Justin’s Blog: “The Jog”

In the first part of this series, fear and anxiety was presented as a warning system that can operate properly or erroneously.  We examined how saints throughout history (in the Bible, specifically) directly were fearful, afraid, or anxious, and this was not necessarily linked with sin.  Let’s jump into why and how spending the time […]

Honored to be featured again in the I Am Second mental health blog, this post addresses the common occurrence of Intrusive Thoughts and how those of Christian faith can live in freedom. Click Here to Read NOW

“I feel like I really love my baby, but, I just don’t know. I have these terrible thoughts that pop into my mind. Thoughts of harming my baby. I actually vomited last night it made me so upset. I don’t know why I’m having these” “Everyone around me, including my pastor, seems to think I […]

As a faith leader, you are the real front door to mental health. Despite the fact that doctors and hospitals may be attributed this designation, many people feel most comfortable talking about mental health issues with you first, and even at times exclusively.  You are as a whole sought out 50% more than doctors or psychiatrists to help alleviate mental and emotional problems- this puts you on the front lines.

The unforgivable/unpardonable sin (also called the eternal sin or blasphemy against the Holy Spirit) can induce some level of fear for even the most convinced of Christians.  To the person who gets stuck on the concept, such as in OCD, Generalized Anxiety, and/or scrupulosity, misery would not be too strong of a word to describe it.  Personally, I suffered for several years […]

America today sees one of the highest levels of anxiety of any place in the world.[1] We are clamoring for attention online, wanting to be seen, to be loved.  Suicides by teens and young adults appear to be higher than they’ve been in years.[2]  We are the wealthiest nation on the face of the planet,[3] and we can’t […]

“You want me to do what?!” Many of my clients, and particularly for the sake of this article, Christian clients, are a bit surprised when I ask them to practice exposure.  Repeating scary, terrible thoughts on paper or aloud.  Doing things that feel risky.  It seems as a clinician I’m disrespecting your beliefs and don’t […]

One of my first questions to a professor in my earliest IOCDF BTTI (Exposure Therapy training) at Massachusetts General Hospital was, “What happens if someone actually gets sick after a contamination exposure?”  I haven’t forgotten the simplicity of the answer that went something like this: “People get sick all the time. Yes, that might create some additional […]

The Bible has a lot to say about fear and anxiety.  In fact, some variation of “do not be afraid” is the most common directive in Scripture, occurring in some fashion more than ‘do not steal,’ ‘do not kill,’ and even ‘love your neighbor.’ How Does Anxiety Work? When we study these constructs in research, […]