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How to Return to the Land of the Living, with Strength and Courage
Througout my struggles with anxiety and depression, I’ve found frequent help in the Psalms. While King David did not suffer from PPD/A, he did experience times of depression, such as when he fled from Saul as a young man and then later in life when he fled from his own son. King David also experienced times of anxiety. I know exactly how David feels when he writes, “I am poured out like water; and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me…
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Exercising Post-Grave’s Disease: Why Are My Legs So Tired?!
Let’s talk about my recent health history. In December, the day before Christmas Eve, I woke up around 4am with a runny nose. My runny nose turned into something that felt like heartburn. That something that felt like heartburn turned into a really weird dizzy spell as I was walking down the stairs. You’ve probably already guessed the conclusion to this story: I had covid-19. Covid-19 caused my autoimmune thyroid disorder, Grave’s Disease, to flare up. One afternoon shortly after my quarantine ended, I went hiking with my family through the snow at a local state park. I tried to walk up a steep hill I could normally handle, and…
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How Psalm 69 Speaks to Depression
Depression feels like the first verses of Psalm 69 describe: “Save me, O God!For the waters have come up to my neck.I sink deep in the mire,where there is no foothold;I have come into deep water,and the flood sweeps over me.I am weary with my crying out;my throat is parched.My eyes grow dimwith waiting for my God.” These verses give me the feeling that David was sinking deep into the darkness of his own thoughts and his own emotions, and possibly didn’t see a way out. In a literal sense, depression can cause our sight to grow dim; we view the world with less joy and energy, and that translates…
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Learning to Trust in Christ Enough to Rest
I’d like to share a quick note with you before you read: I don’t want this article to bind the consciences of anyone reading it–to make anyone feel like they ought to do something that they don’t actually need to do. I wrote this article specifically for the women who, like me, struggle to take care of themselves in a way that honors God. I am firmly convicted that rest is vital for the nourishment and upkeep of my all-around health. It’s okay if you don’t share that same conviction, but if you do (or if you want to know more about how God is changing my heart), read on!…
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The Most Helpful Question to Ask a Suffering Friend
“What can I do to help?” When I suddenly started having panic attacks along with anxiety and depression a few years ago, a very close friend of mine asked me this simple question. I won’t soon forget that moment because her asking me this question turned around my outlook on friendship within the church and how to help someone suffering through anxiety and depression (or anything else). I like this question because of all the noble and loving things it implies. It also reminds me of Jesus’ compassion for us. A Noble and Loving Question What makes this question such a noble and loving question? First, it implies that my…