Dealing With Depression
Did you know there are "self help" applications for your phones?
"Daily Affirmation" will build your confidence, improve your happiness and life. There are quotes like "I am a good person, and I deserve good things" or "I am successful in whatever I do" on calming graphics. It has a 4+ star rating.
There are also multiple hypnosis apps available to end depression, anxiety and fear and apparently all you have to do is download, use the app and see the change.
As someone who has both struggled with anxiety and depression, no app with encouraging words or hypnosis is what will set you free.
Mental health illnesses are deep, dark holes. You dig deeper and deeper without any way out. Often times it feels like no one notices you. The deeper you dig, the harder it is to get out. The deeper you dig, the dirtier it gets. And with each day, each let down, each new disappointment and new fear, it takes you further into the ground and further from the light of day. It feels helpless and hopeless, and the devil is so good at affirming those feelings. He uses so many tactics to try and bury you alive. Relationship issues, not being skinny enough, not having enough followers on Instagram; the devil uses these as tactics to ruin your joy. It's a dark game he plays. He fights unfair. And obviously, if you look at the number of self-help apps, books and radio shows, the devil has tricked millions of people.
When I was digging my deep hole, there were days that made me feel like I'd never smile again. About seven years ago, there were times that I would choose not wear my seat belt and hope for a car accident so I could die. As I write these words, my heart hurts that I was that deep in my hole.
If you are digging a deep hole, please know that someone sees you. Someone is watching you dig and He is praying for you.
Romans 8:34 says ,"who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us."
Jesus sees your pain. He is praying for you.
Romans 21:4 says , "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
Anxiety and depression are something that I will likely always struggle with. There are good days and there are difficult, tear stained, painful days. From time to time, there are days when my pain is so heavy and debilitating. But, through prayer, medication, counseling and letting Jesus carry my pain, I'm making my way out of my hole. Just as the sun slowly rises after a dark night, so does my joy through Jesus.
Psalm 40:2 says "He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand." He lifted me, friends. It wasn't a fast, aggressive, or immediate lift out of the pit but instead a slow, gradual, gentle, fragile lift. I stand on my solid rock trusting He will use my pain. Revelation 12:11 says "and they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony." Because Jesus died on the cross and defeated the devil, my pain is temporary. The more I share my pain and my testimony, the more I will overcome my anxiety and depression.
If you are digging a hole in darkness, I know how you are feeling. I beg you to reach out to those around you. Ask for prayer. Ask a friend to take you to the doctor. If I could tell you one thing, after tragedy struck my life and depression snuck in, if I look you in the eye, I would tell you that Jesus will take and use your pain, if you let him. There are still days when my pain is great. But I choose to give Him my pain. I choose to remember that I will defeat the devil through my testimony.
Will you choose to let him lift you out of the pit you are digging? Please do.
