It’s always interesting and rewarding for us at TFP to read or hear about the impact of our books outside of formal reviews. Thanks to blogs and Google Alerts, we are able to find out how individuals utilize TFP books.
Earlier this week on her blog, this woman wrote of how Harold G. Koenig’s view of mental illness in his book Faith and Mental Health: Religious Resources for Healing helped her to find meaning in her bi-polar disorder diagnosis.
I concur with this reviewer about the role of spirituality in the struggle with mental illness and what Koenig proposes. I have done numerous interviews with those who struggle with some forms of mental illness and spirituality does play an important role in providing meaning for their existence. Spirituality offers the possibility of hope and a sense of purpose. Most people with severe depression that I interviewed indicated that they have become much more compassionate toward others. This also runs along the same line of thinking as Thomas Moore, James Hillman, and Jung’s approach to alchemy.