From a Christian Perspective

A new paradigm can help you.

Do you struggle? Would you like a boost? Most of us could say yes to both questions. The good news is you can take charge of your life. That’s something we all must do. No one can do it for you, though. It is up to you. Believe you can and you can, and then do the hard work. Kinda like losing weight, you have to decide you will follow through, no cheating allowed (and forego the brownies).

I want you to be helped.

Below are ways you can take charge that lead to a healthier you. Many are common sense practices but a few may be new-to-you concepts. I wrote them now to offer a remedy as a response that the depressed, discouraged, traumatized, and suicidal can utilize to help themselves heal, improve, and thrive. All are applicable to initiate a fresh start.

These processes originated in my own path to self-discovery and have helped me big-time.

Hope for the discouraged, depressed, and suicidal.

Let’s get started.

Select one, two, or three of the suggested items. Start with an area that grabs your attention. Give it your best effort. In a couple of weeks, see if there is any difference. Adjust as needed. Add another, and then another. Start expanding the narrative. Push through. Build your physical, mental, social, spiritual, and emotional health and note any progress. Continue on, selecting the ones that speak to you. Note: It helps to lean on your Advocate (God) for support in this endeavor.

Ways to Improve Your Mental Health, Well-Being & Whole Self

1. Pay attention to your thoughts. When your mind is flirting with dangerous thoughts, stop them. Choose to replace them with healthy thoughts. You can even rebuke them and choose a better mental parameter. When you or someone else feels that life doesn’t seem worth it, you know it is time to take stock and take action.
2. Recognize it’s a lie. Thinking that tells you that life isn’t worth it is a bold-faced lie. You may have to change some things in your life or you may need some help to get there, but don’t give up on it. LIFE IS WORTH LIVING.
3. Seek counseling. Find a counselor you can connect with who is skilled in their counseling and whom you click with.
4. Initiate new thinking patterns. Expose, rewire, retrain, and rethink those pesky negative thought patterns that take you down a wrong mental path. Replace them  with positive, encouraging, truth statements. THIS IS BIG.
5. Expose the lies. Lies you have believed about yourself need to go. Figure out where they came from and then dismantle their influence on you. Word curses leave you in bondage to their unwholesome messages. They are not true. DO NOT BELIEVE THEM.
6. Take a break from technology. Limit your social media viewing. Establish breaks and boundaries. Continual negative or hateful commentary depletes your happy zone and influences your outlook. You need a cleansing from its effects on you. Put boundaries on your viewing habits, reading material, and anything that increases anxiety, not good or depressive thoughts in you. Do something positive instead. Expect withdrawal (it can control us). It’s helpful to take breaks from technology altogether for a day, two, or more in order to regain quietness in the soul. (I did a silent retreat at a Cistercian monastery. Cell phone use was discouraged and not allowed in the retreat area. Wonderful.).
7. Eat clean. Your mental state is better when you eat clean, which affects just about all of you– mind, body, and soul. Eat wholesome, health-building foods. They say, most serious illnesses originate in the gut. Buy organic when possible. Rebuild your gut health. Improve nutritional balance. Snack foods, sweets, and fast foods negatively affect your energy level, your ability to tolerate the daily stuff, and your susceptibility to moody moods. You will react less when you feel well.
8. Minimize sugar intake. Your intake of sugar, processed, and starchy foods–breads, potatoes, rice, cookies, candy, desserts,  crackers, wheat-based products, products with corn syrup, molasses, white sugar and such–need limiting. Do this, feel well, equals — less elevated stress.
9. Hydrate often with purified water. Drink more water than other beverages, including coffee and tea. Sodas, alcohol, fruit juices, chocolate milk, and sweet drinks, when consumed to excess, cause a buildup of unhealthy gut bacteria. These bad bugs affect your mood, make you edgy, irritable, and grumpy. They inhibit your body’s ability to fight infection and illness. Overgrowth of bad bacteria will contribute to a weakened immune system.
10. Exercise. Get moving. Walk, jog, bike, swim or do any physical activity that suits you. Release of endorphins and a boost in positive energy that comes with consistent physical activity will help the rest of your body systems respond in a health-giving way. This will also aid in better sleep patterns.
11. Go after the health thing first. Instead of believing antidepressants and medicine are the end-all and cure-all, they are not enough to undo past damage. Be prevention minded. Take a detailed look at what you are putting into your body. Take ownership, don’t ignore. We need to rebuild our physical bodies. This stimulates health-building properties in you, including improvement in your general health and well-being.
12. Make health-enriching choices. Increase eating vitamin-rich vegetables and foods. A nutrient rich diet affects your sense of well-being and boosts your energy. This should help you feel better and become more able to cope with the down feelings. Begin with one thing and then add another.
13. Take natural vitamins and supplements. Do your homework. Take what you need, whether it be probiotics, B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E, calcium, or others. Pay attention to what your friends are saying about supplements that work well for them. Some of these are powerful and make a huge difference in how you feel. Beware of the counterfeits. (Some day I will write a about a few of these. They can change it up big time, and in the process, eliminate the tired, lethargic, energy-depleted, depressed state.)
14. Do acts of service. Serve on a regular basis. Jump in where you can and do something you’re good at to help others.
15. Be other-focused. Help others in any way you can. Join a service group. Volunteer. Provide a service. Help your neighbor. Possibilities are endless.
16. Participate in a group with shared interests. Choose groups that focus on your areas of interest or that meet a need. The local paper lists these groups daily/weekly. Churches and civic groups offer opportunities for involvement. Social interactions curb loneliness and encourage social connectedness. You can be lonely in a crowd, so work at connecting below the surface.
17. Identify your addictive behaviors. Recognize what you do to make yourself feel better, your go-to-pick-me-up thing. Figure out what need it meets in you, why you depend on it to get you through the day. Then notice when the cyclical mood hits you. Instead of partaking, this time replace the edgy feeling with something better than the usual. This can be a powerful motivator for internal refreshing like a spiritual/mental/emotional intervention, which helps you become anchored and at peace within yourself.
18. Develop close relationships with a couple of friends. Choose friends you trust who are mentally and emotionally healthy, who won’t play games with you and won’t make you feel foolish. Good friends are a powerful key to doing well. These friends speak life into your life.
19. Pray. Ask God to help you. Begin to trust his love for you. Seek those who have a spiritual walk that is kind, real, and strong. They will listen well and give practical, sound advice. Pray throughout your day.
20. Ask for help. If you need help, ask for it. People want to help. Have courage. Push the fear aside. You are stronger than you think.
21. Talk with an overcomer. They’ll listen carefully because they understand pain and they want to help. Overcomers have a lot to say that is worth listening to.
22. Listen to God. How? Read scripture. Ask God to speak to you as you read, to show you what he has for you, and to help you with hearing his quiet whisper.
23. Journal reflectively. Journal your pain, answers, conclusions, questions, spiritual thoughts, fears, worries, hopes, and desires. Journaling is especially helpful when you’re struggling with something.
24. Look for the joy. Focus on what is pleasing, like natural phenomenon, loved ones, spiritual venues that speak life to the soul, creative venues, fine arts, uplifting conversation and so forth.
25. Be thankful. Keep a gratitude journal. List out blessings as you experience them. Look with eyes that see all the small and large blessings. Let yourself absorb them. Share these with others for an even greater blessing.
26. Practice being quiet. Turn off the devices. Get alone. Absorb the quietness until it reaches clear to your toes. Let peace settle into your being. Shake off your fears and worries. Meditate on a verse or phrase from God’s Word. Allow the urgent to walk back. Let your soul rekindle as God meets you where you are at. You will refresh and revitalize.
27. Take on projects. Learn a new skill. Develop a positive habit.
28. Let it go. Release those people, thoughts, and things that pull you down. Surrender them to God. Put something new in their place. Take note of the beauty around you.
29. Stop harmful practices. Institute helpful practices. Start little by little. Every step forward is just that, a step forward.
30. Seek your healing. Healing doesn’t just happen. Isolate the areas that need healing. Seek wise counsel that builds on a sound base and then goes out from there. Know what you’re looking at. Invite God to open your understanding to his truth. Be grateful for the good.
31. Get medical intervention. There’s no shame in getting the help you need.
32. Uncover any lies you have believed about yourself. Uncover those word curses you have internalized. They can demoralize. Speak truth to yourself.
33. Forgive. Let your heart show you how to do this. Just release it. Let it go. Let yourself heal.
    
34. Take ownership. Apologize to those whom you have hurt. Admit where you have been wrong or caused harm (even though you may have had good intentions at the time). Humble yourself and do the right thing. Do this carefully and judiciously. THIS IS POWERFUL.
35. Get unstuck. Let whatever go. Look to the better good. Unlock the door to your future.
36. Believe you will get better. Don’t despair of it. The sun will rise again. Count on it. A new day will dawn. Open each gate as you come to it. This is not the end, it is a beginning. You are stronger than you think.
37. Find someone who believes in you. Meet with them often or as much as possible.
38. Reach out to others. Surround yourself with positives and positive people. Be thankful. Know good is ahead. Cry. Breathe deeply. Relax. Hold on to hope. Smile. And DON’T EVER GIVE UP.

There’s something here for everyone.

We all struggle and there’s always something more we can do to help ourselves climb out of the pit. Despair can be debilitating. Finding hope, cultivating better physical health, and re-ordering your physical environment, when combined together, can be just the boost you need to clear your head and regain strength in your being.

Speaking for myself, depression descends on you and try as you will you can’t kick it to the curb. I’ve experienced depression after harsh life events (broken relationships or majorly impactful happenings) where each day is a slog to get through. It’s like walking in the fog day after dreary day with no hope of sunshine. You push through. Prayer, giving my pain-filled feelings or whatever to God, plus the process of time, and eventually the cloud would lift. One time I was walking up a hill for exercise when ‘bingo’ my spirit returned to normal. Such relief. My energy and clarity of mind returned.

IN ADDITION: You might appreciate reading or listening to my Pain Points and Felt Needs series of posts.