The Truth About My Struggles With Anxiety And Depression

Hello Darling!

As you can probably tell by the title,  todays post is a little bit different than normal.  There have been many things on my heart that I wanted to share with you today that I think are very important.  Over the past few weeks I have been thinking a lot about anxiety and depression. Mostly about how many of us feel as if we can not talk about it. It is by no means a fun subject to discuss, but I believe we should know how important it is so talk about.  So today, I thought I would open up about my own struggles with anxiety and depression and what I’ve learned from it.

Struggles With Anxiety

Since I can remember, I have always struggled with anxiety and depression. If you were to ask my mom she would probably tell you that I have been an anxious person from a very young age. It has been more apparent in my life at times and sometimes I don’t even feel it is there. When I entered into my teen years it got to the point that we knew that I needed to be on some medicine. There was something inside that made me feel like something was wrong with me, but my doctor at the time said something to me that I will never forget. She told me that, ” There will be times in your life that you will need to be on this medicine and also times that you do not. This will not define who you are but will help you balance things out. It’s okay, to not be okay. ” This has given me such comfort over the years. That knowing sometimes I’m not going to feel okay, some seasons will be better than others, and that is just fine. My struggles will never define who I am, or who God made me to be.

What I Have Learned From My Anxiety And Depression

Throughout my struggles with anxiety and depression I have learned so much. It truly has helped mold me into the woman I am today. Here are a few things I have learned:

• It’s okay to not feel OKAY.

I have learned that it’s okay to feel bad, to go through a rough season and not be okay.

• Be honest with how you are feeling.

When you are struggling you need to be honest with how you are feeling. Replacing all the lies inside of your head with the truth. When you are honest you are allowing yourself to walk towards feeling better.

• Speak up about how you are feeling.

It is so important to speak up and talk to someone -whether that is a parent, sibling, husband, mentor, etc. It allows you to take captive of those feelings/ thoughts and again replace them with the truth.

• Keep truths all around you.

Something that I have learned to do throughout the years is replace my anxious, and sad thoughts with truth. When I am feeling down I start to write out positive truths, and bible verses on sticky notes or note cards. Sticking them to walls, mirrors, and even in my car. This encourages me to replace my thoughts with the truths that are surrounding me.

• Give it to God daily. 

If I could tell you the biggest thing I have learned from my struggles, it would be to give it to God daily. He knows exactly how you are feeling, and is walking step by step through it all with you. Laying it at His feet daily will bring such freedom and healing.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Thank you so much for letting me share this with you. I feel as if it is so easy to hide behind an image you see on social media and online. Things might look perfect but at the end of the day nothing nor no one is. We all struggle and we all have our things.  My prayer is that this post would bring you encouragement. Encouragement to speak up about how you are feeling, your anxiety, or depression. Also, I want you to know that you are not alone, and that it’s going to be okay. More than anything, I pray you know how truly love you are! I am so thankful to have a community like this to encourage one another and walk through even the toughest seasons.

YOU ARE SO LOVED!

XOXO,Tay

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Photography by: J. Lynne Photography Co