Ever have those days, weeks, maybe even months when you are just in a funk? Your body is present but your heart is somewhere else; trapped by a weight and a constant presence telling you no, you are not okay.
I have.
It's so hard to fight through. Suffocating even. It's not something you can 'unthink' (and don't let someone tell you you can). It's like the darkness has a mind of it's own- it comes when it's unwelcome and stays until one day, it just lifts. Maybe for you it never lifts. I pray the Lord takes that from you.
What has given me hope and what can give you hope is knowing someone who has overcome. I have friends and role models who have overcome depression. You never really get over it because an experience like that changes you. But you do feel better. Nothing lasts forever.
I have a precious friend who had a nasty bout with anxiety and depression. She had a really positive experience with her medication and felt like a new woman; restored to her old self and possibly even feeling better than ever. Recently some old symptoms crept back up and she contacted me. She thought she was cured. I also wanted to be 'cured'. But there is no such thing from my experience. We are who we are, we struggle the way we struggle, and we learn to move on and upwards above the battle.
Hard times change us forever. Do we really want to be cured? Sometimes we wish we could forget it all. But our struggles make us who we are and we are stronger because of them. I am learning every day to be thankful for the hardest summer of my life because I've been able to help and reach out to so many friends like me. It's such a blessing when God turns the ugly into the beautiful.
"If you're going through hell, keep going." -Winston Churchill
I came across this video about a year ago and found it really encouraging. First of all, this girl's voice is awesome. Secondly, she is proof that through self-care and determination, we can overcome.
ABOVE THE BATTLE