Dealing with Mental Pain

Many of you reading this are experiencing some form of anxiety, depression, trauma, and grief. You’ve reached out to family, friends, churches, and counselors for support and some (or all) of them ended up adding to the heavy load that you were already caring. This may have caused you to give up on looking for help and to carry your burdens on your own because the pain of that sounds better than running the risk of being hurt again.

But the truth is that holding on to your hurts only intensifies them. The more we try to go it on our own the more pain it ends up creating than aliviating. Restoration happens in relationships. We can not become healthy, whole, and healed on our own.

If you’ve been hurt, betrayed, or let down by those who were supposed to be there for you, know that you don’t have to go it alone. There are still good people who want to walk alongside you. They can’t make all the pain disappear, but they can help to share your burden and lighten your load.

Find a new counselor. Look for another church. Get a second opinion from another doctor. Look for a support group. Look for a support group locally or online. Make it a priority to check in with someone you love every single day. Get to know a neighbor or co-worker by walking the block or halls, saying hello, and asking them about their day. (Trust me, many of them are lonely and waiting for someone to take the initiative.)

You don’t have to process your pain in isolation. It’s hard work asking for help, but you are worth the work.