- // Anxiety. Generalized Anxiety. Social Anxiety. Depression. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. I am sure you have heard at least one of these words in your lifetime, and many others of the like. Mental health is a buzz phrase right now, or at least it seems. As a 20-year-old in current society, I have grown up surrounded by these phrases, and I feel so burdened to encourage you and bring up a discussion about these topics, that I believe are so important.
- // Most often in discussing anything about these topics, I generally hear phrases like, "I have no choice," "I feel out of place," "I do not have confidence," and "I feel crippled when I feel anxious." To be fair, most people that have never suffered from mental health issues like anxiety often say, "They have a choice to be victimized," "They should start realizing nobody fits perfectly anywhere," "They need to get over the anxiety/depression/PTSD/fill in the blank." Truthfully, both sides have a point. To the person who has never suffered from a crippling mental health issue, you have got to understand that these are real, tangible, life-changing problems that live actively within the individual. To the person with a mental health problem, I would agree that you do not have a choice, and in most cases, I find that people with these problems, live their entire life with them. However, you have a choice to never remedy it, or grow beyond it.
- // We need to elaborate on these sides. If you have never fought a serious mental health issue, stop believing you fully understand the pain and suffering caused by specific disorders. This was me. I found it easy to be irritated or annoyed with someone and their mental health, or lack of it. Often, we are noticed stepping into the role of God, assuming that we understand the profound strength of something like depression. You do not, and you cannot, without some divine insight. Ask for understanding from someone fighting this battle, but do not question with the intention to argue, question with the intention to understand and support.
- // If you are the fighter, I see that you are at war. Every day is a battle, and some days, the enemy decided against attacking, while others feel like a bloody massacre of your emotions and abilities. You feel drained, derailed, and defined by the mental health problem. I believe that your problem is real and your feelings are valid. I want to remind you, though you feel controlled, you do have a choice to be enslaved forever or seek some freedom. You are not helpless and your life does not and should not stay in a place of imprisonment. I pray that this is encouraging. There is more that you can do.
- // Recently, an article sparked some thought into my head. The article talked about mental health problems and the perspective from the fighter. At one point, it mentioned sicknesses like cancer or individuals with ailments like a broken leg. The post went on to say that we never expect someone with cancer to just "get over it" and move on, or walk around on the broken leg. I agree, we do not. From this same spirit, I want to remind you that we also do not prescribe going home and hoping the bones heal, or relaxing on hard days when the cancer pains us, then getting up and going out when the cancer pains subside. We use devices like braces and treatments like chemotherapy, in order to take an active stance against the sicknesses that plague us. Otherwise, we would never even have a fighting chance against these horrible things. Eventually, the doctors will tell you to see physical therapy and exercise the thing that was immobilized periodically. The very act of stretching and moving this body part, is the exact thing that heals us further. Sure, we might see some lifelong effects from a treatment like chemotherapy, and the reminder of cancer may never leave us fully, because we have some side effects that stay planted, but we cannot choose to allow these things to eat us up alive, without ever even lifting a finger to shut them out. To avoid remedy, constitutes victimization to an otherwise alleviated problem.
- // Depression, anxiety, OCD, manic, and others, may be a lifelong battle, but please act. Go to a counselor and search out the remedies. A massively important treatment for anxiety is a mental placement in the "now." Notice what is around you, smell what is around you, feel what is around you. Do not allow the toxic path of worrying about the next thing or the social event, overwhelm your peace. Claim your peace. Perhaps, you fail. But at least you started. Flexibility begins with the decision to experiment and work towards an end, not beginning with the end. Although, we are generally too impatient to wait for the results, you can build your patience and your tolerance.
- // Get real with yourself. Mental health problems seem to be this weird space warp, leading you to infer that a problem does not actually exist. In some cases, the problem feels unexplainably confusing. If you suspect that you have a mental health problem, still, see a professional, figure out what is attacking you, to find a weapon against it. Do you know that you have a problem and have downplayed? Again, see a professional. Nobody is outside of seeing a counselor at some point in their life, and everybody should want to work for the best version of themselves. Do not self-medicate; alcohol is not the numbing that you need, prescription medication is not always the drowning help, isolation is not the quick fix, and inspirational quotes are not always a real solution in the long-term, rather, aids to determine the appropriate routines that you must implement for sustainable change and resistance.
- // I found myself slipping into a low place away from mental health. I thought counseling was only for the weak. I sure was wrong. Counseling allowed me to understand myself in a new way, while giving me words to finally explain what I felt inside of my head. Therapy has given me an outlet to become the best version of myself, in the journey of self-discovery. The hardest part is the phone call, make it. Call a friend to be there with you, have them call for you. Please, call.
- // Be surrounded. You do not have to vent your feelings everywhere, but find a safe group of people that you can go to on the hard days. Everything gets easier when we finally talk about it. You are not weak for talking about your struggles. Let friends prayerfully speak into your life and walk the road with you.
- // Lastly, the best thing that anyone has ever told me about the guidance a professional gave, was that solutions which affect everyone around you are useless and ineffective, rather, seek out the things that give you peace, without compromising all of your friendships and relationships. If your solution to the problem affects the many others that live in your bubble, you have got to change it.
- // God is still a miracle-working God. Jesus is still currently changing lives and interceding on our behalf. Please, listen to what His word says. Ask, seek, knock, and the door will be opened to you. Give everything up to Him in prayer and petition. Seek first His kingdom, and all things will be added unto you. God can change your circumstances and wipe out the mental health issue that has swarmed you. Some of you, may find His intercession as one that is constant and covering always, because the symptoms persist. Some of you, may find that Jesus heals you instantly, once and for all. However His healing exists in the story of you, it cannot change His goodness or faithfulness. The Lord will never leave you or forsake you.
No comments:
Post a Comment