Anxiety

[SamanthaAnastasia]

I’m having a hard time lately.

with anxiety, doubt…
Basically this again:
Blasphemous thoughts?
[URL="https://www.christianforums.com/threads/concerns.8155280/"]Concerns[/URL]
And my past
I need an orthodox view please
which I feel idk that I can never truly repent of.

I keep telling myself to put all my trust in the Lord. And that no matter where I end up I will glorify him.

then with all this news…first Covid then what’s happening in Ukraine.

I’m trying not to despair or lose hope. Or even believe the voices that say these things.
That that person that did those things before I was baptized is actually dead. I am really a new person.

sometimes I just wish I could not remember what happened. At least with that part of my life.

right now my priest is getting over Covid so I know he is busy with other things and do not wish to bother him. At least until I know that he is all caught up.

I hope I make sense.

orthodox only please

 

[Andrei D]

Of course I do not know details, and I also don't want to give details from my personal life, but I've been close to something that sounds like this and while the Church helps a great deal, medications - and the correct ones, at correct doses at that - are absolutely mandatory. All priests we interacted with, including monastics agreed. If everything in these threads you linked is accurate, you need to have both pastoral and psychiatric help at all times, even when you are doing generally great, and you might never be able to be medication free. (stress on might)

Stress reduction and a proper diet are also not just "helpful" but mandatory.

Dr. Georgia Ede - 'Nutritional and Metabolic Strategies for Optimizing Mental Health' - YouTube

 

[SamanthaAnastasia]

Of course I do not know details, and I also don't want to give details from my personal life, but I've been close to something that sounds like this and while the Church helps a great deal, medications - and the correct ones, at correct doses at that - are absolutely mandatory. All priests we interacted with, including monastics agreed. If everything in these threads you linked is accurate, you need to have both pastoral and psychiatric help at all times, even when you are doing generally great, and you might never be able to be medication free. (stress on might)

Stress reduction and a proper diet are also not just "helpful" but mandatory.

Dr. Georgia Ede - 'Nutritional and Metabolic Strategies for Optimizing Mental Health' - YouTube

Ah yes…forgive me, I forgot to mention that. I am on medications and see a psychiatrist…which I mean. Help.
But he doesn’t really understand the spiritual side of things.
I haven’t been hospitalized and have been stable for about ehhhh 8-10 years now?

so, no worries there.

once I get back stateside, I will look into an orthodox therapist. Just here in Germany, the options especially in that area are a bit limited.

 

[Andrei D]

Forgive me, having been through this type of situation (the kind you, Glory to God, haven't been in in 8-10 years) I was afraid and thought it important to say these things.

Otherwise, I myself am not spiritually healthy enough to give you advice other than what you say. Is there any chance you could take a trip to a nearby Orthodox country, perhaps with someone who can translate? It just seems like there is such wealth of holiness so close... I realize the logistics might be daunting, but when I lived in Romania, monasteries had very many foreign "tourists" in search for advice and grace.

 

[SamanthaAnastasia]

Forgive me, having been through this type of situation (the kind you, Glory to God, haven't been in in 8-10 years) I was afraid and thought it important to say these things.

Otherwise, I myself am not spiritually healthy enough to give you advice other than what you say. Is there any chance you could take a trip to a nearby Orthodox country, perhaps with someone who can translate? It just seems like there is such wealth of holiness so close... I realize the logistics might be daunting, but when I lived in Romania, monasteries had very many foreign "tourists" in search for advice and grace.

Well, my husband and I are probably headed back stateside in September as that is when his orders are up.
We probably won’t do too much traveling. But I will definitely go to one once we go back stateside.

if we go to Greece in the summer, I may go visit one. It depends if we go.

 

[ArmyMatt]

I can say this as a priest, but I would rather have you bother me if you are going through something.

 

[SamanthaAnastasia]

I can say this as a priest, but I would rather have you bother me if you are going through something.

Thank you.
I’ll speak with my priest next time I see him.

 

[ArmyMatt]

Thank you.
I’ll speak with my priest next time I see him.

prayers it goes well!

 

[F.E.A.R.]

Blasphemous thoughts are of the enemy. I know it's a real bother, it messes with your mind, those thoughts keep coming, at least from my experience, if the situation is how should I put this, worsened, then those thoughts become stronger, and the only way to free yourself from them is through confession. Trust me it's the only way, sometimes it would take multiple confessions. Confession is they to get free from the enemies’ chains. If you don't believe me, you can check previous threads that I've made on "Blasphemous thoughts".

 

[SamanthaAnastasia]

Blasphemous thoughts are of the enemy. I know it's a real bother, it messes with your mind, those thoughts keep coming, at least from my experience, if the situation is how should I put this, worsened, then those thoughts become stronger, and the only way to free yourself from them is through confession. Trust me it's the only way, sometimes it would take multiple confessions. Confession is they to get free from the enemies’ chains. If you don't believe me, you can check previous threads that I've made on "Blasphemous thoughts".

Thank you, my friend.
I keep telling myself those thoughts are from the enemy.
Sometimes it takes a friend to remind me.

 

[Lukaris]

I hope this can be helpful; it is an Orthodox book of Needs Psalter for a variety of things.

http://www.voskrese.info/spl/arsenios.html

 

[prodromos]

Paraphrased from an increasingly dull memory.

There was a monk who constantly fell into sin and would daily repent with tears before the icon of Christ. The evil one said to Christ, "Why do you still accept him back when you know he is going to fail again?"
Christ replied, "You hypocrite! Don't you gleefully receive him back every time he falls?"

 

[SamanthaAnastasia]

I hope this can be helpful; it is an Orthodox book of Needs Psalter for a variety of things.

http://www.voskrese.info/spl/arsenios.html

Thank you