Ep. 118 - Sarah Griffith Lund ”Breaking the Silence about Mental Illness”

The Deconstructionists

John Williamson

Religion, Religion & Spirituality

4.4 • 823 Ratings

🗓️ 23 March 2021

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Guest Info/Bio:This week I welcome the Rev. Dr. Sarah Griffith Lund. Sarah majored in religious studies in college at Trinity University, graduated with a Master of Divinity degree at Princeton Theological Seminary, and also received a Master of Social Work degree at Rutger’s University. Ministry and Social Work blend together are her two passions of loving God and loving her neighbors. She was ordained into Christian ministry by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in 2002 and began serving as a local church pastor in 2003. She's served large and small congregations in Brooklyn, Minneapolis, and New Smyrna Beach, Florida, and Indianapolis, Indiana. In 2011, she earned her Doctor of Ministry degree from McCormick Theological Seminary with a focus on revitalizing the local church. Her thesis is entitled, “The Challenges to Building a Beloved Community on Facebook.” She served the church as a Regional Minister, providing support and guidance to dozens of congregations in the United Church of Christ throughout central and western Florida. From 2014-2018, she served as Vice President for Seminary Advancement at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis. In 2018, she was called to serve as the first woman Senior Pastor at First Congregational United Church of Christ of Indianapolis. In addition, she serves on the National Staff of The United Church of Christ as the Minister for Disabilities and Mental Health Justice.Guest Publications: Blessed Are the Crazy: Breaking the Silence about Mental Illness, Family and Church; Blessed Union: Breaking the Silence about Mental Illness and Marriage. Guest Links:www.sarahgriffithlund.com Twitter: @revlund Facebook: @sarahgriffithlund Special guest music on this episode provide by: Mike Donehey Musical Guest/Music Links:www.mikedonehey.com Twitter: @mikedonehey Facebook: @mikedoneheyInstagram: @mikedonehey Enjoy the music?Songs heard on this episode were “What You Mean to Say, You Belong Here, & Better” from the EP, “Work of Art” and “In The Middle” from the brand new EP, A Father & Two Sons You can find Mike’s music on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, or anywhere good music is found!This episode of the Deconstructionists Podcast was edited by John Williamson and mixed and produced by Nicholas Rowe at National Audio Preservation Society: A full service recording studio and creative habitat, located in Heath, Ohio. Find them on Facebook and Twitter or visit their website for more information: www.nationalaudiopreservationsociety.weebly.com Stay on top of all of the latest at www.thedeconstructionists.com Go there to check out our blog, snag a t-shirt, or follow us on social mediaJoin our Patreon family here: www.patreon.com/deconstructionists Website by Ryan BattlesAll photos by Jared HevronLogos designed by Joseph Ernst & Stephen PfluigT-shirt designs by Joseph Ernst, Chad Flannigan, Colin Rigsby, and Jason Turner. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-deconstructionists/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcript

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0:00.0	And so there's a lot of theological work we can do around mental health as a physical condition like diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and that God wants to help us through medications, through Prozac, through Zoloft, through therapy, that God's love and healing comes in prayer, in the Bible, and in Zoloft, and in talking to a counselor.
0:29.7	But the damage has been done, will I ever be enough?
0:57.8	If I could take us far from here, make the trouble disappear. You know that I would. Welcome to the deconstructionist podcast. I'm your host John Williamson, and we're back to talk about a topic that is very near and dear to me.
1:05.3	As I've talked about on previous episodes on the podcast before, I deal with depression.
1:10.2	And so that is just a part of me, something that I have to deal with on a daily basis for me uh what has worked
1:12.6	over the years has been uh number one acknowledging it and admitting to myself that uh there
1:18.9	was no combination for me at least uh of things that I could do to get myself out of the way
1:25.5	that I felt in those moments um you know, I tried everything. I tried
1:29.4	exercise. I tried supplements. I tried, you know, being outside in the sun more, which certainly
1:35.7	helps. Those things definitely help. But for me, for me in particular, and this is not true for
1:41.9	everyone, but for me, you know, it's a chemical thing.
1:46.6	My body just unfortunately does not produce enough serotonin or dopamine.
1:52.2	And so for me, the thing that finally did work once I acknowledged that I couldn't do it on my own
1:57.9	and that I needed help was a combination of therapy and
2:02.7	medication. And so, again, you know, mental health is not a one-size fit fits all. What works for
2:08.9	me may not work for somebody else, but, you know, taking that first step, though, and going in
2:15.8	and talking to a mental health professional and saying,
2:18.0	okay, this is how I feel and going through and getting a proper diagnosis and then looking at a
2:24.0	treatment plan made all the difference for me. And so I tell people, anyone who will listen at this
2:31.8	point, you know, I can't imagine. It wasn't until I felt really good
2:37.0	for the first time that I realized how crappy I felt. And that is, that is infinitely true.
2:43.7	The fact that, you know, now that I've gotten this good balance, you know, of again, therapy and the right
	...

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