Organizers hope Living Room will be a launching point to increase mental health awareness in churches and Christian-based support groups across Canada.

Living Room offers a place of refuge for the mentally ill

“I will not settle for anything less than positive change…I will be their voice.”

WINNIPEG, MB—After being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Lorna Smith spent several difficult years in denial and several more learning to live with her illness.

“My life was impacted tremendously by the illness,” Smith says. “I did not have much confidence and so I withdrew from many of my friends. I felt like I was just existing, with no purpose in life. There were many occasions when I felt like I was losing my mind.”

During her period of illness, Smith realized her recovery was not dependent on medication alone; she came to the conclusion that the peace and contentment she sought could only be attained through divine intervention, and trusted God to turn her despair into joy.

Through her reliance on God, medication, trust in friends and family and a lot of hard work, Smith is no longer plagued by anxiety, panic attacks, aggressive behaviour, and the other symptoms she struggled with. She says everything she and her family went through ended up strengthening her relationship with God and gave her a compassionate heart for people dealing with mental illness.

“I am greatly energized because I am determined to make a difference,” Smith says. “My heart aches for the many who are hurting, hopeless and in despair. I will not settle for anything less than positive change for the mentally ill. I will be their voice.”

Smith currently ministers to people with mental illness through the Winnipeg support group the Living Room. Living Room is a faith-based group, offered by Immanuel Pentecostal Church in partnership with the Mood Disorders Association of Manitoba. The group launched in 2011 and meets every other Sunday night, providing a safe place for participants to freely discuss their faith and mental health issues.

“Living Room has allowed me to begin to expose my hurts, my emptiness, my sincere struggle to let go of thoughts that do not foster wholesome living,” says a Living Room participant. “It encourages me to adopt God’s life giving words. Love is not an easy thing, but it is the only thing worth living for.”

Although the church is supposed to provide refuge and understanding for struggling people, Smith says many Christians she’s spoken to with mood disorders have felt shunned rather than supported. She hopes Living Room will be a launching point to increase mental health awareness in churches and Christian-based support groups across Canada.

Smith says, “My desire is to be God’s spokesperson on behalf of the mentally ill so that the stigma can be removed and people can experience the abundant life that Jesus promises.”

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