Mental Health and the Christian Mind

Welcome to Life Reclaimed, a place for honest conversations about faith, healing, and real life.

We are three friends learning to walk and freedom and trust God through the messy middle.

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Let’s dive in.

Well, welcome, everyone, to the Life Reclaimed podcast.

My name is Kim, and I am here with my friends Brenda and Cindy.

And we are so glad you’ve joined us today.

Well, let’s do a check in question.

All right.

Are you guys ready?

What is something small that helps you reset when you’re overwhelmed?

Well, I know that if I’m feeling overwhelmed, I usually turn everything off.

If I have music or whatever, I just need it quiet and then I can kind of regroup and think, 

Oh, wow.

That’s amazing.

That is really good.

Just shut everything down for a sec.

I like I don’t know if I can sit in quiet.

Oh my gosh, I love it.

That’s awesome.

For me, if I’m feeling really overwhelmed, I might go to immediately when my body is just, I can feel it, is typically deep breath, throw my hands in the air.

Just almost like, give it up. I just give it up. Can’t take it. Here, take it.

Reset, say a little prayer.

But if I have time, I’m getting to the gym.

I was going to say, for me, it’s moving.

If I can take a few minutes and hit a quick walk or if I can take a few minutes and put on a little worship music for a three second, you know, a three minute song and do a little dance to it, I think that makes me feel a lot better just to get my mind in a different headspace.

Obviously. Prayer for me, like, I have to do that.

Otherwise I probably can’t come back. But aside from just a quick prayer, if I can physically move too.

Yeah, I find my moments of being overwhelmed are moments when I can’t go move.

I’ve got how many eyeballs staring at me at work or I’m with people or it just hits.

You need those practical ways.

And I think that’s just deep breaths. Move forward.

Love it.

Well, today our topic is mental health and the Christian mind.

This is a big topic. It could be a deep topic. It could be a sensitive topic, but let’s look at how anxiety, therapy, and prayer can coexist.

We could go on for about the next 60 episodes, probably diving deep into this topic.

We’re just going to tackle it in one.

So this is not going to be an all comprehensive, all-inclusive explanation, but we’re just going to start the conversation and maybe it will help bring that conversation to you and your family, your friends.

Well, we know mental health can feel complicated in Christian spaces.

There’s a disconnect a lot of times.

We want to compartmentalize spirit life, from mental life, from emotional life.

And as you’ve heard us, if you’ve been around the last few episodes, we truly believe all of those are connected and how we’re struggling spiritually can affect how we struggle mentally.

Amen.

So we can’t separate the two. And emotionally and physically.

If I’m feeling sick, my mental health, my spiritual health, my emotional health, it’s all all going to kind of crash at the same time for me, personally.

I don’t know if that’s you.

Right.

Yeah, for sure.

I think the idea that some of us were taught as Christians growing up, you know, in the church is that you should just pray more if, you know, you’re feeling stressed out or anxious or whatever.

But I would suggest that whoever has said that was not in the middle of a panic attack or, you know, riddled with anxiety because in those moments, prayer is helpful, but there needs to be some other practical ways of handling it.

Yeah, for sure.

Let’s talk Band-Aid solution.

Right.

If you go to a therapist and they give you a one shot answer, like, just do this one thing more, that may be just a Band-Aid solution for what could be a bigger problem.

And so I’m always looking at the root of the problem personally. I try to find the roots and snip them out so that the problem doesn’t continue, though that is not easy. And it usually takes me a long time.

I agree.

Usually for myself, if there’s anxiety or a stress level, something’s causing that. Something’s creating it.

And it’s really taking the time to dive deep and reflect into what’s going going on in my life, what’s going on around me, what’s going on at work, what’s going on at home?

Am I overextended?

That can cause your nervous system to be on edge?

Oh, for sure.

If you’re not getting enough sleep, if you’re overwhelming yourself with, you know, just packing your schedule way too tight and then just the stresses, everyday stresses can really wear you down mentally.

Oh, so smart.

I think the opposite is also true.

I think sometimes people rely only on the practical tools that are available and they don’t actually rely on God.And so they are not an integrated process of for healing and moving forward.

And I think it’s really important that we think about it holistically.

We need the practical tools and we need what the Bible says and we need the Holy Spirit in us to, you know, leading us through it.

So what does it look like to invite God into our mental health and our emotional health while also receiving real practical help?

I think, you know, praying that God would bring the right doctor in my case, the right therapist, for sure.

A Christian therapist that I can talk to, that I can trust. I invite God by asking him, please show me who or where I’m supposed to go for help.

Got it.

Help me be mindful.

And just, you know, thinking about other tools, things like medications and just being careful because I think we’re super overmedicated as a culture and people love to just rush to that rather than getting to the core.

They’re just covering the source of their pain or anxiety rather than really finding it and dealing with it.

And so I think just asking God to help me really be aware and really direct my path when it comes to how am I going to take care of myself with this?

Love that.

Brenda, any ideas?

A surrendering of it to God?

Knowing that he can hold you there in it and walk you through it.

Something you said brought up that idea of, you know, needing God to show you somebody or the people that he’s put in your path to help you walk through something.

Yes.

And that triggered for me, this idea of you feel so alone.

Yes.

When you’re in the middle of the anxiety or the middle of the stress. There’s so many words we could put on it.

You know, all of our anxiety can show up differently. But if that’s the root cause, that anxiousness, we can feel alone in that. And I think it’s important to know that God does not want you alone in that.

He’s there and he has people waiting for you.

He’s preparing people for you for the right time.

So I think it’s, he wants you to do some work too.

Sure.

And that’s to ask, ask him for it.

I also see God as the ultimate healer. And so I think for me, it’s both.

I need the help of the people around me, whether that be a clinician or great friends who are biblically minded, but I also need him to heal some of those wounds that are the root.

So I think it’s a lot of combinations that help move people into a healthier state.

And I feel like it’s okay to integrate. As opposed to pulling them apart and only doing one thing at a time.

So what has your experience with anxiety or mental strain looked like?

And I’m going to go ahead and jump into that one for a second.

I have something called overpass anxiety.Do you like my made up term?

That is a great term.

Interested to know what that means.

Yes.

So I had a very large trauma happen. And the night that that happened, I grabbed my children and I was driving away trying not to ball out loud because my five year old and one month year old were in the car.

And I’m sobbing, sobbing to the point that I, you know, that I can hardly breathe as I’m driving us home.

And I am now on an overpass and I have an entire anxiety attack because I can’t breathe, because I’m sobbing so hard.

And this anxiety attack goes on for the entire length of the overpass.

And from that day on, I couldn’t drive over another overpass without having another anxiety attack because the emotion was so strong, it literally took over my logical brain and I would go into the overpass saying, I am okay. We are safe. I am no longer in that same situation.

I don’t need to have anxiety as I go over this overpass.

And still, I would hit that overpass and no matter what, that anxiety attack would come right back, just like it was that same night.

And I had that longer than I cared to tell you. It was a very difficult thing.

And then it went from overpasses to bridges.

So then driving over anything that was elevated would just spike an immediate anxiety attack. Is that bizarre or what?

That is interesting.

It’s amazing what our brains process and how they process when you’re in the middle of a flight.

Yeah.

You were you were flying.

My limbic system was all in charge. There was no logical.

And then it’s like burned into the nervous system.

Yeah.

And so now that’s the reaction. Your body remembers.

So it doesn’t happen now?

Are you…

As much?

Okay.

As well No, that’s the This in your nervous system.

It’s literally..

It’s why she moved from the Bay Area.

Yeah.

There’ many bridges in the Bay Area.

Exactly.

Less overpasses.

There’s only one overpass up here.

And, it’s a big one.

I can be the passenger and not have the anxiety attack.

Really?

It’s only when I’m the one driving.

Wow.

Interesting.

I always drive with a water bottle now because if I can keep myself breathing, if I can get myself some water, if I can do the things that help reduce your limbic system reactions, I generally can control it more.

Interesting.

Yeah.

Actually, motorcycle riding has helped.

Oh, I can see that.

Because I don’t have a choice.

I’ve got to take that corner and it’s a different experience than being in a car.

I’ve been able to go over some bridges without having an anxiety attack on the motorcycle.

Wow, that’s good.

See, I can go over bridges all day long, but I’ll have an anxiety attack if I get on a motorcycle.

That’s not happening.

That’s brilliant.

That’s hilarious.

Good way to put that in perspective.

So you’re stronger than you allow yourself to be.

You’ve got an area that’s triggered occasionally, but you have a lot of real healthy going on too.

Yeah.

And I’m better now than I was then.

So yeah.

Well, when does anxiety tend to show up most?

I think when you’re brain’s on overload.

And it doesn’t, I think, matter when I say your brain’s on overload, it may not necessarily even be your schedules packed full, but that’s definitely it can be a trigger for most people.

That’s your body telling you to, you got to slow down. You got to cut some things out, reprioritize. But I think for me, that overload can be emotional over overload.

Yes.

That can be caused by, you know, what’s going on in the relationships in my life, what’s going on with my children, you know, and you’re all consumed with these emotions that the anxiety for me tends to show up. And it usually shows up in, why am I crying?

Yeah.

You know, why, why? I don’t know why.

This commercial is so sad.

Yes.

You know, or even like getting to work and a coworker is like, so excited talking and then, how are you?

Well, you know, like you’re like, wait a minute, I am so sorry.

I don’t know why I’m crying right now.

Like, I’m fine. Don’t worry.

You know, and then having to process that, like, I’m not really fine if I’m crying because someone asked me how I was doing.

Yes.

There’s some buildup anxiety buildup going on.

So I think that’s a good word, buildup. I think the idea that we try to compartmentalize things, put things in boxes, like, here’s my work stress. Here’s my home stress. Here’s my personal stress. Here’s my stress with God.

Here’s my stress with, you know, social situations or whatever. And then for me, when more than one of the boxes is open and being rumbly tumbly, I don’t do as well.

If I can, I can handle what one of the boxes, if my if my work life is not going well, but my home life is fine, then I’m fine. Like, I can handle that.

You know, if I’m struggling with some concepts with God, but, you know, my whatever is doing well, then great. I can handle that.

But when the overload happens for me is when more than one of the boxes gets opened and tumbled open.

I feel like probably most of us have that, if we’re really honest with ourselves.

I’m not alone?

No, you’re not alone in that.

I think especially as women, we have so many boxes.

Yes.

Actually, I’ll use the plate analogy.

We have so many spinning plates and all the plates are spinning.

They start dropping.

They start dropping.

And that, I think is anxiety over.

I mean, you’re overloaded.

The anxiety is going to be the end result of that.

And I know I have moments where I just want to like, you know what. I’m done with it all.

I’m not holding any more plates.

Not holding any more plates. You do what you want. I’m not going. I’m not doing, I’m not doing, I’m not doing, which then can lead to another mental strain of depression.

Like then we’re we’re backpedaling into darkness and we’re going to be lazy and we’re going to do all these things that prevent us from healing, which is a whole nother mental awareness.

Or on the flip side of that, we get angry.

Why are the plates dropping?

Who’s supposed to be holding that one up?

Who’s supposed to be holding that? Like, I can’t do it all. I need help.

And now we’re spewing and we’re angry and nobody else around us can do anything right because these plates are dropping. Yet we took on all those plates. So I think we have to find a balance. I think we have to be honest with ourselves, honest with the people around us, learning to say no, learning to give it to God.

The thing I’m not good at is you take on another plate, you’re supposed to pass on one. I’m just not good at the passing on thing. So I have more plates that I’m trying to spin. And that’s when I shut down is because the, when they start dropping, I will shut down because I’m not holding my plates up anymore, you know, What were you going to say?

Well, I was just thinking my personal experience has been different regarding anxiety. If you had asked me two years ago, maybe my anxiety is tied to people, specific people.

Interesting.

And so, and it’s performance. And if I am not doing something right, I’m fearful that I’m going to get it wrong and I’m just anxious. And I had anxiety all the time, which led to depression too, you know? So I think people can be huge triggers, you know, and allowing them to get under your skin.

You know, and I did pray about it a lot, but when you have a person in your face that’s, you know, causing you anxiety.

It’s just, it’s hard to get relief from that.

For sure.

Yeah.

And that’s real.

I mean.

But I will say that was two years ago and two years down the road now, I feel like I’m wondering what I have anxiety about. I really don’t feel at this point that I have anxiety. You know.

That’s amazing.

You know, I I mean, I get, I get a little nervous from time to time, but my, the level is just nothing like it was. And so, you know, sometimes just removing people from your life that are causing you pain, and depression and that kind of thing, you know, and talking to God about it and asking God, is this okay to do? That can be the answer too.

Well, I definitely think there’s plenty of scripture that tells us that God does not want us living in that anxiousness and that anxiety.

Right.

I mean, there’s plenty of stories, but that fear not is in there a hundred times to fear not.

He doesn’t want you living in that.

And so I think there is freedom when we can be able to walk away when we know that is that is what is causing me my anxiety.

And that’s easier said than done, because that could be your job. That could be your relationship you’re in. That could be a friend that’s been your friend for 30 years. Like it’s that could be a sibling, a parent. Like that is very easier said than done.

So I don’t say that lightly.

Right.

But when you know that every time you walk into that situation or into that place, your heart rate is through the roof and you’re biting your tongue and you’re cowering on down and you’re walking on eggshells and you don’t say what you really want to say.

You 

…and then you beat yourself up as you walk away because you didn’t say what you really wanted to say..

The frustration level.

Or you agreed with everything they said when you really don’t agree with everything they said because you didn’t want the conflict.

Yes.

Exactly.

That’s anxiety producing.

Yes.

All day long.

Wow.

This is This is getting deep. I love it, ladies.

I feel like if the three of us have experienced anxiety on different levels from different causes, I wonder what other types of anxiety people have experienced. And I wonder what are some techniques that they’ve used to make it through it?

So all of of us have mentioned a little bit of depression comes generally after we start to drop the plates. We have a little shutdown, we get some anxiety, and then we start withdrawing, and then pretty soon we end up in a depression. I feel like we kind of all mentioned that cycle, right?

Yes.

Okay.

So if you think about being a Christian filled with with joy and peace and all of these things, how do you reconcile depression in the Christian mind? And what we don’t want people to walk away with is that you can’t be a Christian and have depression because we’ve all been there.

We’ve all been depressed and we are Christians. So hear us. It is possible to be a Christian and still be depressed.

But Well, what do you think about it?

Let’s be real. We live in a broken world.

There it is.

We live in a fallen world and bad things happen. Traumas happen. People make mistakes.

Sin happens, sin happens.

We, they sin.

And I think the two can coexist at the same time. You can be a Christian and have joy, yet still feel depression. It’s what do you do with that depression?

Oh

Are you going to sit in that depression all of your days? Are you going to become bitter, hateful, you know, live in the anger?

Isolatate.

Isolate.

Are you going to stay there for the rest of your days? Like we’re warned the days are evil. Don’t waste your opportunities. And I think that is what matters. I think somebody who said, you can’t be depressed and a Christian at the same time.

Again, maybe hasn’t experienced something that would cause depression. No, like both can happen.

Or they figured out how to bury their feelings. You know, the idea that 

So good.

That was good.

Put a smile on your face. Fake it til you make it.

Yeah.

Yeah.

You can have a lot of real hurt.

You can have depression and you can still have a very close relationship with God. And I think that sometimes people have heard the message that you need to really, really dig in. You need to be closer to God. He’s going to give you the peace. He’s going to bring the joy.

And yes, yes, he will.

But it may take time and you need people in your camp that understand who are not judging you for that, you know,, who are willing to just take it a little bit slower with you, and listen, or just sit with you.

And then sometimes for people, they do have a chemical imbalance. There can be other factors, you know, where somebody’s just more prone to that. You know, their behaviors just because of their body chemistry. And so..

Or their blood sugar level?

Exactly.

Or the fact that they just broke up with someone, or the fact that they had a really hard relationship just end a friendship or a family member.

I mean, there’s so many reasons that you can end up in depression. And it can sneak up on you.

Yeah.

You know, there could be a series of things that happen. You’re not eating well, you’re not sleeping well. Pretty soon you get that anxiety, you get that depression. And then all of a sudden, you’re like, oh, God’s not with me anymore. And that’s not true.

Right.

I mean, that is not true.

Right.

Just because just because I’m feeling a certain way doesn’t mean God has abandoned me.

Right.

Right.

He’s walking right alongside you.

And I think we need to remember that because I do think that somebody who is at that point may choose then to walk away.

Right.

Right.

Right.

Like at that point, the enemy’s been.

Working on your head and your heart 

Working on all the things. And, you know, the Bible tells us Satan is the father of lies. That is his number one go-to. And if he can use whatever you just walk through that caused you pain, he will plant the lies and take you deeper.

Right.

And all of a sudden you find yourself in a place like this is not where I’m meant to be. How’d I get here? And God needs you to know and he needs you to hear clearly that it’s not too late.

Turn back.

Turn back.

Seek him.

He’s still there with you in the trenches.

Don’t isolate yourself. Tell a friend, you know, and as friends, we need to check in with. You know, if we haven’t heard from somebody or we heard that they broke up or whatever, just checking in kind of a lot at the beginning, you know, just to make sure they’re not isolating, they’re not angry at God.

They’re not feeling alone and abandoned and, and all that.

We had a friend reach out to us recently and just say, I need prayer.

And when they do reach out, it makes you go, how hard was that for her?

Yeah.

You know, how hard was that for her to give the, hey, I’m not doing well?

Yeah.

Text, you know, so good for her. I just want her to make sure that she knows that we’ve not abandoned her.

Yes.

As we’re talking and all these pieces, as you listeners can tell, it’s not a quick fix.

No.

There’s no easy answer.

I know I have always hoped for what’s the fix? Just give me the answer. Just give me the fix to help me fix it.

And if one thing God has been teaching me is that it could take years before you have a revelation of, oh, that is what you wanted me to learn.

That’s what you wanted me to confess or surrender, you know, that’s what you were waiting for and working on in me so that now I can walk in that freedom and turn and help someone else.

Yeah.

So we’ll get into some practical ideas in just a second of how we can move forward, even if we are in a state of anxiety or a state of depression. But just before we do that, can we just really briefly talk about where some of the places that mental health might come from? You kind of alluded to it.

What, with the having chemical imbalance?

Right?

It could be just internal, right?

I’m just created with a chemical imbalance. And if I knew that, I would take the medicine that actually helps that particular thing instead of self-medicating on whatever else I’m self-medicating on, right?

That’s, I mean, that’s one person’s story.

You can have a hereditary, you know, I mean, it could be in your family. That wasn’t my situation, but I’ve known friends that the mother was depressed. The grandmother, you know, so then it’s no surprise when she starts to experience it too.

Sure.

That could also be like the origin of like, that’s what you think is normal.

Right.

So it could be internal, but it also could be learned behavior.

Yes.

Right.

Interesting.

I knew somebody that only thrived in crisis. And so she was constantly creating crisis in her life. And so then she’s stressed out. And it was like, what are you you doing?

I know what? I actually understand that. Let me, let me see if I can unpack that for a second.

Somebody who is in survival mode, they only can thrive when they’re in survival mode. So everything else has to be a dumpster fire so that they’re surviving. And then then they feel worth.

Oh, man, that’s good.

Yeah.

All right.

Are there any other ways that maybe mental health could come from?

Well, I think we can bring it on ourselves, our own behavior.

Yes.

What? Take responsibility for our own actions.

Yes.

I Yes.

I know, we. And I think those behaviors sometimes can be things we’re using to numb pain that we don’t want to deal with.

Yes, I agree.

So, you know, if we’re substance abuse, if we’re drinking a lot, if we’re shopping all the time, if we’re eating lots of sugar, scrolling on social media, constantly looking for that next dopamine hit. You know.

These things that we are doing are really just a result of a bigger issue we’re not dealing with. And we’re trying to ignore that. And some, for some of us, that could be packing our schedule and causing more plates.

And causing more plates.

That that could be it. So we don’t ever have to deal with it. And I’ll be honest, that’s me.

Is that you??

That’s me.

I will fill up the schedule so I don’t have to address the root or what’s really going on. Just keep me busy and it’ll be all right. But I’m learning that. I think another episode I mentioned, like saying no, a whole lot more.

I love that.

A whole lot more. But as we’re getting to the end of the school here, you guys know as teachers, that calendar is packed.

Packed full, packed.

Yeah.

I always tell teachers, just hold on for the month of May. It’s so busy.

Yes.

Yeah.

But I think that we can find ourselves in addictive behavior that can cause the stress, the anxiety, the depression, all on its own, because we’re not dealing with a root.

Well, I think we know, too, you know, we’re all hearing about the research that they’re doing on kids that are on their phone phones and how that’s leading to depression.

Grownups?

Grownups for sure. But it’s starting way earlier with these children because they start comparing themselves really early on. So then there’s that, you know, there’s that depression.

Yeah.

And then I also think making poor choices, making a decision that I know isn’t right. I do it anyway. And now all of a sudden I’m guilt ridden. I’m, now I’m anxious because I know I did something wrong and I’m going to have to confess it.

And I want the consequences.

Yeah, you know.

And so then that’s just eating on you too. So you can make yourself crazy, not taking the right path sometimes.

I think there’s also some people who just naturally do self-sabotage or maybe they have a negative mindset.

I think there are some deep rooted things that probably happen early on and they’ve believed some lies within their lifetime. So now they’ve taken on that mindset that life is always going to be this hard.

I am broken, I am not lovable.

I am worthless.

And so with my newfound truth, I say that in air quotes. The self-sabotage is always going to happen because I don’t think I’m worthy of somebody actually being kind to me or loving me. Right?

It’s definitely something that happens.

We have no association with this, but Jenny Allen’s got that new book.

The lies you don’t know you believe.

Yeah.

And that is enough to get you thinking, what lies do I not know that I believe?

Exactly.

Because they’re so ingrained in my thinking that I believe they’re true.

And there’s a lot to unpack in there and that could be an entire long season.

But I think the reverse of that is also true. Taking every thought captive and then comparing it to what God says. Because that’s the only way I’ve been able to break some of the negative mindset that I know and that I believe.

So there’s mine. Self-tabotage and negative mindset.

Well, and also, just to mention, you know, when you know a friend of yours is struggling, that’s a really good time for you to check in with them. Have you eaten today?

Yes.

How did you sleep last night? And just kind of checking in and maybe if you’re not feeling good, give me a call. Let’s meet up for a walk. Because when you’re in the middle of it, you don’t think about it. You’re not intentionally self-sabotaging, but it’s hard in those moments to remember I should eat something right now. You don’t feel like it, especially if you’re stomach is like.

Stressed.

Yeah.

Stressed. You’re not hungry.

Right.

Right.

But having a friend say, yeah, come on, let’s just have something.

Yeah, because, you know, honestly, just having low blood sugar.

Oh, yeah.

That gives you very much symptomptoms of fatigue and depression and all of the things that go along with it because, you know, my blood sugar is low.

So, yeah, right, right.

You’re just compounding on on top of what’s going on.

I did.

Adding to injury.

I did.

And it didn’t help.

Yeah.

Well, when you’re in the thick of it, you’re almost in survival mode.

Right.

And so you’re just trying to push through each day. And sometimes that’s just shutting down to all those things that you should be doing and you know you should be doing. But no desire to do them.

Well, and if you feel like you’ve done something to cause trauma or if somehow that message was communicated, you might punish yourself.

Right?

That’s how a lot of anorexics become anorexic. They’re punishing themselves for something. Or they’re trying to control the one thing in their life they can control because everything else is out of control.

So, you know, being your resident, recovering, recovered, anorexic, You know, I definitely complicated the situation much more by trying to punish myself for things that really I didn’t have any control over. And it wasn’t my fault. And I didn’t, there was nothing I could have done to help it, prevent it or get it better. But I certainly made it worse.

Have you ever felt like your faith and your mental health were in conflict?

Sure.

Yeah.

I mean, if you’re not, I’m not sure that I’m hearing God correctly, if I’m not spending the time that I need to really trying to listen and I’m not feeling great, I’m feeling down, I’m feeling stressed out or anxious, then there’s going to be conflict there.

Yeah.

So just recognizing it, I guess, when you feel like there’s a conflict there, recognizing it and then taking the time.

Get into the Bible, put the Christian music on in the house, and just kind of fill myself with that.

Spend some time in prayer.

Yep.

Yeah.

Call a friend, pray with a friend.

Well, I wonder if this is when you know you’re struggling. Your mental health is struggling in a way where you’re feeling the anxiety and the pressure and the overload or you’re feeling sad a lot of the time. You maybe walking towards a season of depression or aloneness and you got to walk into church.

Are you bringing those burdens with you and laying them at the altar or are you putting on a smile when you walk through the door? Like everything is perfectly fine. I think that’s a huge conflict.

And it’s sad that I know there are a lot of people out there who have walked through church doors and had to put on the fake smile because they feel they’re being judged, or would be judged, or there’s no trust or there’s no, well, I’m a Christian and everything has to be hunky-dory. Right.

Back to that..

Everything is joyful. No, everything is not unicorns and rainbows.

What?

Are you sure?

I’m sure.

And the harsh part of that reality is that every single person in there is living out something.

Absolutely.

And we can put the smile on in the makeup on, and the heels on, and go to church and look beautiful and grand, but inside, everybody’s struggling with something.

And maybe we’re not all the way in a mental crisis, but we’re still dealing with a lie, some form of lies in our lives that we’ve been dealing with, especially as women.

For sure.

And when you get to that point, when you are in a mental crisis, it’s even harder. You have that separation of your faith from your mental health.

Because you’re kind of embarrassed to tell one of your Christian friends about it.

Absolutely.

You’re a little bit intimidated to actually go talk to a pastor about it. I mean, I feel like we just hide and shoved those down because we have to stuff.

Yeah.

Or if you do a small group, but your small group is 20 people, that’s a lot of people to want to bring your crisis to rather than just those few people that you know are going to help walk alongside of you and you know aren’t judging you.

Sure.

That’s good.

You can have conflict too, if you’re just going, God, where are you in this?

If you feel like, amen, you know, I, how come I’m dealing with this alone? How come I feel so alone in this? And sometimes God is quiet?

Or why? Why am I still? Why am I still struggling with this? Or why is this coming up again? I thought I dealt with this.

Yeah.

I circled around again. Lord, I clearly didn’t learn the message the first time. Could you say it louder this time so I don’t have to circle this again?

What is the message?

Yeah, I think it’s really easy to take a human situation and blame it on a distant God, and to say, well, I’m in this situation and you didn’t do anything. So now I’m going to, I’m going to go walk away. I feel like sometimes that’s literally the worst idea.

Right.

Right.

Because if I’m in a human situation, that is hard and take heart in this world, you will have trouble, but I have overcome the world, you know? So from the Bible, that’s not me. That’s, that’s God. Like, if we know that God’s already overcome all of the trials and tribulations that we are living through here on earth, then the one that we can trust to help us get through these hard moments is God.

No, that’s good.

Yeah.

It’s true.

Okay.

So let’s hit on a little bit of truth and theology.

What do you think?

We just kind of started in it.

We did.

What do you think?

Is God distant when you are having an anxiety attack?

No.

No.

Is God distant when you are in the middle of the depression?

No.

No.

When I am in the middle of a big fight with someone, is God pulled back away from me and in a different room?

No.

Okay. So what do you think?

I think in all those cases, we are drawing away from God.

Ooh, there it is.

Before you are walking into a situation that you know, is going to be high anxiety, that you know is going to send some triggers. You bring God with you. You invite him with you. You invite that spirit to take over and create a spirit of peace, to walk alongside you, to give you words, to give you thoughts, to give you clarification.

And I’ve been in a couple different situations where it’s like I’m half my brain is praying and the other half is talking. You’re like, our brain is pretty amazing and you can be just like, I’m talking to you, but I’m thinking as I’m talking to you. I’ve forced myself into the situations of, okay, I’m heavenly Father in my brain, I’m praying, but I’m speaking to whoever’s in front of you while I’m praying at the same time.

So you invite him in. He’s there. He’s there with you anyways. You just may not feel it because you didn’t reach for him. And he wants you to. He wants you to reach for him.

I love that.

I mean, I find comfort knowing that he knows exactly what I’m dealing with.

He knows the hurt that somebody has inflicted on me. He heard the words that were spoken. He saw how I felt inside to absorb that.

I love this scripture where we’re remind reminded in Psalms 56:8, Record my misery, list my tears on your scroll. Are they not in your record? And so we know that he he sees it. He sees all the tears. He’s captured them and he he’s God, that he’s not far away.

If he’s there with me capturing my tears, he is right there with me.

That’s beautiful.

Well, also, I’m going to piggyback on you.

Hebrews 4:16, let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

You have a heavenly Father that says, be confident. I am here. My grace is here for you. Come to me. I’m here. I’m here to give it to you in your time of need.

And then I also think of you. Why do I doubt, Father God? Why, why? Why do I doubt? Doubt alone can cause stress. Why do I doubt? And that’s part of our human nature.

Right?

It’s and it’s also Satan playing with us.

Yes, it is.

But they can coexist because God knows you love him and believe.

Like, he knows.

Have confidence.

Love that.

I mean, in both of those circumstances, whether it’s something that’s happening to me and I know that God is there with me in it. Or I’ve created this anxiety for myself by doing something I know that I shouldn’t do. Maybe I inflicted something on somebody that God is right there, ready to forgive me and ready to just embrace me and put that far behind me. And so that had helps my anxiety too.

Yeah.

So it sounds like healing, going through the journey of confession to God, and healing from a moment is one way that we can still feel close and make it through a trying time, right?

Right.

I agree.

Does the Bible show anyone who has struggled?

Oh, gosh.

Poor David.

Oh.

I think David had depression.

You think?

I think he read some of his psalms.

Yes.

You know, and again, look at David’s life.

Yeah.

He made poor choices.

He made some poor choices.

Made some poor choices and there were consequences for that, yet he still is a man after God’s heart. God still redeemed him.

And his family line.

Yeah, and his family line, his story, he was redeemed. They don’t often approach the women in the Bible who were barren and say they had anxiety or depression.

But they were outcasts.

But they were outcasts. And I just think even Elizabeth, who was a woman who fought followed God’s law and loved God and who. 

Prayed earnestly.

Earnestly.

And it was in God’s proper timing that he hurt her prayer and answered her prayer with a yes. But I when I think of those women, I think, gosh, does anx anxiety they must have been living with.

And I think what you said is really important.

He heard her prayer the first time, but he knew he was waiting for the right time.

Exactly.

And we can’t even imagine what God has for us. And so sometimes we’re pushing what we want when the Lord is like, wait, I got this great, amazing thing for you. You just got to, you just got to trust me. Just wait for a minute. This is going to be great.

I’ve already got this planned, you know?

And that’s a whole other podcast waiting and what to do in the waiting.

Oh, the waiting.

But don’t let the waiting ruin your mental health.

Yes.

While you’re waiting.

So does faith look like pretending everything is fine?

No.

Does that work?

I think we covered that a little bit. No, that does not work.

Yeah.

I think pretending everything is fine really is what we all try to do because we don’t want to look less than in front of other people.

But really, I think it opens up the door for Satan to mess with us even more because you’re going to walk into church, you just screamed at your husband in the car and you screamed at the children in the car on the way to church, you walk into church, you all put the smile on your face and you walk out. And now you feel even worse because you, you pretended like everything was fine. Right?

Well, and maybe it’s not that.

No, I’m sure it’s not. That’s just the example that came to my mind.

Yeah.

Well, we usually I’ve heard that example so many times and it’s usually you’re yelling at the kids, hurry up! Get your shoes. You’re screaming at them we get out of the door to get to church. Or even even coming through the door to church.

And then it’s an immediate switch. But there could be so many other things going on in your life. You know, that marriage is on rocky ground.

Yes.

You know, my parents relationship with my parents is not healthy.

I’m.

I’m fighting with my sibling. I’m separated from my best friend. Like there’s so many other things. Maybe you’re even dealing with your own substance abuse.

Or your own sin and shame.

Your own own sin and shame and we’re not coming clean on that. So we put on that fake smile and we walk in through those doors. And I think that’s not going to bring healing.

Right. But you know what?

Going to church will.

And I will say more than once, I’ve smiled my way into church when I was, you know, breaking down inside. And I want to smile because I don’t want anybody asking me. I don’t want to talk about it.

Right.

I just need to hear from the Lord. I just need to worship. And, and then, you know, somebody comes along and you and church is over and now, you know, how are you doing now? I can go ahead and talk to you. So, I mean, sometimes I can think of circumstances where get yourself to church.

Absolutely.

Get yourself to church, even if it means slap a smile on on your face. I know you don’t feel it, but God is waiting to meet you there and give you that interaction with somebody that can talk to you and help you.

And I think that’s key what you just said, because I have been through church, faked it, but I’ve also faked it with God.

So I think there’s a difference. Yeah, get yourself to church. If you got to put on the smile, but when you’re in church and you’re worshiping God, don’t fake it don’t fake it.

Yeah.

That is your time to internally surrender and receive his grace and mercy, and be filled with his peace and joy so that you can go back out and face whatever it is that you need to take on.

Right.

And take him with you when you go. I know from my own experience, I have been that person. I have walked in and faked it. So that got me nowhere.

Yeah.

So let’s talk about a couple of things. What has genuinely helped you move from overwhelmed to grounded? So this is a lot, right?

This is a big topic. And I’m not saying any of these are going to work for everybody. I’m not saying these are the end all be all. But I would like to open the discussion because I want to get some practical ideas. What are some practical things? If I’m in the middle of dropping all the plates and things are starting to get out of control, what are some practical things that I can try?

Well, we’ve talked a lot already about prayer.

Yep.

For me, that’s huge.

Prayer is huge that can get you grounded very quickly. Self-reflection.

Yes.

Journaling. I think that’s huge.

Get yourself out in nature.

Oh, that helps me.

That helps also. Being able to maybe talk it out with someone else that is you trust that doesn’t necessarily always have to be a therapist, but if you have a friend who walks alongside of you already has the same beliefs and values and is going to listen, I think that that can be big.

And a pastor.

But I think those are big pieces.

If you’re looking back on your mental health issues and you’re finding yourself like, man, my mom dealt with this and my. Or my dad and my grandma and my grandpa. Like this is a generational pattern that maybe you should see a doctor?

Yeah.

And more than just like counseling, someone might need psychotherapy, right? So Something a little bit deeper to deal with stuff they don’t even remember, stuff that’s deep within them, you know, from their childhood or whatever, but, you know, trying to go and get some answers about why do I feel this way?

Trauma is huge.

That’s what I was about to talk about.

Trauma.

Let’s go there.

Yeah.

And if you’ve experienced trauma and any way, shape, or form and never processed it. Processed it, worked through it, we’re able to take that whole, all those steps that you need to take to find healing. Maybe that’s where you start.

Yeah..

Some, some way to process the trauma.

So somebody who was once diagnosed as complex PTSD, which I didn’t know was a thing, apparently talk therapy doesn’t actually help. You could talk to every kind of psychiatrist you’d like to talk to, but it’s not going to actually help move the needle forward in your complex PTSD healing.

So things like EMDR or biofeedback therapy, some of these other options can be added to talk therapy, to actually then help your brain and your body go through the journey of healing.

So being able to move your mindset along, taking every thought captive and making sure that you are going on the journey of health, I think is what we’re trying to say here. Don’t stay where you are.

You know, I experienced a pretty severe trauma when I was in high school and I went to three days of counseling.

Oh, that’s not enough.

No.

That’s not enough. I can tell you that.

It’s not enough.

And I can’t tell you why. I’m I know I have I have black spaces in my memory.

Yeah.

But it’s still a journey because I never did deal, and process with it effectively to heal all the way.

Wow.

So, and these are things that I are coming to light now because of my own sin and choices, and help me to work through that now.

Yeah.

Because that is the one thing. If you’ve walked through trauma and you don’t process, you will find yourself caught up in sin.

Yes.

There’s no way around it.

Yes.

You’re going to numb your pain some way with something.

Yeah.

Don’t. If you have experienced trauma, don’t waste time, get the help you need.

And if the first therapist isn’t working, go to another one.

Yeah.

Exactly.

It’s okay. It’s okay to find the one that actually is going to be helpful for you.

And I would argue from my own experience, if your trauma happened when you were younger, odds are you did not deal with it. You have to walk through it a different healing process.

Well, I think what happens when you have a trauma, there are an immediate set of lies that you believe. And to combat those lies can be a lifelong journey, even with good therapy.

And those lies are usually based on the lies you believe about God.

Yep.

And the lies you believe about yourself.

100%.

Those are going to be the two areas that they stem from.

Yep.

So what do you know about neural plasticity? If anything?

It’s a big word.

Well, I can tell you I’m not a doctor, first of all.

Okay.

But what I can also tell you is I’ve done some research in this area. I’ve listened to a lot of Dr. Daniel Amen talks about neuroplasticity and just in the mental health field, there’s been a lot of research and study about it.

So from what I understand, when you have a same repeated thought, the more you have that thought, think of it as a trench, you dig that trench deeper. And what happens is the more you dig that trench deeper, the reality now starts to set in as if that thing were true, even if it’s not true.

But because you’ve continued to circle that thought, your brain is now going, oh, this must be be true. And so it lays down, would you say, a track? Neuroplasticity says, you don’t actually have to stay there. It doesn’t have to remain.

Your brain is flexible, growing, multiple, changeable. And so this is one of Dr. Daniel Amen’s big pushes. He wants everyone to have brain envy.

Brain envy.

He wants them to have the most healthy brain possible. And so there are lots of ways you can do that. And for more research, please do research and check out, you know, the Amon clinics and check out, you know, a good therapist and ask them about it.

But I love the idea that your brain is not stuck the way it is because if my brain was still stuck the way it was when I was in the first set of trauma, I definitely would not be in the place I am today. So I’m grateful that the Lord has allowed my brain to continue to grow and move and change.

You know how we have some core beliefs, those roots that kind of always come back to in your mind? I have very set beliefs. And through the idea of neuroplasticity, I am starting to break those because they’re not truth.

They are what I had believed to be true in my mind because I kept running through that same thought over and over again. But now that I can step back and I can analyze and I can introduce new thoughts and I can take every thought captive like the Bible says, I no longer believe the same things.

I love that.

That’s amazing.

That’s so interesting, too, to think about that.

Well, first of all, I want to like praise and give shout out to God because he created our brain to be that way. And if we read the Bible, there’s so many scriptures that talks about what you’re thinking, the words that come out of your mouth.

Yes, what your meditation of your heart is.

Exactly.

That you give your life to Christ. You come out new and you change your mindset.

Yes.

Like he designed it to be that way. He didn’t say it was going to be easy.

Nope.

But he does And it’s definitely.

And it takes time and work.

But that one instruction of take every thought captive.

Yes.

I think that’s the piece of instruction we have to focus on.

Right.

And every time, like if you’re trying to block that trench or change that, that trench, you know, whatever it is, if you’re saying, I’m not lovable, there’s a scripture that says you’re loved, you’re loved, you were created by God, you’re loved.  You’re a daughter of the king.

And I think whatever, whatever negative message that we are telling ourselves, there’s absolutely a scripture that would contradict that.

That if you’ve got to write it down, if you’ve got to post it, you know, on the mirror or whatever, just to tell yourself that over and over and over until that’s what is creating the groove in your brain now.

That’s actually how I fought it. That’s literally how I fought it. A friend of mine gave me cards that had Bible verses with my name inside of it. So it said, Kim, you are a daughter of the king. And then, Kim, you are deeply and completely loved, you know, and just all the Bible verses that talk about who you are in God’s eyes and literally inserted my name into it. And that began a journey of reframe and retraining my brain. Because every time I would have that thought of being unlovable, I’m broken. I’m worthless. I’m whatever. 

I would go, wait, is this true?

Is it helping?

What is the word of God say?

And then I’ve got my package of cards and I like flip, flip, flip this one, right? And so then you just like say it over and over and over.

And the first 10 times, you don’t believe it.

The first 20 times, you still might not believe it. But the more you retrain and the more you practice it, eventually it’ll come to your mind when you have that thought, I am unlovable. And then you’ll say, not to God, not in God’s eyes. I am so loved by him. It’s incredible.

Yeah.

It’s amazing what our brains can do.

Right?

I know it hasn’t always been that way. So there may be people on the other end that this is new for you. It’s been ingrained for so long that you, you’re as smart as you’re ever going to be by the time you’re this age. This is, you know, you’re always going to have those thoughts. You’re always going to act that way. You’re never going to change all of those lies.

You know, Science is now proven, oh, wait, it’s not true.

It’s not true.

It’s not true.

It’s not true.

I love love it.

It’s awesome.

Yeah.

So that’s all I know about neuroplasticity.

Just a little bit.

I’ve done a little bit of research, not for this podcast. I actually did the research for me over decades. So. Yeah, listened to a lot of really good podcasts on that.

All right. So what does it look like for prayer and therapy to work together? Can they work together?

100%.

My prayer life and my therapy actually went hand in hand. Because I am not a whole person unless my faith is included in my healing.

Agreed.

Because I can’t separate my broken heart from everything else. And it is the Lord Jesus Christ and his sacrifice, his love, all the things that he’s poured out for us that draws me near and tells me, I have value.

In my opinion, one without the other doesn’t work for me. May not work.

You might be missing a part of the puzzle if you are like, I’ve been praying and praying and praying and there’s there’s still struggle. There’s no change. It may, that may be a sign. Well, maybe you need a therapist. Maybe you needed somebody else who can help counsel you through. But don’t walk away from your foundation of prayer.

That’s still important. God still hears you.

100%.

Or if you’re just seeing a therapist.

And not doing any work.

not doing the prayer and not seeking God first, you may end up stuck in a worldview.

You might be 

Right.

Just stuck in general and God doesn’t want you to stay stuck.

So you need to make that leap into your prayer life.

Yeah.

And if we believe, which I do, that Jesus Christ is the ultimate healer and we say, well, he can only heal me in this way, we’re probably not actually giving him all tools, right? God has an enormous amount of tools in the toolbox.

Yes.

He could use medicine. He could use a therapist. He could use a friend. He could use a passor. He could use a lay counselor. I mean, he could use.

You could just use revelation.

The Holy Spirit and he could use the Bible.

I mean, literally, there are a million different ways God can, I mean, he’s got more resources than any of us could possibly think of. So there’s all these different ways that he could solve the problem. He could fix me. He could heal me. He could change my situation, or he could literally just change my attitude toward the situation.

So there’s so many different ways that prayer and actual mental health can be connected and work together. So I think it’s both.

Totally agree.

All right, we’ve mentioned lots of different scriptures.

Yes.

We’d like to focus in on a couple that we feel are, can be life changing, really.

Philippians 4:6-7

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation by prayer and petition with Thanksgiving, present your request to God and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I love this verse so much…

I think just reading that out loud when you’re in a moment can bring a piece over you.

An unexplainable piece.

And, you know, just the idea of with thanksgiving, it’s like you go into the prayer, you go into this understanding, knowing that God’s going to answer your prayer.

It’s going to happen. I am thankful, even though I’m feeling anxious right now, I don’t have to feel anxious about anything. God has got me and he’s going to solve this problem for me.

Another wonderful verse is Psalms 34:18 The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

I mean.

Yeah.

He sees you. He sees you hurt. He sees you crying. He sees, he’s heard the words that have been spoken, that have broken your heart. And he’s there to save you.

This goes along with the neuroplasticity. He doesn’t actually leave you there.

It’s a verse I’ve repeated multiple times.

Just a great reminder. I think a lot of times our anxiety starts when our trust stops.

Wait, say that again.

I think a lot of times our anxiety starts when our trust stops.

That’s so good.

And I think both of these verses are asking you to trust him.

Trust that he’s hearing you. Trust that he sees you. Trust that he’s right next to you. Trust that he’s carrying you. If he needs to carry you. He”s holding your hand if he needs to hold your hand.

And he’s going to tell you to move if he needs to move. He’s going to tell you to stay when he wants you to stay.

Like, 

Yes.

And I think he just wants you to respond to him and he will take care of the rest.

That’s the whole seek first, his kingdom, right? And if we’re seeking him first, all of this other stuff is going to be added to. It’s going to work out. He’s got it.

Right? We can lay it as at his feet.

I love that.

Second, Timothy 17 says, for God gave us a spirit, not of fear, but power and self-control.

And I have always loved this one because there are tons of times in my life where I can talk myself out and tell myself that I don’t have power over this situation.

And I don’t know if you’ve had that experience, if you can relate to that. I really have asked myself a couple more questions.

Who has the power in this situation?

And am I giving them that power?

Are they taking the power?

Is this the right person who should have the power in this situation? Right?

And so I, in that process, right here, it says , God gave us a spirit, not a fear, but of power.

This is my favorite verse.

This is one, I don’t have any tattoos, but I would get a tattoo of this verse.

Thought about it for a while.

Matching tattoos, girls.

Let’s do it.

I love love that.

I’m just kidding about that. I’m not getting tattoos.

I cling to that verse. It speaks to me every time I read it. And it could be a verse for any situation.

So many situations.

You’re facing. He did not give you a spirit of fear.

All right.

Well, it looks like we’re coming to the end of our time. And as much as we could spend about eight more hours talking about all of these topics, we’ve got to keep rolling.

So anybody want to close us in prayer today?

Oh, I’ll pray for us.

Okay.

Lord Jesus, we love you.

Thank you.

Thank you for our brains and the ability that you have blessed us with to not live in the pit. Thank you. Not live in the darkness, but to change our thinking, to cast our thoughts to you, to ask for your guidance, to live in your power.

Lord, I just want to honor all of those on the other side of this microphone, the trauma.

Yes.

The heartache, the betrayals. Just the darkness that we’ve walked through. Lord, it’s hard. Life here on earth is hard, but we know you are with us every step of the way.

And Lord, I just pray that every listener will turn to you and seek your love, that they would find comfort, that they would find hope, and that whatever they may be in right now that they could see, there is an out and that is you, Jesus Christ.

Lord, we love you.

We praise you.

Bring us back to the table table again to honor you.

In Jesus’ name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

If you’re struggling with your mental health, it doesn’t mean your faith is fit failing. God hears you and you don’t have to carry this alone. It’s okay to reach out for help.

And actually, it’s probably a really wise idea to reach out for help.

So if you’d like to answer our reflection of the week, what is one small step you can take this week with God to care for your mind?

If this is something you’re walking through, we’ve included a few trusted resources in the show notes, including ways to find support and counseling.

Thanks for sitting at the table with us.

We’ll leave you there for now.

May God meet you in the small, quiet places this week.

As we close, we pray that you would notice Jesus meeting you in the ordinaryary moments of your week.

He loves you.

He sees you.

He is fighting for you.

To answer the reflection of the week, go to lifeclaimed.net and you can send us an email or voicemail from there.

If you would like to stay with us, subscribing helps you catch each new conversation as it releases.

Until we are together again, may the grace and peace of Jesus go with you. 

Psalm 56:8 – Record my misery; list my tears on your scroll

Hebrews 4:16 – Let us then approach the throne of Greece with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Philippians 4:6-7 – Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation by prayer and petition with Thanksgiving, present your request to God and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 34:18 – The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

2 Timothy 1:7 – For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

Romans 12:2 – Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

2 Corinthians 10:5 – We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Isaiah 26:3 – You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.

Books

• Craig Groeschel – The Power to Change
• Craig Groeschel – Heal Your Hurting Mind
• Jennie Allen – Untangle Your Emotions
• Jennie Allen – The Lie You Didn’t Know You Believe
• Dr. Adam Young – Make Sense of Your Story
• Dr. Daniel Amen – Change Your Brain, Change Your Pain
• Dr. Daniel Amen – Conquer Your Negative Thoughts
• Dr. Daniel Amen – Conquer Your Bad Habits

Podcasts

• Therapy & Theology – Lysa Terkeurst, Jim Cress, & Joel Muddamalle
• Change Your Brain Every Day – Dr. Daneil & Tana Amen
• Equip & Empower Podcast – Christine Caine
  • Episode 196: Goodbye Anxiety, Hello Peace
  • Episode 220: Unlock the Peace Your Soul Needs
• Life Church – Craig Groeschel (Search for specific topics)
• Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast
  • Episode #192 – Cognitive Neuroscientist – Dr. Caroline Leaf
• Whoa That’s Good – Sadie Robertson Huff
  • Our Best Advice on Overcoming Mental Health Challenges
  • I Was Smiling… But I Was Not Okay
• The Jennie Allen Podcast (Search for specific topics)
• Proverbs 31 Ministries Podcast
  • S11 E2 – What Does It Mean To Be Mentally Healthy?
  • S10 E6 – Tools To Fight Anxiety and Better Your Mental Health
• The Confidence Podcast – Trish Blackwell (Search for specific topics)

Therapy & Counseling Resources

We believe God often works through prayer, Scripture, community, wise counsel, and professional support. Seeking help is not a sign of weak faith. It can be a courageous step toward healing.

• BetterHelp – Online therapy platform that connects individuals with licensed therapists.
• American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC) – Directory, articles, and resources for finding Christian counselors.
• Focus on the Family Counseling Services – Christian counselor referrals and support resources.

Training & Educational Resources

• Youth Mental Health Specialist Certificate Program (American Association of Christian Counselors & Light University)
  • Training designed to help parents, ministry leaders, educators, and volunteers better understand and support youth facing mental health challenges.

Professional Support

If you are struggling with your mental health, consider reaching out to a trusted pastor, counselor, therapist, physician, or mental health professional. Seeking help is not a sign of weakness and can be an important step toward healing.

Crisis Support

If you are in crisis, feel unsafe, or are considering harming yourself, please seek immediate help:

• Call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline – U.S.)
• Call 911 in an emergency
• Go to your nearest emergency room
• Contact a trusted family member, friend, pastor, or healthcare provider