A Shrink in the Belfry
Thoughts on Life, Spirituality, and good Mental Health
(Chasing bats away, one at a time!)
An introduction:
Hey, hey!
Welcome! Very glad that you found this spot, and I certainly hope you will find whatever you read and see here helpful for you.
Let me begin by telling you some things about who I am. There will be a lot of usage of the word, “I”, in this post. Sorry about that, but “I” couldn’t find any better, or less self-centered, ways to tell you about myself!
I am a slightly older guy, raised in the 1960s and 70s, spent far too much time in school, emerged at some point long ago from what most folks call “education,” and then experienced a whole bunch of things on my way to today!
I am very gratefully and humbly married, a father to four wonderful adult daughters, father-in-law to four great sons-in-law, grandfather to six energetic kids, the oldest sibling to two brothers and one sister, and a person who has now lost both parents and both parents-in-law.
It’s been quite a journey. Grateful for all of it, except for the losses of parents, all of the memories they took with them, and the poor choices I have made at times that have hurt others. Although, as has been said many, many times by many people, I have learned a few helpful things from the results of those choices.
You should know that I am Christian. I believe in the Lordship of Jesus Christ. I believe that He lived, performed incredible miracles, spoke many words of truth (some easy, some really hard), that He shed His blood willingly for all of us, died, was raised from the dead (!!), and is still present in this world all of the time through His Spirit. With His help I am trying to follow Him, through many stumbles, day by day.
I am a ("semi-") retired psychiatric physician. I am not working in that role currently, though I do try to stay current in reading, and would hope that perhaps I might have the opportunity, in the right setting and only part-time, to again work with people.
I am not happy with the current state of psychiatry. I am not and never was a Freudian “analyst”, but I do believe that many people with mental health struggles don’t need to just be handed a prescription slip (these days, more accurately, a prescription sent electronically to their pharmacy). They want and need to be heard … I mean, really “heard” … and to be given the kind of thoughtful feedback that we humans all want and need. We will talk much more about that and related topics in the near future.
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I love belfries! You will see, if you follow along with me, a lot of pictures of bell towers posted here in the pages of this blog. A big part of my fascination with bell towers comes from the old phrase that many people in “olden times” (!!) would say about others whom they considered to be “crazy”: “He’s (or she’s) got bats in the belfry!” We will look more closely at bats, belfries, and mental health issues as we go along, but just wanted any readers to get a feel for why I chose this framework for writing about things that are dear to me.
Here is one of my all-time favorite bell tower pictures:
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As you can see, it is square in design, has open-air “windows” on all four sides, and at least two bells! I don’t see any bats in the picture, but be assured that there may be a few in there, hiding ….
In these pages, I hope to talk about many things that are important to me, and I believe to you as well, if you are human like I am! I am grateful to life and to so many people who have given me gifts of knowledge and thoughtfulness, in most cases without knowing it at all.
I have been in the dark on a number of occasions, but always, eventually, a light has come. But what good is light if it can’t be, or can be but isn’t, shared?
We’ll talk about what good mental health is (it isn’t just the absence of mental illness!), several and various spiritual ideas, love for ourselves and for others, enjoying what comes to us from our senses (and maybe from our “nonsenses!”), and other things besides. Hope you will keep coming back for more!
I guess that’s it for now.
Well, allow me to add just one more thing: I have always loved The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien! There is a line in TLOTR, spoken by Gandalf, which I still cherish: “Not all who wander are lost.”
I, perhaps like you, have been a wanderer on many occasions, and have at times felt entirely lost. But, I later learned that I was not lost at all. There was always Another Person there with me, who later brought me back around. That “Another Person” is with you, too!
Thanks for reading.
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Craig Meek, M.D., retired