Editorial Note: The following is reprinted with permission from Mary Nikkel’s Substack. It was originally published on June 12, 2025. By Mary Nikkel I was trudging through a slurry of chemicals, holding a metal rod with a razor blade attached to the end, when my 11-year-old legs gave out. I slipped, landing on hands and knees in theContinueContinue reading “What child labor taught me to believe about myself”
Tag Archives: mental-health
Ableism in the Church: Part Two
Photo: Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay By Rebekah Palmer Content note: mention of child sexual abuse I’m left in my bottom bunk in my dorm room in tears and panicked breathing, again. Curled up as small as I can make myself under the covers, I feel ashamed because I need more medical care and accessContinueContinue reading “Ableism in the Church: Part Two”
Statement about “The Program” documentary exposing abuse in troubled teen homes
Photo: Courtesy of The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping By Vashti Initiative Staff The Vashti Initiative offers support for spiritual abuse survivors. We know that the troubled teen industry affects many survivors of religious and spiritual abuse. The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping is a new three-part documentary directed by Katherine Kubler that exposes howContinueContinue reading “Statement about “The Program” documentary exposing abuse in troubled teen homes”
The Most Important Insight I Gained after Deconstructing
Photo: Image by Felix from Pixabay By Celestine Alderwood Upon leaving a lengthy, highly conservative relationship with my children in tow, I began rethinking my beliefs. This was only possible after we found safety and freedom. I remember feeling grateful to the higher power we were taught to believe in. Still, a flood of emotionsContinueContinue reading “The Most Important Insight I Gained after Deconstructing”
Blue Christmas: Breaking generational abuse patterns during the holidays
Image by Leonhard Niederwimmer from Pixabay Editorial Note: The following is reprinted with permission from Amber Schultz’s blog. It was originally published on December 25, 2022. By Amber Schultz It’s the most wonderful time of the year. At least that is what we are told. I remember very few Christmases. Ones I remember are not the best times.ContinueContinue reading “Blue Christmas: Breaking generational abuse patterns during the holidays”
Statement on the “Let Us Prey” documentary covering abuse in the Independent Fundamental Baptist movement
By Vashti Initiative Staff The Vashti Initiative wants to announce that we are offering support for anyone who is processing their experiences in light of Let Us Prey: A Ministry of Scandals, a new two-part documentary from Investigation Discovery that aired Nov. 25 and 26, and is now available on various streaming platforms. “Let UsContinueContinue reading “Statement on the “Let Us Prey” documentary covering abuse in the Independent Fundamental Baptist movement”
I found true peace walking away from the church
By Lydia Joy Launderville What is peace? If you asked me as a fundamentalist, I would have answered “a peace of that passeth all understanding,” which because it was far beyond understanding, I never truly did, well, actually, understand it. I never felt peace in abuse. I never had piece of mind either. I justContinueContinue reading “I found true peace walking away from the church”
Being female in the IFB: wife and mother
Photo: Image by eloigomez from Pixabay By Rebekah Palmer I remember when I was a little kid playing with my sibling and our friends, either our perspective of family life or using Barbies and dolls to act out family life by calling it “playing house,” I announced that I probably wouldn’t have sex until IContinueContinue reading “Being female in the IFB: wife and mother”
It’s Not Fair: Living with Chronic Illness
Photo: Image by StockSnap from Pixabay Editorial Note: The following is reprinted with permission from Laura Launderville’s blog. It was originally published on June 25, 2023. By Laura Launderville One of the things I feel that has helped me with my own battle with facial pain is helping others. I volunteer with a nonprofit that supports patientsContinueContinue reading “It’s Not Fair: Living with Chronic Illness”
How Religious Abuse Harmed My Mental Health and How I Healed
Photo: Image by Pexels from Pixabay By Lydia Joy Launderville “I have mental illness” is a phrase that was very, very hard for me to say out loud to another living soul. Even acknowledging and accepting it was so hard. There were a few reasons for this. The first being that I was very traumatizedContinueContinue reading “How Religious Abuse Harmed My Mental Health and How I Healed”
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