In this video, I tackle the question of why creating routines for mental health actually helps to fight off depression. I have struggled with depression, anxiety and PTSD for a super long time and have discovered how putting together simple, healthy and practical routines does help our mental health improve.
Learning how our brains work and respond to consistent daily patterns we can develop in our lives, can benefit us as we learn to fight off depression or any other mental health issue.
My personality enjoys planning and creating routines, as well as experimenting with what actually helps with my mental health. In short, the routines I’ve developed for myself work with my personality and my priorities and values in my life. May this only encourage you to pull together a plan for your own daily routines to help you with your mental health as well.
In this dream I was circling around a mountain. I came to this well known part in my path and found that I could no longer pass through as I had before multiple times. It was a familiar path to me and so I was surprised to discover that I had actually grown bigger and no longer was able to fit through this particular part.
I had apparently outgrown this path!
I then was led to begin climbing up the side of this mountain instead. I instinctively knew that new paths were ahead of me to learn how to walk and conquer.
Since having this dream, I can testify that the lessons I am currently being faced with in life are all very new for me.
Now that I am finding healing more and more as a result of my therapy sessions, my mind is no longer stuck playing a broken record with parts of my past. And because of that I find myself more free, but also more free to think about other things and issues I’ve not been afforded to before.
I then had another dream where the Lord warned me about these snakes.
With new paths to venture down comes new assignments from the Lord and new obstacles to learn from as well. And these snakes that the Lord was warning me about were the obstacles I am needing to overcome. No doubt these “snakes”, representing the deceit and tricks of the enemy in my dream, are something that I need to learn to overcome.
In the book of Revelation we are encouraged to be overcomers, overcoming the snares and traps of the enemy and this world. As you step out in faith and obedience to new assignments, doing things that stretch and challenge you, there will be new enemies you have yet to come across and new obstacles to overcome.
And instead of getting overwhelmed and asking the Lord endless times of why these new struggles have arrived, it is a better use of our time to begin to recognize how these struggles perhaps come with the new territory God is leading us to take and overcome.
As I have come against these so called “snakes”, caught surprised by these difficulties, I have been made aware of my need for growth in new areas of my life. These “snakes” have surfaced more issues within my heart that I need to tackle.
But that is what growth is about!
It is discovering something about yourself that needs to change and be sanctified in Him. And if we did not have these difficulties that we get faced with, we would not discover our need for growth.
The enemy tries really hard to trip us up, but God uses it to strengthen and grow us up instead making us all the wiser. Choose to become overcomers and do not let these new difficulties bring you to despair, but instead relish in your opportunity for growth.
In this twelfth vlog on my mental health journey, the discussion turns towards my husband and I relocating back to the States, choosing a new home to find stability in and bringing to light the importance of building a support system that is right for you.
Not everyone should be a listening ear to your story and struggles, but praying for a safe person that can either relate or show compassion and empathy is key. The temptation to isolate is also strong. Fighting against that will become your strength down the road while in recovery and healing.
In this eleventh vlog on my mental health journey, I share how I pondered whether or not my brain had failed me in light of experiencing extreme burnout, depression and anxiety. This question led me to do my own personal research on the brain to understand what had happened to me.
There was a specific evening where the left hemisphere of my brain was not connecting with my right hemisphere and I was forming words, but not able to put together a complete sentence. That was extremely frightening for both my husband and me. Truth be told, it was more than just my “brain failing me”, it was something that I did not protect and care for; my own mental health.
I am currently seeing a trauma specialist and have been since last Fall.
Our recent time overseas surfaced some deeper issues I needed to face and I was advised by a wonderful counselor to seek this type of therapy.
I was not too keen at first to do this, but I was definitely made aware of my need for it.
The type of therapy that I found after talking with trusted friends is called EMDR. EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.
The simplest way for me to explain EMDR is to emphasize on the reprocessing aspect of it. The therapist has been trained to help you safely stimulate both sides of your brain in order to revisit terrifying memories and reprocess them with new healthy perspectives.
This therapy does not put you in a trance or hypnotize you and you are fully aware and in control.
If the therapist is trained well and know what they are doing then the patient is able to feel safe and comfortable revisiting these painful memories. Getting help from someone that knows what they are doing is so important.
I have discovered a beautiful element to my therapy sessions and that is the role of the Holy Spirit. I see a Christian therapist that invites God into our sessions and allows Him to move and work in me and my memories.
I have learned much, but one thing that stands out to me the most that has brought a deeper clarity to my life’s experiences is learning that I was never alone in each of those terrifying moments. God was with me.
Even before I knew Jesus, an old man that I knew instinctively was the Father had stepped into a memory to show me He was always there and never hidden. And as we have moved along in my timeline of memories to revisit, Jesus began showing up in my memories once I had become a believer.
It has and still amazes me how the Lord has helped me immensely create new neural pathways within these memories, healing my pain, and bringing a healthy closure to each of them.
Our God is so kind and compassionate. And He can even unlock trauma that has been trapped in our minds and bodies for years and heal us deep within.
Revisiting the healed memories now with no overwhelming emotion attached to them is freeing. I feel more and more free as each memory is resolved. It has been such a beautiful and safe experience to find deliverance from the Lord this way. He is indeed gentle with the brokenhearted.
Moving forward I have learned a new tool with caring for my soul and mind. I can easily invite Jesus into any experience that has yet to be resolved in my memory bank and know that I will find Him there. That brings me great comfort and peace, and settles my heart as I look towards the future. We have not been alone, and never will be.
If you struggle with depression or anxiety, or just find yourself in a slump in this season, this video will help you tremendously with learning how to find your motivation again.
The motivation that I am discussing is our inner motivation. Getting motivation back after going through an episode, or episodes, of depression can happen. A few mindset changes that encourage the right habits will get us back on life’s track soon.
I explore recovering from depression through the lens of being a believer in Christ and my hope is that you are inspired to lean into the Lord for your motivation as well. Enjoy!
Yesterday, my dog kept running away from an annoying fly in our home.
She is prone to do this and will even come to my husband or I, whoever will pay attention to her, and bark at us about it. It’s quite cute and humorous to watch.
On this particular afternoon, I was in the middle of editing a podcast episode and laughed as she hopped up onto my lap trying to escape this little fly. She refused to budge and my laughter only increased as the absurdity of her fear was painstakingly obvious. Reality is is that she is much more powerful and larger than the threat of any tiny fly.
And it was then that I heard an interesting thing from the Lord.
He told me I was no different in my behavior. And I immediately knew what He was talking about because I had just been mulling over in my mind earlier about something I needed to do, but was held back by fear. (This little something would be so embarrassing if I told you, and so I will save myself the shame and keep that part to myself;)
I knew in the logical part of my brain that I was allowing something that was not a real threat to hold me in place. Yet, another part of my brain, the survival part, felt a real threat and that left me frozen.
My brain perceived a threat because of my past experiences that felt similar to this one where I was eventually mistreated and misunderstood. I was obviously triggered. Reality was that this was an entirely different situation that needed a mature and healthy response from me.
If the survival part of your brain has been stimulated too often, like mine has, your brain might only know how to function out of this mode alone. You can fall into a trap you create for yourself when you see all of your present experiences through the lens of your past pain.
Knowing full well that my brain is still in its healing process, I am able to tell myself that what reality my brain is perceiving could very likely be a false reality. I am actually not under a real threat but safe.
The Lord graciously told me that I was responding to a present situation in this way. I was then able to push past my fear and act as I knew I should.
The positive result of following through with what I needed to do was clearly evident that my fear was indeed pointless and an empty threat.
Was I also running away from an empty threat like my dog was? Fearful of something that was only in my mind, but not in reality?
Yes, yes I was.
I also believe the enemy takes advantage of this struggle we might have. The enemy knows our weaknesses and he will parade around us in the guise of what we are very afraid of, whether that be fear of making friendships or fear of trying something new.
Yet, when we can quiet ourselves enough to discern the difference between reality and a perceived threat in our minds, we can respond in a more healthy way.
We no longer have a spirit of fear as believers in Christ. Let us not allow fear to rule us and keep us from doing what we know we should do.
In this tenth vlog on my mental health journey, I share how I questioned whether or not I had failed God as a result of struggling with my mental health and having to step away from full time ministry. This happens to more people than we are aware of, which I would discover years later, and it is definitely not failure when you see our lives from the Lord’s perspective. We are all on a journey of growth and maturing in Him and stepping away from ministry does not disrupt what God continues to do in and through us. He always has a plan, a plan outside of our own understanding at times, but a good plan for us all!
I have a very strong gift of discernment that intensified for me a few years ago. When that happened I was discerning much more than I could handle at the time and was often overwhelmed with what I was hearing and feeling from the Holy Spirit and seeing through dreams and visions.
And I am now entering into a new season where I hear the Lord tell me that He desires to take this gift to a deeper level within me and teach me more about it.
I reflected back on the summer that I first grew overwhelmed with this gift, yet also reflected on how I have been walking this gift out ever since.
I learned to respond with intercession for many and for even nations when God would reveal something to me. I saw great fruit come out of these times of prayer by the grace of God.
However, the sorrow and grief that is coupled with some of what the Lord reveals can be difficult to carry and a reliance on Him will definitely need to increase.
Today I went on a walk after feeling the Spirit of God begin to stir within me.
And on my walk the stirring grew to a deep grief that I had no idea what for. All I knew is that there was a groaning in my spirit while I was in prayer.
I continued to pray until I felt this stirring lift from me some. I had an errand I needed to run so I decided to intercede while on my way.
After running my errand and returning home I finally felt the hand of the Lord lift off of me and knew whatever I was interceding for was heard.
I also found it interesting that while out, an ambulance was driving across my path leading me to look over at what appeared to have been an accident. I passed this scene twice while on my errand.
Before this errand though, I was inquiring the Lord about what I was praying for and I shared with Him an assumption of mine that perhaps He was leading me to pray for such and such in my life. And then He told me my interceding had nothing to do with me or any circumstance I was in.
I think it is only human to think that what we are led to pray for has to be something about us or those around us, but often times God’s heart is focused on matters that need His attention in that moment. And a car accident would definitely warrant that need for prayer.
I learned a valuable lesson today in using my discernment gift. I learned not to assume that when my heart is directed to pray that it is about my life or those around me. I learned to open my interpretation to include whomever the Lord needs me to intercede for.
I have a built in box in my head that contains my small world with my friends, my family, and myself. And even the disciples in the New Testament grappled with their small boxes as well when Jesus challenged them to loving outsiders.
As intercessors we will be led to pray outside of our boxes for lives we have never met or have yet to meet. So do not be surprised, as God is actively seeking out someone to stand in the gap momentarily, if He pulls you into a moment of prayer to intercede for someone or some event taking place just a few blocks away from you that you have no idea is taking place. There is a joy in knowing that we impact more lives in this manner than we will ever know.
The lesson I learned today was important. It’s not always about us when the Lord stirs our hearts. And I am learning to ask Him a better question next time around,“Lord, are you stirring me to pray for a situation or person in need that I do not know? Are you drawing me to stand in the gap in prayer for a soul that needs help or a nation in distress? If so, Lord use me.”
In this ninth vlog on my mental health journey, I will share how I quickly changed my prideful attitude towards getting outside help with my mental health. A lot of Christians are unaware of how God will and does use mental health professionals to help bring healing. They are not the only instrument He can use, but He will use them to help us. His heart is for us to be whole and healed and I have seen God use different healthy ways to bring that healing about.
