Tending to My Thoughts by Sharon Hastings

THIS deeply Christian book (Features, April 19) is aimed at people suffering from mental health issues. Avoiding previous tendencies to separate faith and medicine, the author describes her own journey from a debilitating to a more manageable experience of her diagnosed schizoaffective disorder. Her medical training is undoubtedly central to her ability to combine an intelligent and cooperative attitude toward professional help and a thoughtful deepening of her faith as she works through the recovery model offered to her.

In eight chapters, she shares her personal experiences, offers useful explanations of medical terminology, and suggests relevant Bible passages that she has found helpful. Each chapter ends with two questions for the reader. Reading the book is something of a journey that reflects the author’s own experiences.

Critical to understanding the text is the explanation of what is meant by the recovery model. It is not to be confused with healing. The timing was important, as was the decision to try it, no matter how she felt at the time. The structure of the Wellness Recovery Action Plan allowed her to develop behaviors and rhythms that gradually helped her take responsibility for her recovery. A compassionate approach helped her to consider the nonlinear pattern of her behaviors and develop a mindset that allowed her to focus on the needs of her husband and young son as well as her own individual needs.

The importance of both personal and professional support is central to the author’s success in changing her mindset, and her acknowledgements reflect this. The achievement of having written a previous book: Wrestling with my thoughts (Books, September 11, 2020) gave her the confidence to write this book, and there may well be another book to follow in due course.

Although this book is aimed at others struggling with a diagnosed mental illness, it could also help pastors and others seeking a Christian approach to those struggling in this way. I have met sufferers who have been hurt by senseless comments like “you need to pray harder for a cure”; this book is an antidote to such attitudes. I applaud the thoughtful way in which the author reflects on her situation and is willing to adjust her expectations based on her experience. She is hopeful despite times of deep despair and finds comfort in both the Bible and her local church community. There is much to learn here.

The Venerable Dr Anne C. Holmes, a former NHS mental health chaplain, works as a psychotherapist and SSM in the Diocese of Oxford.

Take care of my thoughts: A doctor with severe mental illness finds recovery
Sharon Hastings
VAT 11,99 €
(978-1-78974-454-5)
Church Times Bookshop £10.79