Mental Health and Faith

06/09/21 • 90 min

CONTENT TRIGGER WARNING: This episode talks about serious mental health issues and discusses suicidality and self-harm. If you or someone you know are experiencing mental health concerns, please seek professional support as this podcast is not a substitute for addressing immediate mental health concerns. Resources provided below.
We are finally back in the saddle after several months’ long hiatus! It’s been a year since we’ve started this podcast and we wanted to kick off this season with an episode talking about our mental health and faith. Our guest speaker is our friend, Monica Giang, wife of a former guest on this podcast, John Giang. She is a mental health advocate and she has a strong following on social media. We define mental health and trauma and its impact on our faith life. We discuss why mental health issues are not the work of the devil and we talk about our own struggles in our own mental health journey. We also talk about how parents can become more aware of mental health concerns so we can better show up for our children and we also discuss how parishes can be more trauma informed in all aspects of parish life.
You can find Monica on Instagram @healgrowloveyourself.
Resources:
Ask your employer about an Employee Assistance Program that offers free or low cost therapeutic services - don’t wait until a major life event to happen before seeking professional help.
Ask your primary physician or care provider for a referral to mental health services.
Suicide hotlines: 1-800-273-talk (8255)
Suicidepreventionlifeline.org
Iasp.info
Lastly, practice self-care regularly! We share our self-care practices, what are yours? Share with us on social media!

Previous Episode

Immigration and Faith

Today, we interview Suzette Malong, a family friend, who immigrated to the United States from the Philippines. We talk about the challenges that she faced when she immigrated to the US and talk about how her faith played a role during those difficult times. We also examine some significant differences about how faith is expressed in various cultures. If you or someone you know immigrated, it would be interesting to engage them in conversation about some of these questions:

How has your culture influenced your faith life?
What were your expectations or held beliefs about living in the United States?
What was it like living here initially?
What role did your Catholic faith play during this stage of your life?
Have you looked at immigration as a trauma and why do you think immigrants may not perceive it as a trauma?
What are some notable differences in how you experience faith and church life in the United States compared to back home?
What are the differences of how you practice your faith in the United States compared to back home?
What are some ways you’ve held onto your faith and culture?
How would you like to see the church address immigration and support immigrant families in the parish?