Tori Beck, the creator of the Christian Advocate, hangs out with us this week on the “Dear God, I’m Sad” Podcast! Tori is a writer, content creator, and advocate. She holds a bachelor's in psychology and a master's in counseling and currently works for social services in mental health. After struggling with anxiety and OCD in a religious context, she has become passionate about mental health advocacy in the Christian space. This passion is one of the factors that led to her creating The Christian Advocate on Instagram. In this place, she strives to have conversations about how we can be better followers of Jesus while also recovering from harm that is too often experienced in church.

In this first part of our conversation, Tori and I talk about her journey with her mental health, her deconstruction process, and an open letter she wrote to all who told her that she was going to Hell. This episode is for those of you who have ever experienced deconstructing your faith and have felt the isolation and alienation that comes with it, been told that you were going to Hell and are not sure how to come back from that, and if you need an advocate.

Favorite Question of the Week: What was your experience with your Christian community when you were first deconstructing and how did you feel or what did you think when you received threats that you were going to Hell? What do you experience when you receive these threats now?

Intro Topic: Habits we've picked up in times of crisis or trauma that no longer serve us.

Content Warning/Trigger Warning: Depression, Anxiety, Suicidal ideation/suicide

Tori’s Instagram (The Christian Advocate): https://www.instagram.com/thechristianadvocate/

Tori’s Website: https://thechristianadvocate.blogspot.com/

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