WELCOME BACK!
Are you the weakest link? Do you remember that saying or am I showing my age? (Insert awkward smiley face emoji lol) Either way, it does feel a little bold for a title because we are talking about mental health. But it felt fitting for what was put on my heart to share about this week. This is for anyone who has ever judged someone, or themselves, for having emotions or for anyone who knows someone who does. This is for those who have been instilled with this belief that if you cry or talk about how you feel, you are weak. This is also for those who subconsciously believe that as well. The ones who throw themselves into tasks and busyness so they don’t have to think about their feelings.
Sound like someone you know?
Vulnerability is something that is talked about a lot and honestly, if you’ve made it this far and have been following along, you probably have already opened yourself up to it. However, anyone who has experienced hurt is always going to naturally have moments where they want to shut back down. Or moments where they get tired of feeling. Moments where change and growth gets exhausting and you just want to throw in the towel. And in those moments, those voices that always told us we were a cry baby or that emotions were for the weak or even having moments of weakness makes you a failure will pop back up and we will want to believe them because it feels easier than walking into this hard part of healing. DON’T LISTEN!
On the flip side of this, have you ever heard someone say “it isn’t those who show emotions that are weak, it’s those who don’t show them because they are afraid”? There is this idea that we need to point fingers at others and put them down because they don’t know how to handle their emotions. Or as mentioned at the beginning of this, because they show TOO many emotions. But what if I told you we were all weak? Not the normal positive message I usually share, right? Hang with me, I am getting there!
We are ALL weak. If we were strong we wouldn’t need God. But, despite the title, this isn’t about being weak. This is about being healthy. Fear does not mean you are weak. Living in denial does not make you weak. Crying does not make you weak. BEING HUMAN MAKES YOU WEAK. And you are no more or less weak than anyone around you. Physically sure, but emotionally we are all the same. I’ve said this time and time again, we are all wounded humans who live in a body with a brain designed to avoid pain. We will ALL fall short. We will ALL fail. We will ALL struggle. So, this idea of focusing on those who are weaker than us is yet again, another coping behavior so we don’t have to focus on ourselves.
When we switch from thinking about whether we are weak or strong and instead ask whether we healthy or not, the game changes. Mental health is something that should be our number one focus. It is more important than any other health related topic. And you may think “well that’s your opinion” but it’s not. It is fact. Everything we do, say, believe, think: it all starts in our mind. That is where God speaks to us, it’s how we function, and it is how we stay alive. Our brain should be nourished and taken care of before any other physical goal. Yes, you should take care of other aspects of health too, obviously, but mental health should always be at the top! You may have the healthiest body, inside and out, but if you live in anxiety and depression does that even matter?
I’d also like to add that working on your mental health DOES NOT mean only reading positive messages every day and that’s it. It doesn’t even mean talking to a therapist about your problems for an hour and then going on about your day. Working on your mental health means reversing the beliefs that came from trauma. It means being dedicated to walking into uncomfortable situations and facing fear and pain head on. It means being rooted in truth and taking the time to understand what that looks like. It is hard and it doesn’t always feel good. But you walk away with courage and peace that you never had before! And if this is the first blog post you’re reading, and you are like how in the world do I do that, make sure to start at the beginning before you continue!
So, how do you overcome this belief that working on your mental health is for sissies? You say, “I no longer want to believe the lies that were projected into me. Yes, I am afraid of reliving that pain I felt but I am choosing to allow myself to go deeper and to trust the process. I am going to start asking for help, even when it feels hard. I am going to FIND TIME to listen to that podcast or to go to that meeting. I am going to make working on my mental health just as important as eating a meal or taking a shower.”
You just choose to believe different and make it a part of your daily life! It may take time to truly believe it, but it will become easier to live out those actions the longer you do it!
This was shorter than normal but it felt necessary. When writing this I kept feeling like this was supposed to be in season one of these blogs, and in some ways we’ve already went over a lot of this. But then I realized this is for those who may be feeling stuck at this point in their journey. Maybe you’ve been making those surface level changes but now it’s getting deeper and it feels harder. Maybe when you first started this journey it felt easy but now you are facing situations that feel uncomfortably familiar and want to turn back to your old thought habits.
DON’T DO IT.
Keep going. Keep pushing. You may be weak but HE is strong! Seek Jesus! Tell Him how you are feeling. I am not saying to pray the perfect prayer or say the perfect words. I am saying show Him the ugly feelings that you’re feeling. Speak them out loud to HIM! He already knows what you are feeling but when you say it out loud to him it releases it out of your brain and puts it into His hands. It is therapeutic and it is healing. Allow yourself to say, “controlling this or going back into protection mode is only going to cause more stress so I am choosing to take the daily steps I need to and trusting that God will work it out because He has promised me that He will!” Allow yourself to surrender.
How do you surrender? How do we give up control? How do we have faith? What do those things really mean? A lot of times, as christians, we say things but don’t understand what that looks like. And just like we’ve been breaking down the tools required for healing, we are also going to start diving deeper into understanding what leaning into God looks like so we can continue walking into that peace and freedom! If you are someone who isn’t sure what you believe in, I am here to tell you that in order to walk into peace and freedom you have to have hope.
And if you have lived a life that has stripped you of the ability to believe in someone as loving as God, I encourage you to take the time to listen, regardless of your beliefs or your past. This world is broken and for some, their experiences in this broken world can make it hard to believe in God or have that kind of hope. I see you. When all you’ve experienced or focused on is pain and trying to avoid pain, that usually all you will find. More pain. And feeling that pain over and over can make you numb to any other feelings or experiences. But walking into healing like we have been and allowing your mindset to shift as you walk into change can allow you to experience God. You’ve just got to get your walls out of the way! And I believe that if you’ll continue to listen to these, you can have those experiences and find that hope. You deserve freedom, and I want to hold your hand while you seek it!
I hope you have the best week ever and as always, I am so excited you are here! Make sure to reach out if you have any questions or need a friend! Can’t wait to see you next week!
