As mentioned in the previous blog, I have suffered my own
mental health issues. I still suffer the effects and probably will until
I die. So I am aware that those who are suffering need to be able to get the
right help and find acceptance. In my darkest moments, as I fell into
depression, I felt like David did as he cried out:
1
“Save me, O God, for the floodwaters are up to my neck. 2 Deeper and
deeper I sink into the mire; I can’t find a foothold. I am in deep water, and
the floods overwhelm me. 3 I am exhausted from crying for help; my
throat is parched…waiting for my God to help me” (Ps 69: 1-3 NLT)
Due to defective thinking, I tried
to survive by cultivating a life of walls with me in the middle. This was only compounded by some dysfunctional
upbringing. I sought answers in my little world of self-achievements. I
came to a serious point of desperation and despair, needing help, but still not
getting it. So it all came crashing down in 2005. I wondered what on earth was
happening to me. Finally, I went to my
local doctor. As we talked, I finally
realised that I needed to acknowledge that there was a problem. It was discovered that there were mental health issues that were a family trait, also experienced by my grandmother and mother before me.
Through getting help from
professionals, family and friends and enriching my devotional life, I slowly got
going again. However, still suffering from ongoing issues, I need to make sure
that I live a wholesome and honest life before the Lord. On the one hand, my mental
health was never properly diagnosed and treated from a young age, so now some things from my childhood make more sense.
But on the other hand, I needed to go through this dark place to find the help I
needed and to come to the Eternal Light in a greater way.
No comments:
Post a Comment