In His Strength - My Journey Through Depression

Life alone and all that comes with living is a balancing act. Raising children, house cleaning, shopping, work, and many other chores that we add to our list of  must do's, no wonder our mental health is out of balance. Now, add a serious mental illness of any degree to the equation, and you will no doubt tip the scales and see no signs of balance. With any type of emotional hardship, balancing your everyday life can be a struggle and seem impossible, Guess what my dear friend, you can do it.

Webster explains Balance as, the state of having your weight spread equally so that you do not fall, the ability to move or to remain in a position without losing control or falling, a state in which different things occur in equal or proper amounts or have an equal or proper amount of importance.

You may find your left foot on one side of the scale in right position, and your right foot positioned lower than your left. You are holding on. Oh yeah! You are doing good at this balancing thing until the unknown shakes your core. You rock back and forth trying to hold your position, shaky and off balance, crash land you go. Your mental space is rocking and sounding the alarm. Your cute little scale is about to explode, let it. Sometimes we need to fall down so that we can get up, regroup, and readjust.  Look at gymnastics. Not one of those talented tumblers were experts when they first hit the matt. They had to tumble and fall. They got bruised and broke a few bones. They had to flip, flop, and not land on both feet, twisting an ankle, now that is some unbalance. OUCH! My point is, with anything we are faced with in our lives, we must be willing to go through the fire, we must be consistent and diligent at understanding and working towards the balance we need to get through our journey.

Since my diagnosis of clinical depression and anxiety, I have learned valuable lessons.  I have read various books that have given me valuable tools in understanding this journey. I am a firm believer that with anything that impacts our lives and the ability to be healthy and whole, we must do the work, we must find and use the resources that apply to us individually.  No one person suffers the same. No one person heals in the same manner.  Each of us are unique and in our healing we need to be specific and on purpose so that we can live the authentic and healthy life that God intended.  This journey has brought me closer to a loving and compassionate God, and His grace is truly sufficient in all situations. 

Exercise is a good way to help calm the onset of depression and anxiety naturally. Increasing your heart rate and getting a good sweat in, getting those endorphins elevated can help. I take walks and listen to some soothing music. We should be achieving 10,000 steps in our day. Hint! Hint! Get active. I silence my surroundings as best I can. Being an introvert this is easy for me. I know for those of you who have children to raise this may be a tuff one, but I encourage you to put into practice some quiet time for the little darlings and yourself. 

My brothers and sisters, you will win. You have the power to overcome. Take a step back from convincing yourself that you must do everything, you really don’t, and besides, the world will not come to an end. Eating a balance meal is helpful as well. Cutting out sugar and caffeine can be a life changer. I have not mastered that yet. LOL As I sip my cup of coffee and stare at the chocolate chip cookies on my desk. Pray for me.

Be Blessed