Take care of yourself

07/04/2021

Deuteronomy 31:8
“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

The Good News: While depression can make you feel lonely, God is still there with you. And he’s not going anywhere.

07/04/2021

Anxiety disorders are common, affecting about one in ten with persistent, excessive worrying that can hinder their ability to function. They may worry constantly about things that do not warrant it or that may never happen.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."
- Philippians 4:6

25/10/2020

Pain, a sense or a feeling that is needed to detect what's wrong with us or with people around us. Biologically speaking, the purpose of pain receptors are to tell your body that you are hurting it. This is a good thing, important when you are injured. It can also help diagnose problems with your body.

The same is true in our personal lives. Many times we experience mental, emotional, and physical pain only after we have ignored many warning signs. How often do we abuse ourselves by not paying attention to the many subtle messages that come in whispers–messages to trust our intuition, slow down our work pace, exercise more, eat more nutritiously, spend more time with our families, or forgive someone?

23/10/2020

These are the most common types of mood disorders:

Major depression. Having less interest in usual activities, feeling sad or hopeless, and other symptoms for at least 2 weeks may indicate depression.

Dysthymia. This is a chronic, low-grade, depressed, or irritable mood that lasts for at least 2 years.

Bipolar disorder. This is a condition in which a person has periods of depression alternating with periods of mania or elevated mood.

Mood disorder related to another health condition. Many medical illnesses (including cancer, injuries, infections, and chronic illnesses) can trigger symptoms of depression.

Substance-induced mood disorder. Symptoms of depression that are due to the effects of medicine, drug abuse, alcoholism, exposure to toxins, or other forms of treatment.

23/10/2020

Why does it matter? People tend to minimize or dismiss mental illness; our culture stigmatizes psychological disorders. Even if the anxiety feels severe, individuals will consider symptoms of constant worry and fear or panic attacks unimportant or shameful.

Take for example Anxiety.

23/10/2020

Handling a relationship with an anxious partner.

Remember it’s not that they don’t trust you. They’re scared.
You say it’s an ex and in their mind, they jump to cheating. You say it’s a friend and in their mind, it’s someone trying to break you two up. It’s not you and your relationship that isn’t trusted, it’s every worse case scenario automatically playing out in their head and they hate themselves for it.

14/10/2020

If you're feeling depressed, remember that you're not alone. God is with you always. Don't be afraid to reach out to people in your family, your church, or your friend circles. Ask them to pray with and for you, and continue to pray each day, asking God to draw you closer to Himself.

14/10/2020

Here's the difference.

14/10/2020

14/10/2020

Be compassionate and be there. Talk up the things you love about them. There will be times that people with anxiety will feel like they are their anxiety and that they are a source of difficulty. (Who hasn’t felt like they’re making things harder than they need to be? C’mon be honest.)

14/10/2020

Anxiety is unpredictable, confusing and intrusive. It’s tough. Not just for the people who have it but also for the people who love them. If you are one of those people, you would know too well that the second hand experience of anxiety feels bad enough – you’d do anything to make it better for the one going through it.

We all have our ‘stuff’ – the things that we struggle with. Ultimately, they are the things that will make us braver, wiser, stronger, more compassionate and better humans. It’s just the way it works. The difference with anxiety is that the struggle is more visible.

Whether we struggle with anxiety, confidence, body image – whatever – there are things that we all need to make the world a little bit safer, a little bit more predictable, a little less scary. We all have our list. When someone you love has anxiety, their list is likely to look at little like this:

1. It’s no biggie. So don’t act like it is.
In the thick of an anxiety attack nothing will make sense, so best not to ask what’s going on or if they’re okay. No. They won’t be okay. And yes. It will feel like the world is falling apart at the seams. They’ll be feeling awful, but they’ll get through it. If you’ve seen it all before there’ll be no need to ask anyway – and they’ll love that you know not to. Ask if they want to go somewhere else – maybe somewhere quieter or more private. Don’t panic or do anything that might give them the idea that you need looking after. Go for a walk with them – physical activity is the natural end of the fight or flight response, which is the trigger point of anxiety. Otherwise just be there. They’ll know what to do. They’ll have done it plenty of times before. Soon it will pass and when it does they’ll be able to talk to you about what has happened, but wait for that. Then listen. We all love when someone is able to just be there.

3. It’s physical.
Anxiety is a completely normal physical response to a brain that’s being a little over-protective. It’s not crazy and it’s not deficient. There’s a primitive part of the brain that’s geared to sense threat. It’s all action and not a lot of thought and it’s in all of us. For some people, it fires up a lot sooner and with a lot less reason than it does in others. When it does, it surges the body with cortisol (the stress hormone) and adrenalin to get the body ready to run for its life or fight for it. This is the fight or flight response and it’s in everyone. It’s just that in some people (people with anxiety) the ‘go’ button is a bit more sensitive.

There are things that we all need to make the world a little bit safer. When someone you love has anxiety their list is likely to look at little like this:

14/10/2020

This Is How You Love Someone With Anxiety
By Kirsten Corley, January 18th 2017

Someone with anxiety is inclined to assume everyone is going to leave. So much so, sometimes they might be the ones to ruin a relationship. The truth is they battle something they can’t control and there is a sense of insecurity within themselves when it comes to relationships. They know it’s difficult and they don’t want to burden you with their irrational thoughts and worries. So instead, they push you away before you get the chance to leave yourself.

Remember they’re worth fighting for.
It might be hard sometimes. There might be stupid fights of scenarios they’ve created in their own head. But more than anything, they’re worth fighting for. The toughest people usually are. And if you can fight with them through this, it’ll come back to you ten folds.

The phrase, ‘It’s okay,’ can never be used enough.
It’s two words. Two words that stop every thought running through their head. And honestly, you can never say it enough.

Sometimes you just have to listen.
They’re going to play out these situations in their mind. They’re going to jump from point A to point B and sometimes you’re not even going to know how they got there. The best thing you can do is let them go off on their tangent. Even if there’s no solution or a fear they worry about in the future, the act of listening will help.

Don’t tell them, ‘you’re overreacting.’
To you, it might seem irrational. But to them whatever they open up to you about, it’s something that actually keeps them up at night. So just take it as best you can.

They probably won’t sleep through the night.
Whether it takes them a while to fall asleep or stay asleep, you’ll be woken up by them at 3 am as they lay there wide awake. Just hold them close and the comfort in your presence might be enough to get them back to sleep.

Remember it’s not that they don’t trust you. They’re scared.
You say it’s an ex and in their mind, they jump to cheating. You say it’s a friend and in their mind, it’s someone trying to break you two up. It’s not you and your relationship that isn’t trusted, it’s every worse case scenario automatically playing out in their head and they hate themselves for it.

Answering texts timely does help more than you know.
You’ve probably noticed they answer embarrassingly fast and they know not everyone is like them but it helps when people understand it. It helps when you say ‘I can’t talk now this is why I’ll text you later.’ Silence kills anyone with anxiety. It creates problems in their mind that aren’t even there. It ends in apologies that aren’t even needed. And it adds a layer of stress to their life they wish they could control.

Don’t be mad if they send a double text.
You might turn your phone on, to four texts. If you can remember it’s not that they’re trying to be annoying. They care. They care too much and they know it makes them look bad.

Sometimes they just won’t be up for going out.
They might cancel last minute or freeze in the middle of a night out and just not be able to do it. If they tell you they have to leave don’t feel a sense of guilt or obligation to go with them. Just know they tried and for whatever reason, they couldn’t handle it. What sets people with anxiety off can be many things but for a lot of people, parties in which they don’t know someone ends in two ways, they’ll either be quiet and awkward or you’ll be carrying them out as they chose vodka to ease their worries.

Accept their apologies even if you don’t understand.
Whether it’s a night out gone wrong, a triple text, saying or doing the wrong thing, they are so observant. They will pick up on the slightest shift in you and before you even realize you might be upset and they will apologize for it.

Help when you can but know when you can’t.
They would rather have ten meltdowns, biting off more than they can chew and they will never admit they can’t handle something. They’ll always say yes. They’ll never turn anyone away. And in those moments where it seems like they are going to fall apart and break just hold them. Help them if you can but know they’re inclined to not ask for help. They’re used to dealing with things on their own.

Once trust is gained they’ll love you unbelievably hard.
While uncompleted to lists, plans getting messed up, texts going answered, might overwhelm someone with anxiety, if there is something they are good at it’s love. If there’s something they’re strong in, it’s their ability to show you how much they adore and appreciate you. It might take them a while to trust you but once they do their capacity to love you will fill you in ways, you didn’t know you were empty or even missing something. TC mark

Accept their apologies even you don’t understand.