A Really Vulnerable Post - Anxiety/Depression

I have a good life. The best part of it is that I am loved and saved by Jesus Christ. I am secure in this. This is the only real thing that matters in life. Yet because we live in this fallen, decaying world, sin abounds. Now our bodies are weak and slowly deteriorating. Some faster than others. This includes our minds.

However, even though we readily accept this truth, there is a big stigma about mind issues even among the Christian community. This makes this struggle even harder. I am blessed to be in a wonderful family of believers who love me regardless. I praise God for putting this support together for me. Yet this is something that does not need to remain in the dark.

People struggle out there with things like depression and anxiety. And there are some of us who need to be medicated to resolve the issue. Yet many just live this out in silence struggling or feeling condemned because they need medication to help them through.

I hate needing medication, I hate how weak it makes me feel yet it clears my mind and helps me to focus on God. There are times that medication is necessary and times it is not. Our bodies are sensitive in this fallen world and chemical imbalances can occur. God provided people who have made these medications to help this. But why does it make me feel shame? Shame is not something from God. There is no condemnation for us who are in Him, period.

Now, I am not trying to promote medication either. However, when you do all the things you know to do and they are not helping then maybe your body is out of balance and there is no shame in that. I have been through periods that flux from balance to imbalance. It will remain this way until God heals me completely here on Earth or when He does it in Heaven. I trust Him for that.

Yet for now, it is good to be so dependent on Him and if this is one of those ways He uses then I am okay with that. I have read of many saints of old who struggled greatly with this same issue so it should not surprise you that Christians struggle in this way no matter how strong they seem. Maybe part of their strength is stemmed from their weakness and desperate dependency on God. None of my strength comes from me so if you think I am strong in Him it is because I am truly weak in me.

My request is that you please love those who are weak and listen to them. Also, don't judge. If you need glasses to help your eyes work you run out and get them without thought, if you had diabetes you would run out and get insulin, this is no different. Stop treating it like it is. Love others even when you do not understand. It is not something you can will yourself out of. It is a medical condition like any other. Don't leave those suffering in silence and alone, that actually makes things worse. Thanks for listening!