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Know Thyself, Heal Thyself

Authenticity, vulnerability, awareness & growth through storytelling, sharing of personal experiences, and knowledge on spiritual matters.

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The Truth of a Christian Chaplain’s Need for Help

5 min readNov 30, 2024

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Read for free @The Truth of a Christian Chaplain’s Need for Help.

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Starting at the beginning.

My experience with therapy for mental and emotional health is a journey that started in 1973. My parents noticed some behavioral problems and anger that needed to be addressed and took me to see a counselor when I wasn’t adjusting to some things. I reluctantly went to see Francie on a regular basis, not understanding why my siblings didn’t need this “special help.” Ironically, I learned to like her and learned things that I use to this day when conflicts arise.

Fast-forward to my high school years and problems with other matters, although at least I wasn’t getting into fights anymore. I would return to counseling again, and Dr. Ascono would be my new counselor and friend. Ironically, I now live just a few miles from where I would see him. Again, I wasn’t a fan of being told that I needed help, but in the end, I realized that I needed it.

There would be others that I won’t belabor this article with, but the truth was, none of them got to the root of my problem until I was in my forties and was diagnosed correctly with bipolar disorder. I was also more willing to open up about my need for therapy and what had…

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Know Thyself, Heal Thyself
Know Thyself, Heal Thyself

Published in Know Thyself, Heal Thyself

Authenticity, vulnerability, awareness & growth through storytelling, sharing of personal experiences, and knowledge on spiritual matters.

Living Faith by James M. Dakis
Living Faith by James M. Dakis

Written by Living Faith by James M. Dakis

Christian minister writing to inspire and encourage others in their daily walk with the Lord.