Colin sat on the edge of his seat in my office, his eyes darting around the room as if searching for something. Then he said: “I know this is going to sound weird but it’s true. I was watching TV this morning, and the announcer gave me a message to pass on to you today."
The message from the newsreader was nonsense, and I began to suspect that Colin was experiencing psychosis; he was a bit delusional, and his thought processes pretty scrambled.
The necessity of a plan
Every church needs a plan to help people experiencing a psychological crisis. Over the years I have supported people having suicidal thoughts, who have self-harmed, and many having panic attacks. Colin and I were having a calm conversation, and he was in control of himself. Others were clearly a danger to themselves or others. When someone is in crisis, we need to know what to do.
France riots: 'A carefully planned event... but from where?'
We were shopping in the centre of Marseilles on Saturday morning when a frightened security guard ran up and said, …