Tuesday 23 November 2010

not a good week

Last week was not a good one. I was doing lots of extra shifts at work (more than I know is good for me, but they were desperate) so was tired and grumpy anyway. Consequently God got somewhat squeezed out, as is normal for me in this situation.
The church service on Sunday left me feeling even worse, and even less inclined to bother with God. I'm sure you're not supposed to leave church feeling worse than when you went in, but that's what happened. Actually, it combined with the results of overwork to leave me wanting to self harm.
Before you all panic - I don't actually self harm. I am on antidepressants, have been for years, and usually they keep me pretty stable. Limiting my working hours also helps. But if I am angry or extremely upset, I get thoughts of self harm.
And it worries me. 25% of women and 10% of men have depression at some point in their life. In any given congregation, there will be others with no formal mental health diagnosis who have serious issues with self-esteem due to traumatic experiences in their past. So what effect does continually telling people they are sinners have on this group?

Something else I found ironic (text was Micah 6:8) - the Israelites were described as having abandoned God, and part of the proof of this was the terrible things they did, including sacrificing their children as burnt offerings. Then later we got to Communion, when the prayer was thanking God for sacrificing his child....

For my own sanity I'm going elsewhere for the next couple of weeks.

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