St. Dymphna’s Playbook Gives Peace and a Plan for Dealing with Mental Illness

Tina Mayeux discusses how Tommy Tighe's new book can serve as a beacon of hope for those who suffer with mental and emotional difficulties.

Driving on some pre-dawn mornings, you may encounter dense fog which can cause you to be confused and to possibly make wrong turns or worse. You may eventually reach your destination, but not without a considerable degree of difficulty and maybe rerouting your path once or twice.

Depression and other mental illnesses can be like a thick fog over a person’s life and daily activities. Like a foggy morning, these disorders can also cause a person to become disoriented, struggle through the day, and even veer off-course at times. Tommy Tighe’s St. Dymphna’s Playbook: A Catholic Guide to Finding Mental and Emotional Well-Being is a beacon of light in the darkness for those suffering with depression or any other mental illness. It is also an excellent resource for those who care for someone suffering in this way.

St Dymphnas Playbook by Tommy Tighe

Tighe gives a professional insight and advice while simultaneously encouraging a faith-filled approach to dealing with mental health issues. He presents a clinical yet spiritual viewpoint for how to successfully treat and live with these issues.

A licensed marriage and family therapist, Tighe combines practical solutions to mental health concerns with plenty of spiritual advice from Scripture and the saints. He offers an overview of many different mental health issues and discusses practical and helpful ways to treat them. He candidly discusses his own journey through similar difficulties, offering a personal perspective, which adds to his understanding and expertise on the subject.

St. Dymphna’s Playbook is a step in the right direction toward a more frank and open conversation on the topic of mental illness and helps to lessen the stigma surrounding this important and timely topic. Through his book and his podcast bearing the same name, Tighe is promoting dialogue and caring support for those sufferers.I have lived with anxiety and depression for many years and have experienced the stigma of mental illness, and this book helped me to know that I am not alone in my suffering. Tighe emphasizes the need to build a community of believers who suffer with mental health issues in order to support and encourage one another. His openness and honesty about his own struggles with losing a young child empower and encourage readers to begin to share their own stories in the hope that we can decrease stigma surrounding these issues.

For so many people who suffer with mental and emotional difficulties, these times may be exacerbating their pain and suffering. The tension and difficulties brought on by the pandemic and certain current events have certainly added to the numbers of those who struggle with these problems. St. Dymphna’s Playbook comes at a time when many are looking for light in the darkness and a glimmer of hope to help them to go on. If you or someone you know is suffering in this way, reading St. Dymphna’s Playbook can help provide clarity and hope and a plan to move forward on the journey toward healing.