Anxiety and Depression

[AsherMBS]

Hi, I suffer from depression which actually is an offshoot of my suffering from anxiety.

I was abused as a child and into adulthood by primarily my dad (as were my three siblings) and this created PTSD for me along with anxiety. My dad tried to keep me and my siblings under his complete control (even to the point of controlling our haircuts and clothing and who our friends were and whether or not we ever married), so he isolated us a lot from society. The more we tried to enter society, the more anxiety we got.

I'm a people person and like to move around and socialize with everyone and everywhere, so having social anxiety has caused me major depression. Also, my mom died in February 2015, and I haven't visited her grave yet or gotten a chance to grieve her passing. I'm also estranged from my three siblings as well as my relatives because of my dad, so being a family person and a people person and yet not having any family (or friends, really) has been extremely depressing for me.

 

[Sea Horse]

Don't worry your mom is not dead .
Isaiah 26:18-21

Just wait for a little while , Jesus returning soon.

 

[rturner76]

Oh my brother, I understand all too well much of what you are going through. I as estranged also from siblings and I have anxiety and depression also. The affliction of those two things can make us isolate ourselves from others. I don't mean your siblings, you have your reasons for that but in general I know how hard it can be to get out the door to go somewhere, especially to a gathering, or when you go it's hard to get in the mix of the group. These afflictions can be crippling.

Can I ask, are you seeing anybody for this? Are you opposed to medication? Medication does not cure anything I know from experience but some people find some relief with the right combination of meds, good diet and exercise can go a long way too but the problems with depression, there is no motivation to work out so it is a challenge.

I wish I could give you some advice or tell you what will make you feel better but we all have to figure out what we can use for motivation. Turning to a Christian site is a good idea. Hopefully some people can tell you some scriptures to lift you upa bit. I always love Ephesians 2 myself because of my checkered past.

 

[AsherMBS]

Oh my brother, I understand all too well much of what you are going through. I as estranged also from siblings and I have anxiety and depression also. The affliction of those two things can make us isolate ourselves from others. I don't mean your siblings, you have your reasons for that but in general I know how hard it can be to get out the door to go somewhere, especially to a gathering, or when you go it's hard to get in the mix of the group. These afflictions can be crippling.

Can I ask, are you seeing anybody for this? Are you opposed to medication? Medication does not cure anything I know from experience but some people find some relief with the right combination of meds, good diet and exercise can go a long way too but the problems with depression, there is no motivation to work out so it is a challenge.

I wish I could give you some advice or tell you what will make you feel better but we all have to figure out what we can use for motivation. Turning to a Christian site is a good idea. Hopefully some people can tell you some scriptures to lift you upa bit. I always love Ephesians 2 myself because of my checkered past.

It's a spiritual issue for me (and I'm sure for many, many others with the same issues). I began to have anxiety attacks in 1997; God began to reveal that it was actually a spiritual issue from 1998 - 2002; and in 2003, God revealed the root of my anxiety disorder(s). Some meds have worked; it all depends on several things such as your environment. I was taking meds in a decent environment that worked... and then I transitioned to a negative environment and the same meds immediately stopped working, like turning off a light bulb. I increased the dosage but it wouldn't work anymore, so I threw out the meds. We are tri-partite beings, so the part(s) in us that aren't addressed will continue having the same issues. The meds were working on my physiological being (physical body) and were doing well; but when a negative environment (affecting my soul: emotions, etc.), the negative effects of the environment on my soul overcame the positive effects of the meds on my body and effectively shut down the meds' ability to work since the main issue (anxiety) is in my soul and not my body. Does that make sense? Anyway, I'm not opposed to meds at all; I just haven't had time to get back on them for a while now. Long story.

 

[rturner76]

It's a spiritual issue for me (and I'm sure for many, many others with the same issues). I began to have anxiety attacks in 1997; God began to reveal that it was actually a spiritual issue from 1998 - 2002; and in 2003, God revealed the root of my anxiety disorder(s). Some meds have worked; it all depends on several things such as your environment. I was taking meds in a decent environment that worked... and then I transitioned to a negative environment and the same meds immediately stopped working, like turning off a light bulb. I increased the dosage but it wouldn't work anymore, so I threw out the meds. We are tri-partite beings, so the part(s) in us that aren't addressed will continue having the same issues. The meds were working on my physiological being (physical body) and were doing well; but when a negative environment (affecting my soul: emotions, etc.), the negative effects of the environment on my soul overcame the positive effects of the meds on my body and effectively shut down the meds' ability to work since the main issue (anxiety) is in my soul and not my body. Does that make sense? Anyway, I'm not opposed to meds at all; I just haven't had time to get back on them for a while now. Long story.

I agree that many of these issues are spiritual though the medical community would have you think everything is physical and can be fixed with a pill. I also agree that your environment will affect your recovery as well. We are spiritual beings. I grew up in the YMCA where we were always taught body, mind, and spirit. I think that is a very real way to look at these things. We must treat or work on for lack of a better word, all three aspects of our person in order to recover. That is my personal opinion anyway. That is one reason why it is so difficult to recover from these maladies. For example in my situation, I find some mental stimulation typing in these forums quite often and i take community ed and online classes. That doesn't make me happy but it helps me to feel like I am doing something for my mind and that is a satisfying feeling similar to contentment. I go to Mass to strengthen my relationship with God and to take the Eucharist. That makes me very happy when I take it but the happiness doesn't last more than a few hours. Thing is,I don't exercise or take good care of myself physically so I still don't feel good. I didn't mean to make this about me. I just wanted to share how I think my moods or "disorders" are helped and/or aggravated. You might find a similar pattern in your situation

 

[AsherMBS]

I agree that many of these issues are spiritual though the medical community would have you think everything is physical and can be fixed with a pill. I also agree that your environment will affect your recovery as well. We are spiritual beings. I grew up in the YMCA where we were always taught body, mind, and spirit. I think that is a very real way to look at these things. We must treat or work on for lack of a better word, all three aspects of our person in order to recover. That is my personal opinion anyway. That is one reason why it is so difficult to recover from these maladies. For example in my situation, I find some mental stimulation typing in these forums quite often and i take community ed and online classes. That doesn't make me happy but it helps me to feel like I am doing something for my mind and that is a satisfying feeling similar to contentment. I go to Mass to strengthen my relationship with God and to take the Eucharist. That makes me very happy when I take it but the happiness doesn't last more than a few hours. Thing is,I don't exercise or take good care of myself physically so I still don't feel good. I didn't mean to make this about me. I just wanted to share how I think my moods or "disorders" are helped and/or aggravated. You might find a similar pattern in your situation

You're right; that's how it works. I know how it is to be so without motivation that you skip exercise and other good physical activities. I love to move and to exercise but haven't exercised more than once in the past week because of the depression. Writing on here is helpful, but I think I find myself more frustrated than happy with that.

You talked about doing things for the mind and know that every part of our being needs to be 'fed'. I don't have a job. There are three parts to having a job that work healthy for the overall human being:

1. A job makes you physically active (good for body, mind, and spirit) and addresses & fulfills the human need to be active (ie. exercise) and progressive (rather than sedentary and stagnant).

2. A job gives you a sense of productivity, accomplishment, and purpose (good for body, mind, soul, and spirit) and addresses & fulfills the human need to be productive.

3. A job gives you money (good for mind and spirit and eventually good for body and soul too) and addresses and fulfills the human need to experience reward or blessing.

Do you have any fellowship where you are? Fellowship with people who are willing to walk with you through your issues is very healthy for mind, spirit, and soul as you know.