A Christian counselor's take on healing mind, body and spirit.
Sleep is important. Adults need an average of 7-9 hours of sleep (uninterrupted) per night. Why is sleep so important? Regulating your circadian rhythm (your sleep-wake clock) underlies all mental health improvement. Our circadian rhythm is the master clock in our brain that tells our body's systems when to do what. It's connected to the…
A few months ago, my husband and I were taking a walk around the bay near us and I watched a fish jump and create ripples through the water. It was a common enough image, but it reminded me of what I’d read that morning. In the book of Joshua, there was a misunderstanding between…
It seems like even though the conversation here is about using nutrition and integrative medicine to support mental health, the topic of weight loss keeps coming up. Certainly, for many of the overweight and obese citizens of the world, doctors are emphasizing more than ever the need to get down to a healthy weight to…
I don’t think any married couple likes conflict. It’s a part of being together that seems to cast doubt and negativity over the entire marriage. If we argue, are we destined to fail? Is he going to get fed up with me and leave? Will we always have this same argument? Pretty soon, the thought of…
Awhile back, someone following my Instagram @faithhopefood asked for a sort of guide to help her make food choices that would benefit the mental health of her children. I thought it was such a great idea, so here we go! If you've been with me for a while, you've read about the basics of how…
When my husband prepared to deploy for the first time in our marriage, I got a lot of advice. One of the most common pieces of advice I heard was, "Get busy, and stay busy." The implication was that if I was busy enough, I wouldn't have the time to laze about eating copious amounts…
As a counselor, I have spent a lot of time over the years talking with people about how to be happy. Some people seem to just be “happy people,” natural optimists, but for many, happiness is elusive, fleeting, and often buried under dark feelings of despair and anxiety. When a person’s mindset is despairing, they…
The truth. This word, this concept has been sparking debates for ages. What is truth? What is the truth? How can we know? Why does man search for it so ardently? We need the truth to ground us, to give us a point of reference from which to order our lives, like an anchor. Without…
I've been thinking about an old favorite verse lately... "Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life" (Proverbs 4:23, NLT). As far as I can remember, this verse has been referenced in support of avoiding negative influences that might lead to sin. Don't watch bad movies or listen to…
I've been thinking a lot about healing this year. My journey into nutrition and integrative medicine started with a desire to heal my body from disease (diabetes). Naturally, as I explored the applications of nutrition and integrative medicine to mental health, I've thought a lot about what healing from mental health disorders really means. In…
