Oftentimes I am compelled to write on a particular subject and as a result am so impacted by it that it warrants continuation. Such is the case with the subject of the admittance of the personal need for help. At the conclusion of the previous blog, I stated that people are more comfortable discussing their physical health than their mental health. Unfortunately, society has created this false standard of protocol. I recognize that there are many people who choose to keep their “issues” private and they have valid reasons for that. However, in some circumstances that can prove to be detrimental. Life and all of its challenges at times can become overwhelming and that is putting is mildly.

Very few people I know have one thing in life to be concerned with and that’s it. Most of us have families, careers, relationships, extra-curricular activities, etc. Subsequently still others have businesses, ministries, educational pursuits and all the accompanying responsibilities. So, in plain and simple terms life is complicated. In most cases many of the complications are unavoidable, they just come with the territory and you are expected to deal with it as best you can. But what happens when the weight is too heavy to just deal with it? I do not want to give any impression that I have all the answers and if you continue to read this blog, you’ll find a 12-step guide for resolution. It is my hope, however, that I will offer some encouragement and unction to seek help if and when its needed.

In my previous blog I mentioned that oftentimes we struggle in silence. Pride and fear are often the cause of this. The choice is made to close ourselves off, keeping issues private, while the weight of it all gets increasingly heavier. There is a reason why Jesus tells us to cast all your cares on Him, for He cares about you. (I Peter 5: 7) But how do we do that when it is virtually impossible to package all this “mess” up and hand it to the Lord. One thing I can tell you is that the Lord will never give an instruction without a way to accomplish it. There are trained professionals, and I am finding that there is an increasing number of professional Christian Counselors that are well educated and equipped.

They have prepared themselves and followed the vocational path to advise and counsel individuals who are dealing with issues and have been unable to cast them off and live free from them. Just like you feel an ache or pain in your body that won’t go away, and you call your physician for an appointment to have it diagnosed and treated, we should follow the same methodology with mental health concerns. That is the only way we can experience complete wholeness and wholesomeness. It is easy to watch the news or sit in discussion about someone who has committed suicide and quickly pass judgment by saying “I don’t care how bad things get, I would never take my life”. Well I would like to think I would never do that, but I cannot predict what I would do if I experienced some of the devastation that others have gone through.

I will say this assuredly, without my relationship with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ I would not be able to endure much of what I have already experienced in life. It takes an extreme amount of strength to deal with the loss of spouse, parents, or children; the sudden loss of income, the foreclosure of a home; the breakup of a relationship; inability to conceive children; the pain of rejection; the guilt and shame of mistakes and poor choices; the diagnosis of a potentially incurable disease. Can we honestly predict how we would handle those crises? These are not just sample scenarios, they are real life situations. But no one should suffer through them alone.< In closing, I want to acknowledge someone that is very dear to me whom I highly admire. This individual answered the “call” to ministry several years ago, but just within the past few years has found her true call and niche in her career. She has taken a bold leap and has gone public with her struggle with depression and long-term battle with mental health issues. She is not just resting on her laurels and continuing through life with her new-found deliverance from the struggle, but she is staging platforms and seizing every opportunity to broadcast the importance of mental health awareness. She is offering hope to everyone by spreading the knowledge that help and healing is available. I intend to feature her as one of my special guests within the coming months when I launch my new podcast. It is my hope that we will not choose to ignore and/or remain unaware and uneducated about the triggers, symptoms, and potential underlying causes of depression and other mental illnesses that have the potential to disrupt our lives and prohibit us from living the abundant life the God has so designed for us. There is help and there is hope! Source: First Lady Denise