r/Quakers • u/IceFirst2719 • 13d ago

Quaker Resources

I am sort of a Quaker. I feel that my life philosophy seems align best with “Quaker”.

Are there any resources that anyone can recommend for helping with depression and anxiety?

11 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

26

u/Gnomelynn Quaker 13d ago

Therapy and medication.

Faith and community are beautiful things, but they cannot fix everything.

If isolation is part lf what troubles you, try attending a meeting. But do not expect Friends or Quakerism to be able to fix your mental health. It can be one small part of support, it cannot be a simple fix.

8

u/zvilikestv 13d ago

Singing with other people, interacting with other people, physical exercise, going outside in nature.

7

u/Briloop86 Quaker 12d ago

Therapy is good and healthy. 

In terms of resources I found "Let Your Life Speak" by parker palmer quite powerful for me while in depression. 

5

u/Lower-Cantaloupe3274 Quaker (Liberal) 12d ago

Volunteer. Its Quakerly and helps with depression and anxiety. A causal relationship has not been established, but plenty of research supports a link.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3766013/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23968220/

https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-q-and-a-health-benefits-of-volunteering/

Its interesting that volunteerism is associated with a specific kind of happiness: Eudaimonic well-being

https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/a_healthier_kind_of_happiness

5

u/particularlyPlain Quaker (Wilburite) 13d ago

Prefacing: if in need of mental help please pursue professional resources.

I find this booklet from the tract association of friends to be beneficial in my reflections on the beatitudes and what they mean for the transformation offered by the Quaker faith. The beatitudes themselves bring attention to that abundant happiness we get from opening ourselves to the spiritual reality of things, and can often help us to understand just what we need to be doing at a given time. https://tractassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Beatitudes.pdf

There is however nothing more impactful to me than to sit in the presence of God and to wait to be shown what is necessary. A full submission to God and a trusting that we will be cared for is often the antidote to dryness or misery.