness Is My Only Companion: A Christian Response to Mental Illness

Description

Part 1. Facing mental illness. Darkness -- Mental illness -- Temptation to suicide -- Mania -- Darkness, again -- Hospital -- Part 2. Faith and mental illness. Feeling, memory, and personality -- Brain, mind, and soul -- Sin, suffering, and despair -- Dark night, discipline, and the hiddenness of God -- Health and prayer -- Part 3. Living with mental illness. How clergy, friends, and family can help -- Choosing therapy.;Where is God in the suffering of a mentally ill person? What happens to the soul when the mind is ill? How are Christians to respond to mental illness? In this brave and compassionate book, theologian and priest Kathryn Greene-McCreight confronts these difficult questions raised by her own mental illness--bipolar disorder. With brutal honesty, she tackles often avoided topics such as suicide, mental hospitals, and electroconvulsive therapy. Greene-McCreight offers the reader everything from poignant and raw glimpses into the mind of a mentally ill person to practical and forthright advice for their friends, family, and clergy. The first edition has been recognized as one of the finest books on the subject. This thoroughly revised edition incorporates updated research and adds anecdotal and pastoral commentary. It also includes a new foreword by the current Archbishop of Canterbury and a new afterword by the author. Part 1. Facing mental illness. Darkness -- Mental illness -- Temptation to suicide -- Mania -- Darkness, again -- Hospital -- Part 2. Faith and mental illness. Feeling, memory, and personality -- Brain, mind, and soul -- Sin, suffering, and despair -- Dark night, discipline, and the hiddenness of God -- Health and prayer -- Part 3. Living with mental illness. How clergy, friends, and family can help -- Choosing therapy.