A Conversation with Kristen Deasy
All of us here at True Goodness Films had the opportunity to sit down with the Founder of The Human Condition, Kristen Deasy, to listen to her story and experience with mental illness, healing, and faith. Kristen shared that it was in high schools that her struggles became very noticeable in her life. Every day she said she tried her hardest to appear as feeling normal, but the façade became quite difficult to continue and the mask of happiness began to fall from her face. After struggling with suicidal thoughts, Kristen had attempted to take her own life. Through the love and encouragement from her parents, she decided to seek counseling and therapy. She recalled a moment while sitting with her father in a psychiatric waiting room, after many hours had passed and reliving such a vulnerable moment over and over in her mind with every staff member she had to tell the story to, that she cried to him saying she felt shame and embarrassed. Her father gave a tender and grace filled answer saying that had she broken her foot, they would go to the hospital to get it fixed and that seeking help for her struggling mind was no different.
Kristen’s immense courage led her closer to healing through therapy and medicine, but she said something still seemed to be missing. It was finally through the sacrament of confession that she brought the Lord back into her heart and life. Prior to this time, Kristen said she felt that she was unable to connect to God during most of her sufferings. However, after sharing everything she had endured over the last few months with the priest, he said to her, “It’s okay,” and “It’s not your fault.” He told her that the Lord did not want her to feel shame or guilt for this. The Lord wanted to console her and love her. It was after this experience in the sacrament of confession that Kristen says she had found the missing piece of her healing – God.
Kristen has now founded The Human Condition organization and it is her, “experience with depression, suicide, and healing, along with her Catholic faith, that directs the mission and work of The Human Condition.” While handling her sufferings, Kirsten felt she did not have a place in the Church due to all she had gone through. Hearing the sentiment “Just pray through it” is quite difficult when mental illness and suffering is so real and so raw. Kristen started The Human Condition as a “community striving to cultivate and promote hope, healing, and conversation through integrating the topics of mental health and faith.” She wants all to know that “having a mental illness is not due to a lack of faith or makes you any less a member of the Body of Christ.” The Human Condition offers stories of struggles and healing, encouragement to seek help as needed for Catholic/Christian counselors listed on their website, and to promote conversation giving more people the knowledge that they are not alone in their struggles, and that they are worth, holy, and loved by our Almighty Father in Heaven.
To hear Kristen’s full interview, please visit YouTube.com/TrueGoodnessFilms or watch below.
God Bless Kristen Deasy, The Human Condition, and all of our readers and followers. Servant of God, Dorothy Day – Pray for us!
*Quotations taken from TheHumanConditionCommunity.org