You can trust God with anything. He is waiting with outstretched arms. You can give it all to Him for His love is utterly faithful.

This one thing I know: God is for me!
   Psalm 56:9

Past Questions of the Month:

Hope and Assurance

This website was created for those acquainted with mental illness and in need of hope and assurance.

Question of the Month

In your book, Light of My Darkness, you talk about not having the coping skills to handle life. Could you say more about this?

Coping skills are learned behaviors that we use to handle the frustrations, disappointments, and losses that occur in our everyday life.

Sometimes, the coping skills we learned in our childhood and take with us into adulthood, create bigger problems for us and keep us from finding happiness and success. I personally believe this is a factor in depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses.

Other, healthier ways of managing our feelings resulting from life’s stressors, help us rise above our pain by enabling us to work out and even avoid problems with confidence and effectiveness.

Learning good communication skills has greatly benefited my mental health. Rather than assuming I know what someone has said or will do, I now try to ask questions for clarification and understanding. The result is my expectations of other people are more realistic which helps me avoid hurt, disappointment, and feelings of rejection. So many times I have been amazed to find out that what I presumed from a conversation was not even close to what that person intended.

I am also enjoying the rewards of explaining myself, filling in the details, and talking about whatever I may be feeling rather than holding it in. Another person, no matter how well they know me and love me, cannot always know what I mean, or read between the lines, or understand me, unless I help them by speaking openly and honestly. As I continue to progress in being able to make my wants and needs known to others, I am finding greater satisfaction in all that I do.

Was I ever taken back to discover that the most important part of productive communication is the ability to listen! This has not come easy for me because I want to jump in with what I am going to say next before the other person has finished his thought. Sometimes, I have even interrupted!

Acquiring the knowledge to communicate successfully has fostered my understanding, built my self-esteem, enabled my relationships to thrive, and encouraged me to trust.

The wonderful thing about developing coping skills that benefit us is that they can be acquired at any time and by anyone who is willing to put forth the effort.

Contact

I welcome your comments and suggestions about this website. If you have a question that you would like addressed, please let me hear from you.

My email address is carolyn@hopeandassurance.com.

My mailing address is:
P.O. Box 3041
Jonesboro, AR
72403-3041.