More Information
Publication Date: 16 Jan 2020
Publisher: IVP
Words: 50000
Page Count: 208
Author: Sharon Hastings
ISBN-13: 9781789740882, 9781789740899

Wrestling With My Thoughts

A Doctor With Severe Mental Illness Discovers Strength
By Sharon Hastings
The unique voice of a medical doctor who has herself experienced severe and enduring mental illness and is absolutely passionate about helping other sufferers and their families.
In stock
ISBN-13
9781789740882-grouped
Paperback
£11.99
eBook
£11.99
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Summary of Wrestling With My Thoughts

She couldn't believe it. There she was with her medical qualifications sitting on the floor of a mental hospital. She'd offered her life to God, wanted to serve him anywhere, but no, surely not this...

Sharon Hastings is absolutely passionate about helping anyone who suffers from 'severe and enduring mental illness' (SEMI): schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and schizoaffective disorder. She wants the church to know all about these illnesses: how they devastate ordinary people and how they need to be treated. By telling her story, warts and all, showing her own tortuous, painful journey, she equips us to come alongside loved ones, fellow church members, friends and neighbours, understanding the social and spiritual ramifications of their illnesses, including them in our activities (where appropriate) and encouraging their spiritual growth.

A natural storyteller, the author draws us in. We journey with her. With wisdom, kindness and the heart of a bruised survivor, she interweaves her exceptional story with vital teaching which simply cannot be ignored by anyone within the church today.
Related Posts 21
  1. Guest Post: Recovery at Christmas Guest Post: Recovery at Christmas In this guest post, Sharon Hastings shares six proven strategies to engage with some of the perennial challenges to our mental health that can arise around Christmas.
  2. Guest Blog: Know an anxious Christian? Five things you should say - and five you shouldn't! Guest Blog: Know an anxious Christian? Five things you should say - and five you shouldn't! Sharon Hastings, author of 'Wrestling With My Thoughts' and the forthcoming 'Tending to My Thoughts', writes about Anxiety for Mental Health Awareness Week
  3. Blue Monday Week: Save 10% on Mental Health Resources Blue Monday Week: Save 10% on Mental Health Resources This week is Blue Monday week, and we've put together a selection of IVP titles that encourage and support mental health, from inspirational biographies to insightful books on mindfulness and self-care. All 10% OFF This Week!
  4. Looking Toward Recovery with Sharon Hastings Looking Toward Recovery with Sharon Hastings IVP is delighted to share that we've signed a second book from Sharon Hastings. 
  5. 20% Off Mental Health Resources 20% Off Mental Health Resources May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and we've put together a selection of IVP titles that encourage and support mental health, from inspirational biographies to insightful books on mindfulness and self-care. All 20% Off this month!
  6. Celebrate International Women's Day (with good books!) Celebrate International Women's Day (with good books!) Did you know that today, Tuesday the 8th of March 2022, is International Women's Day?
  7. Guest Post: Ten things I wish I had known about mental health before going to university Guest Post: Ten things I wish I had known about mental health before going to university Sharon Hastings, author of Wrestling with my Thoughts, offers ten points to ponder as the new University year kicks off.
  8. Guest Post: Broken Dreams Guest Post: Broken Dreams In this guest post, Sharon Hastings reflects on the journey God has taken her on, and how His dreams are better than she could have imagined.
  9. Wrestling With My Thoughts: A Year on from Publication Wrestling With My Thoughts: A Year on from Publication In this Guest Post, Sharon Hastings reflects on a strange year - which just happened to be the year in which her first book was published.
  10. Eleanor's Top Titles of 2020 Eleanor's Top Titles of 2020 Senior Commissioning Editor Eleanor Trotter shares her Top Ten Titles of 2020 - 5 from IVP, 5 from elsewhere!
  11. Tom's Top Titles of 2020 Tom's Top Titles of 2020 IVP's Digital Marketing Editor Tom Creedy shares his Top Ten Titles of 2020!
  12. Resources for World Mental Health Awareness Day Resources for World Mental Health Awareness Day For World Mental Health Awareness Day 2020, we are sharing a range of resources to encourage, equip, and inspire.
  13. IVP and SPCK - Five Years On IVP and SPCK - Five Years On We don't like to talk about 'IVP' that much, because we prefer to let our books and authors do the talking. This month, though, we are marking a milestone.
  14. Kindness and Psychosis Kindness and Psychosis Sharon Hastings, author of Wrestling With My Thoughts, suggests some brave steps to break down barriers, in this guest post for Mental Health Awareness Week.
  15. Guest Post: Why IVP? Guest Post: Why IVP? In this special guest post, author Sharon Hastings shares some of her journey in writing her book, and how she ended up publishing with us here at IVP.
  16. A Letter to my Sixteen-Year-Old Self A Letter to my Sixteen-Year-Old Self In this special guest blog post, Sharon Hastings pens a letter to her sixteen-year-old-self. 
  17. For Those Left Behind: How to Grieve a Suicide For Those Left Behind: How to Grieve a Suicide Al Hsu's book Grieving a Suicide helps survivors to think through and live the aftermath of the event. Here, he invites us to consider what suicide means for those left behind after the death of a loved one. Grief can be an overwhelming emotion - and we think that Al's words here may be helpful to those reeling from other news.
  18. New Year, New You? New Year, New You? Mini-resolutions and Moral Support for the Mentally Ill - a blog by Sharon Hastings, author of Wrestling with My Thoughts
  19. The IVP January 2020 Releases The IVP January 2020 Releases A New Year brings with it our first new releases of 2020 - and we've got three very different but very brilliant books to share with you.
  20. What's on your Christmas list? What's on your Christmas list? Christmas can not always be the most wonderful time of the year. Sharon Hastings, author of Wrestling with my Thoughts, offers a strategy for surviving Christmas when you have mental health problems
  21. World Mental Health Day 2019: A Missed Opportunity? World Mental Health Day 2019: A Missed Opportunity? Sharon Hastings, doctor and author of upcoming book Wrestling With My Thoughts writes on the blog for World Mental Health Day.

About the Author of Wrestling With My Thoughts

Sharon Hastings graduated as a medical doctor but became a writer after being diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder in her twenties. She lives in County Down with her husband, Rob, their young son, and two golden retrievers. Sharon enjoys seaside and forest walks, practising mindfulness, and reading – non-fiction for herself and children’s stories with her little one. She is passionate about improving understanding of severe mental illness in the Church.
Press Reviews

Sharon Hastings has done a true service by spelling out mental illness… This book is a good resource for those who likewise ‘wrestle’, as well as the helpers alongside.

- Philip Yancey

Mental health, and mental illness, is one of the most frequently discussed topics in the church, and what Sharon writes, and the approach she uses, are very useful.

- Professor Andrew Sims (commenting on draft 1 of the manuscript)

With courageous humility, Sharon Hastings has given us a rare privilege: sharing the experience of a Christian with mental illness. Her story is honest, at times heart-rending, but eventually hopeful. This book will pass on that hope to many struggling Christians who can easily feel excluded and forgotten. It will also equip the church better to understand and care for those who appear to be the weaker members of the body - but upon whom God has bestowed greater honour. Read this book, witness living faith, and see why God esteems those weakened through mental ill-health.

- Dr Andrew Collins, consultant psychiatrist and biblical counsellor

What an incredible story and what an incredible woman… Severe mental illness is a difficult and painful topic, but Sharon writes with immense courage and clarity about her experiences. Writing from both a personal and a clinical perspective, she offers a unique insight into depression, bipolar, EDNOS and schizoaffective disorder. I was inspired, challenged and profoundly moved by her story - and you will be too. Raw and powerful, this is a book that demands to be read.

- Emma Scrivener, author and blogger

It is a strange truth that when people generalise how to handle suffering they often compound it; but when people relate the specifics of their own suffering, they give untold confidence and inspiration to others, even when in very different circumstances. Sharon Hastings’ story is heartbreaking but very powerful. It is a bravely honest testimony to the goodness of God, the vital support of loving friends, and the resilience and perseverance of a remarkable person. To be invited to walk alongside her during some of the darkest periods of her life is a rare privilege indeed.

- Mark Meynell, speaker, trainer, author and blogger

Sharon’s story is raw and compelling. It engenders hope that true grace can be found in the midst of deep suffering. Her battle with mental illness has been characterised by a gritty perseverance which forms real character. As she testifies herself, this is made possible by the fact that she is being held by God even when all seems lost. This book can be of much help to believers who struggle with the shame and stigma of profound mental disorder. It provides wise advice for churches seeking to respond well to those who are afflicted with severe psychological conditions. It is to the immense benefit of others that Sharon has been able to bravely recount her journey, and that her intense internal wrestling has not been in vain.

- Dr Ken Yeow