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10 Key Areas We Can’t Afford To Ignore In Mental Health
We all want to be healthy and happy. Here are some tips to help optimise your health to make you look feel at your best. Regular exercise is great for the mind and body, but it’s also good for the spirit. We need to take a holistic approach in looking after ourselves to address all…
Be a Man
There are approx. 3.5 billion males on the planet at this very moment in time, yet there are far fewer men then there ought to be. Even if we were to not count all the boys 12 years and under, there are still far fewer men than there should be. Why is that? Because there…
Agree to Disagree, Comply or Conform?
People in close relationships often have disagreements with one another. Often, in order not to fight about their differences, people will come to terms with and accept the fact that neither party will budge from their own way of thinking. In order to respect and accept the other person’s individuality and opinion, they will agree…
School Is Finally Over – What To Do Now?
You have been working towards this day for what feels like your whole life – and here it is! You may have imagined what it would be like; waking up on that first morning – no rushing, the guilt-free feeling of removing those study notes from the walls, the stress slipping away and you can…
Chemical Dependency & The Power To Change
A powerful quote from Dr. Caroline Leaf, “The brain does not change itself. Our mind changes the brain!” shows that old patterns of thinking have to be put away and new ways have to be learned. People who believe that it’s impossible to change are adding a stumbling block to their own recovery. Without the mindset of hope they will not…
Drugs And The Addict: A Destructive Relationship
“There’s a phrase, “the elephant in the living room”, which purports to describe what it’s like to live with a drug addict, an alcoholic, an abuser. People outside such relationships will sometimes ask, “How could you let such a business go on for so many years? Didn’t you see the elephant in the living room?”…
Depression – Am I depressed or do I just have the blues?
We all have times when we feel down. It’s normal to feel sad when a relationship ends, a good friend moves away or someone we care about dies. The stress of a heavy study load, financial difficulties or unemployment also affects our mood. However, the gloomy feelings usually pass and we still experience happy times…
Active Listening – 5 Basic Steps To Unlock The Hidden Power
Have you ever had a conversation like this? “Hi! How are you?” “I’m ok, just got back from the doctor, had some blood tests done…”, “Oh yes, I need to go see my doctor again, you know he is so good – he was so quick to pick up that I have an iron deficiency,…
Do people listen when you speak?
Pastor Rick Warren explains that there are certain principals that we can learn to master in order to hold people’s attention when we speak. “Develop These 7 Skills When You Want People To Listen Most church conflict results from poor communication. Even your best ideas, plans, or suggestions are worthless if you can’t communicate them…
Mental health is a community issue. What can we do about it?
A big part of mental health issues are compounded by isolation (physical and emotional), leaving those around them unsure about what they can actually do to help. There are a number of different community projects that different places have put into place that have been found to be really effective and even bring tight-knit communities…
Equipping The Church With Bible Based Counselling Skills
Doctors, social workers and support group leaders will have had to study some sort of professional mental health program as part of their professional training. This mental health training is essential for their professional development to equip them to deal with various types of persons and situations that they might experience. Because church leaders have an influential…
A Place For Mindfulness In Christianity
Mindfulness is different from other forms of meditation. Mindfulness is about being aware of your surroundings and knowing what is going on around you, within you, and outside of you moment by moment. Mindfulness also helps you to observe your own thoughts and feelings. According to Psychology Today, when you’re mindful you observe your thoughts and…
What If I’m Diagnosed With A Mental Illness?
With all the promotion and education going around, a lot of us have a basic understanding of what mental illness is, though unless we have experienced it; it is generally on a factual basis. This is good, we need to know facts, and facts are powerful. Though what does it mean if I am diagnosed…
Anxiety – Are You Thriving Or Just Surviving?
When people ask me how I am, I normally respond with “good thanks, and you?” which I believe is a natural response that a lot of us have. The thing is, it removes the focus from us, straight onto the other person. Some days the answer is true and I am actually having a great…
aifc Student Testimonial –Tara Watkins
Tara Watkins tells us why she initially chose to study with aifc, describing how the course has helped to strengthen her marriage and build up her faith. Tara says that she understands herself better now and that the course has had a positive effect on all of her relationships. “Initially what appealed to me about…
Fathers – Experience and Reflection (A Message To Fathers)
What has the past 12 months been like for you since last Fathers day? I was reflecting on this question myself over the past week as a Son and as a Father. – What has taken place in these 12 months? – How have I Fathered my children – My relationship with my Dad – My…
Shedding Some Light On Marriage Counselling
A marriage doesn’t necessarily have to be on the rocks for a couple to seek the help of a professional marriage counsellor. These highly skilled trained listeners can help couples face their unresolved issues in a friendly, confidential and non-threatening environment. The bible points out the importance of receiving wise counsel. Proverbs 11:14 “Where there is no guidance,…
12 Steps To Making Marriages Go The Distance
Psychologist Harriet Lerner Ph.D. provides her professional advice in an article outlining 12 basic steps that we can take to help our marriages to go the distance. From The Huffington Post. 12 Simple Steps For A Sustainable Marriage 1. Respect Differences. We all view reality through different filters depending on our culture, gender, birth order,…
Reasons Why Our Kids and Teens Rebel
According to The Independent UK, Justin Bieber is a prime example of too much too soon. The young celebrity had several run-ins with the law. One of those was for ‘drag-racing’ in a Lamborghini and another time for throwing eggs at a neighbour’s house and according to the Daily News, the star, who now admits…
Manage Anger To Keep Your Job
We’ve all had days where everything goes wrong, your boss is furious at you over something that’s out of your control, a project goes terribly wrong, you’re being taken for granted, aren’t valued in the workplace or you’re just on work overload without enough hours in the day to finish it all. Your heart pounds,…
The Power Of Choice Over Social Influence
Television, Radio, The internet and Social Media has a huge influence on people’s lives as a whole. According to Mark Stibbe’s observances, people’s reactions to the same kind of news can differ greatly from one nation to the next in keeping with their social mindset. How do two English speaking nations think very differently? Mark…
Mental Health & The Overuse and Misuse of Technology
Our Hi-Tech society can order food online, book a hotel, locate pizza delivery drivers and we can buy goods from any location in the world where there’s an internet connection available. Scanning QR codes to view information about a business and their products & services is becoming increasingly popular. Although there are some really great…
Social Media Trend & Technology Addiction
Information Technology has allowed modern day families to become more connected than ever before. We have become hi-tech households that carry smart phones everywhere we go. We use social networks to communicate and can instantly share our snap shots with one another. Technology has made communication faster, cheaper, readily available and has also increased the…
Avoiding Burnout – A High Achievers Sickness
According to Sherrie Bourg Carter’s article in Psychology Today, high achievers are more prone to burnout because of their, “I can do everything” personalities. She states the reason , “Because high-achievers are often so passionate about what they do, they tend to ignore the fact that they’re working exceptionally long hours, taking on exceedingly heavy…
