How can I forgive my deceased father for his cruel words and behavior? He treated me horribly when I was a kid, and as a result my relationship with him was strained and distant until the day he died. I never worked things out with him in person, and now I’m struggling with feelings of …
Life Changes Q&As
Is it normal to experience deep grief after the unexpected termination of a pregnancy? I recently lost my first child through miscarriage, and my husband and I are surprised at how devastating this experience has been for us. Is this typical?
Can you help me cope with the practical, day-to-day aspects of my spouse’s death? I’m already seeing a therapist, and close friends are helping me work through the grief. Where I really need some guidance is in the area of business details, daily responsibilities, house repairs, car maintenance, paying bills – that sort of thing. …
How can we communicate and keep up a meaningful heart-to-heart connection with my aging mother as her mental condition deteriorates? She’s past eighty now, and symptoms of dementia are becoming more and more pronounced in her behavior. Her short-term memory is so poor that she can’t remember what she said to me ten minutes ago. …
How can I know if I need to seek professional help with my depression? What exactly is the definition of a “clinically” depressed person? I feel sad and fatigued much of the time, and nagging anxiety is a chronic problem, but I have no idea if these are serious issues or not. Can you help …
Is there always a risk of suicide in depression? My spouse has struggled with depression on and off for years. She has a prescription for medication, but she doesn’t always take it faithfully. Sometimes she seems so low that I begin to worry that she may harm herself in some way. Do you think I’m …
Could depression be demonic in nature? My personal view is that it can be traced to demonic powers and that mental illnesses almost always have a spiritual basis. If this is true, then only God can take them away, and medications and psychological remedies will only mask the real issue. A person needs deliverance from …
Is there anything I can do to help my aging mother when she gets blue and down in the dumps? She used to be a very positive person, but now she can barely speak to us when we visit her in the nursing home where she’s been living for just over a year. Is depression …
Can you help me understand what my elderly dad might be feeling? I sometimes think that elderly people are “invisible” to the rest of us. We never seem to ask ourselves what they’re thinking and feeling as they deal with personal loss, the implications of aging, and the prospect of death.
What are the tell-tale signs of alcoholism? I’m worried about my husband, but I’m not sure if I have grounds for insisting that he do something about his drinking. When football season comes around, it’s five months of him and his friends sitting in front of the TV drinking beer. That doesn’t happen every night, …