Tracy Ruckman

When I saw a few social media posts this morning reminding me that it’s #ThankfulThursday, I decided it was time to write a long overdue letter and share it with all of you. Dear MercyMe: I’ve wanted to write this letter for a few years, but never made it a priority. But after all that’s happened, I can’t not write to you. Thank you for writing the songs you do. I know many of them are born out of your own trials and tribulations. I’m truly sorry for the pain you’ve experienced, but I’m incredibly grateful that the Lord is using you so mightily to help others through their own struggles, including my own. Your song “Even If” was released the year my younger son was diagnosed with many more mental illnesses, when the first diagnoses were overwhelming enough. I resisted the song at first, because I didn’t want to / couldn’t / wasn’t ready to admit that there might be an Even If kind of answer to all my fervent prayers for him. But reality finally sunk in, and I found the Hope in your lyr...

We lost a beautiful loved one to mental illness over the weekend. With my son Jon’s diagnosis, I always thought the lack of help for him was due to his/our lack of financial resources, or his addictions, which made finding treatment more difficult, or even my failure as parent. But the loved one we lost this weekend had the resources, no addictions, and had strong family support his entire life. They sought help for him continuously and ferociously, and yet the system FAILED them. The system failed HIM. Why???? This is why I’m not okay. I’m angry. The Shame of Mental Illness is NOT with the illness, NOT with the patient, NOT with their families – the Shame of Mental Illness is that NO ONE has answers, NO ONE can get help! This should make all of us ANGRY. The month of May is Mental Health May 5th is “Silence the Shame” Day to help bring awareness to the plague that is crippling our world right now – mental illness – and to help erase the stigma associated with mental illness. I don’t a...

What if our purpose in life is not what you think it is? Not what the world teaches us it should be? What if our purpose in life here on earth isn't to become rich or famous or to "live life abundantly"? I'm not saying we CAN'T or SHOULDN'T become rich or famous or live life abundantly. I'm saying we need to stop lumping everyone into one extreme or another. We have a personal, relational God, and His purpose for each of us varies as much as His designs for snowflakes, tears, and sand. He's not a cookie cutter God, molding and shaping us into a one-size-fits-all Christian.  In the Gospels, Mark shares the story about the widow's mite in chapter 12.  41 And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums.  42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent.  43 Calling His disciples to Him,...

After reading of Anthony Bourdain’s suicide this morning, and Kate Spade’s suicide  three days ago, I started a post on Facebook that read: I hate suicide. It's senseless and stupid. Depression stinks. Tomorrow is ALWAYS a new day. People can and will help you, but you have to reach out. If you can't/won't talk to a friend or family member, seek out a counselor, or a pet, or a plant - just talk to them. Write letters to uncork yourself. Or call this hotline. You are loved. You have a purpose. How to get help: Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Suicide is NOT the answer. For anyone. I stopped my post with that, but continued to think about the whys of suicide, and realized I need to say more. Life is not easy for any of us. We all have our own battles we face - some may be social (like bullying or loneliness, or the fame of celebrity), some may be financial (like extreme poverty, debt, or extreme wealth), some may be mental (like depressi...

In our quest to find help for our loved one dealing with mental illness, I've been provided with lists of resources. I thought it might be helpful to compile them into one blog post in case others might need access to these resources, too. Some of the resources are located in Georgia, and may be for Georgia residents only, but others are national. If you find something helpful located in GA, I recommend contacting that office to see if someone there knows of anything similar in your own state. Organizations: National Alliance for Mental Health - NAMI - www.NAMI.org Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration - SAMHSA - www.samhsa.gov Treatment Facilities & Resources: Georgia Association of Recovery Residences - GARR - www.garrnow.org           substance abuse will be primary problem but often mental 24/7 Gateway Center (affiliated with St. Jude’s Mercy Care) www.gatewayctr.org/programs-and-services/ Books: Boundaries: When to ...

Our loved one has only had a mental illness diagnosis a short time, so we've only just begun navigating on this journey toward wellness and functionality. But we've already learned some things that might help others on the same journey. 1) You are not alone. There are others - many others - who have loved ones who suffer from mental health issues - you just may have to open yourself up and share a little of your story to encourage others to speak out. 2) Extended family and friends cannot actually understand what you are going through if they themselves don't have an immediate family member going through the same thing. I'm sorry - they just can't and don't understand. And that's okay. Most of the time. 3) As extended family, they're probably not actively involved in the treatment plans, so most of the time, it's okay that they don't understand. But this can become a problem - as I've recently discovered - when extended family or fr...

Last night Tim and I had the honor/privilege/opportunity/blessing to attend a weekly family support group affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness . The funny thing is: I'd NEVER heard of NAMI before this week, even though we've dealt with mental illness for a very long time. From one of their brochures: "NAMI is the nation's largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and families affected by mental illness. NAMI has over 1,100 affiliates in communities across the country who engage in advocacy, research, support, and education. Members of NAMI are families, friends, and people living with mental illnesses such as major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and borderline personality disorder." Tweet: Did you know 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. has a mental health condition? Find support at www.NAMI.or...

Scrolling through Facebook this morning, I realized that other people may be in the same kind of boat I’m currently in, so I decided to write this blog post in hopes of offering a word of encouragement and to let you know you’re not alone. I also wanted to write this blog post to just be real. To let everyone know that although life may be hard at times, the Lord is still on the throne, and our Hope is in HIM, not our present circumstances. I love the holiday season. Love the Reason for the season, love the time of Thanksgiving for all we’re so richly blessed with, love the sparkly lights and the jingly bells. Love the sights, the sounds, the smells (oh, my, the delightful smells of cloves, sage, evergreens, gingerbread, wood-burning fires, fresh snow). But for many years, I’ve let my holiday season be controlled by a dear, precious loved one who suffers from mental illness, but was only recently diagnosed. We hear mental illness tossed around all the time, and we recognize th...