Category: Relationship

How to Treat General Depression Naturally

Do you think that depression is a fact of life? Or do you think it is based on a person’s temperament? I guess it depends. My husband has never suffered from depression, except for getting upset about being laid off; otherwise, he is a positive, upbeat guy. Some people are positive people who focus on being thankful and believe that problems provide opportunities. But if you experience depression, it’s a normal part of coping with life in a flawed world. Even King David and the Apostle Paul suffered from occasional depression. Both men hoped in God, which helped to lift their spirits.

I have learned to recognize depression and how self-talk, self-love, and hope in God help me overcome my depression. Though sometimes you can’t lift your soul out of the pit. For me, depression feels like a heavy oppression or a dark, lonely pit. I feel agitated and easily frustrated by little things. I have had to rely on medication temporarily to help me get out of the pit. If a person stays in the pit long-term, their chances of committing suicide are high. If you see a family member or friend not enjoying life, isolating themselves, solely talking about their problems, or even wanting to die, please help them find someone to talk to. Some people need someone else to come alongside them to help them get out of the pit of depression.

Using Anti-Depressant Medication

Some depressions require medications to increase serotonin, dopamine, and GABA neurotransmitters. Some people feel shame when they are depressed. There is no shame; it is a natural reaction to stress and anxiety from trauma or disappointments in life. How do you know you need medication?

  • If you have long periods where you feel worried or empty.
  • You have a loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed.
  • Restless or irritable.
  • Changes in eating, sleeping, or other habits.
  • Thinking of death and suicide.

For example, I was irritable with my husband many years ago. He asked me what was wrong. I thought about it and realized I was depressed because my oldest son went to the county jail for a few months. So, I took two natural antidepressants: St. John’s Wort and 5HTP. It is best to take 5HTP in the morning and St. John’s Wort before bed because they have different effects on the brain. St John’s Wort helps you relax, which helps with sleep problems. Taking natural medications was my choice because I am oversensitive to chemical medicines. My mother took every form of anti-depressant for most of her life, so I know they all work to varying degrees. The only problem was that she needed to change the type of medication and the dosage often, which required regular visits to a psychiatrist. My aunt is a psychiatrist, so she has educated me as well.

After a month of taking 5HTP and St. John’s Wort, I was back to my usual self and stopped taking them a month later. However, if you have a genetic brain issue like bipolar depression or psychosis, you should never stop taking your medication because it helps the brain function properly. If you or a family member have thoughts of death or suicide, please seek a Christian professional counselor. This type of depression is helped by medication and psychotherapy. Depression affects every aspect of your life, from family relationships to friendships, job, physical health, etc. So, it must be treated as you need to treat a cold or diabetes.

My husband took a job where he struggled to keep up with the workload. Everyone in the office was stressed and struggled to keep up and deal with hostile, nasty clients. They all hated their jobs and were not nice to each other. His boss was constantly on him about being behind, though he was nearly caught up by the end of each month. The constant stress and negativity affected his mood, so he took 5HTP in the mornings and decided to positively influence his office, do his best each day, and accept being behind like everyone else. This helped him immensely, but he knew he needed another job to be mentally healthy. When he left the office, his co-workers were so sad because he improved the mood of the office through his positivity.

Bipolar depression is a brain disorder that often requires medication to regulate. I did an internet search and found some alternative therapies that help lessen bipolar depression. Here are a few.

Verywell Mind

WebMd –Treating Bipolar Depression Without Medication: What to Know

Psychology Today

Christian Counseling and Self-help Books

I went to many non-Christian, Christian, and pastoral counselors, who suggested how I could manage my emotional pain, but there was no lasting change. I attended abuse recovery groups, like one by Dan Allender, which helped some. I read a lot of self-help books, which was also beneficial.

One author suggested writing a letter detailing what the person did that hurt you. Then, for each offense, write that you forgive them. Next, write something you are thankful for in each situation. He said not to send the letter to the person, but imagine they are sitting across from you and you read the letter to them. He suggested setting an empty chair in front of you as you read the letter to them. Acknowledging the painful memories, forgiving, and being thankful began my journey to being mentally healthy. I was still depressed because of my abusive marriage. I also still had many unhealthy beliefs about myself, others, and God, which kept me stuck in shame and depression.

I wondered how a healthy person is supposed to act, so I read Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and practiced its principles. I wasn’t perfect, but improving is always good. Also, reading Shattering Your Strongholds by Liberty Savard and Healing Codes by Drs. Lloyd and Johnson helped me understand the role of memories and unhealthy beliefs. Listening to CDs on Healing Your Soul by Kati Sousa and Seven Prayers that Heal the Heart by Mark Verkler taught me how to heal my childhood memories and replace unhealthy beliefs with the truth. You can read about my healing journey on my website, hopeforcompletehealing.com.

It is necessary to get Christian counseling that focuses on healing past trauma issues through prayer, forgiveness, and being thankful, which stops painful memories from controlling your thoughts. Trauma, which I explained in my anxiety posts, leads to anxiety and depression. Dark genre choices in media and books make depression and suicidal thoughts worse. Put encouraging words and music into your mind to help you focus on what you can be thankful for, not what makes you unhappy. 

CONCLUSION

Many people experience depression. Staying in the pit of depression for a long time can lead to relationship problems and suicidal thoughts. Often, we need others to help us get out of the pit and get mentally well again. Sometimes, we need medication to help us get out of the pit. Seeking treatment for depression is not shameful. Worshiping and hoping in God lifts you out of the pit. Psalm 40:2 states, “He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.” Also, read Psalm 42.

RELATED POSTS:

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All verses are from the English Standard Version. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share this link with your friends and family: hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected. Please do not reproduce any part of the posts or my book without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website. 

My latest book, Unlocking God’s Promises, explains 18 categories of relevant promises to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91.  

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts. 

Additionally, consider my book Fighting Unseen Battles, which describes the many unhealthy beliefs that control our lives and what the truths are. To learn more about this book, read the post How to Fight Unseen Battles.  

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request.

Eliminate Depression with Self-love and God’s Love

What do you think of when you hear self-love and shame? What exactly is self-love? In the last post, I explained that rejection was the root of most depression. What does it feel like to be rejected or unintentionally rejected? I feel unworthy or unlikeable. Rejection hurts and causes a wound in our soul. Our childhood wounds cause us to react the same way we did as children.

My psychologist encouraged me to talk to the hurt little girl inside my adult body. I thought this was weird, but I followed her instructions. As I encouraged and was kind to the hurting little girl, I noticed I didn’t hurt as much. I comforted her when she felt rejected and angry. When I read parenting books to learn how to parent my children, I spoke to my inner child the way I wished my parents would have. I told the little girl she was valuable and worthy of being loved and that I loved her. My self-image improved, and I was not as insecure.

Shame-based Identity

Shame is what you believe about yourself because of trauma and rejection throughout your life. For me, shame became a part of my identity, which perpetuated shame throughout my adult life. You may feel you are flawed and unworthy of being loved. You may think no one can love you because you are not good enough or are ugly. Shame makes you act in self-sabotaging ways to keep people away so they don’t hurt you. You may not be aware that you have a shame-bound identity that is affecting how you think, feel, and act around others.

How do you know if you have a shame-bound identity?

  • Do you seek validation from others and become depressed if you do not feel validated?
  • Do you need to be a high achiever to prove your worth, and if you fail, you become depressed?
  • Do you avoid having intimate relationships for fear you will be rejected?
  • Are you overly anxious being around people?
  • Do you find it easier to disassociate or detach from the present and live in a day-dreaming fantasy state?
  • Do you have an addiction, which does not have to be drugs or alcohol? An addiction is anything you need to self-regulate and soothe your emotions. I wrote a post about addiction, which will help you understand the many addictions we can have.

You needn’t exhibit every symptom. I had most of them.

Sources of Shame

Inattentive or abusive parenting leads to shame and an insecure attachment style. Insecure people fear relationships because they don’t trust people to love them well. On the other hand, some insecure and shame-based people are overly clingy because they seek validation, which adds to feeling rejected when they feel ignored. Validation is seeking approval from others to affirm that you are acceptable and worthy. So, when you don’t feel validated or approved, you will feel rejected and often angry. This was the story of my life until God healed my painful memories and set me free from the stronghold of shame and sadness, which you can read about in Freedom from Humiliation and Mental Strongholds of Shame and Sadness.

I felt shame when I could not regulate my emotions toward others, which was humiliating. My classmates didn’t want to befriend me because I could not relate well to them, which further deepened my shame and rejection. Being poor and having learning problems also added to my shame and humiliation. Shame looks different for each person, resulting in a poor self-image and feeling insecure about your worth.

Because we live in a sinful world with sinful people, everyone will experience humiliation, shame, and rejection. You are not abnormal. It is quite possible that the person you work with feels the same way about themselves as you think about yourself.

The scope of shame is huge, and I won’t be able to cover every aspect, so if you want to learn more, do an internet search. If you discover through my post that you have debilitating shame, please find a trauma therapist who can help you work through shame-based painful memories. I will share what I did to remove shame from my identity.

How to Break Toxic Shame

The good news is that if you are a child of God (John 1:12), Jesus says you are worthy of love. Jesus said in John 13:34, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” You are the apple of His eye. Psalm 17:8 states, “Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.” He promises never to leave or forsake you and to help you when you call on Him (Hebrews 13:5-6). The other good news is that if you are not yet a child of God, you can be by believing and receiving Jesus’s forgiveness for your sins and accepting His Spirit into your heart (Eph. 3:16-17).

Healing past hurts and negative self-image helps you discover your true self and conquer shame and depression. Depending on how much shame you endured, this process will take a while, but it is worth it. Read my online book for more details and instructions.

First, find a quiet place to pray for about an hour. Ask God to search your mind and heart to reveal your painful memories associated with shame and poor self-image. Write them down as God brings them up, but do not relive them.

Second, for each painful memory, ask, “Whom do I need to forgive?” Tell the little child in you that it was not their fault and that nothing is wrong with them. The Bible says we must forgive those who sinned against us (Matt. 6:14 and Eph. 4:32), even if their sin is because of their trauma and shame. Forgiveness sets you free from the power of the painful memory.

Third, ask God to show you the unhealthy beliefs you develop about yourself, others, or God from that painful experience. Next, tell the hurting child in you that they are worthy to be loved, they are valuable, and that God loves them. Now, put off those unhealthy beliefs through prayer and in Jesus’ name. Put on true beliefs. Email me for 65 truths to believe about yourself at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com

Self-love Technique

You need to love yourself first before you can love others or receive love. As you go through the healing process, reaffirm that you have worth and value and are worthy of being loved. Early on in my healing process, I would stand in front of the mirror and tell my insecure, shame-based self that I was worthy to be loved, that I was not ugly, that I was a sinner saved by grace, and that I could give grace to others. I said other things, but you get the idea. Remember, people see you through their insecurity and will treat you based on their shame-based identity, so do not adopt their assessment of you. I have to remind myself of that all the time. We all want people to approve of us and treat us with value, but that is unrealistic because we live in a sinful world with equally flawed people. Even church people are dealing with childhood shame and trauma.

Love yourself today, and love someone else because they need it. Abide in God’s love because you need it. Know that I love you. Words have power, use them wisely.

RESOURCES AND RELATED POSTS

Uncover the lies that are destroying your life.

Addiction Strongholds

How to be Free Posts

How to Overcome Depression by God’s Power

Adult Children of Alcoholics®& Dysfunctional Families

Healing Depression: The Role of Gut Health and Diet – February 23, 2025

How to Overcome Anxiety from Trauma Memories – February 8, 2025

Healing the Shame that Binds You by John Bradshaw (I have not read this book, but it was recommended.)

May God bless you richly as you seek His help to be healthy.

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All verses are from the English Standard Version. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share this link with your friends and family: hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected. Please do not reproduce any part of the posts or my book without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website. 

My latest book, Unlocking God’s Promises, explains 18 categories of relevant promises to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91.  

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts. 

Additionally, consider my book Fighting Unseen Battles, which describes the many unhealthy beliefs that control our lives and what the truths are. To learn more about this book, read the post How to Fight Unseen Battles.  

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request.

Conquering Depression by Healing Thoughts and Memories

When was the last time you felt depressed? What event occurred that made you sad or angry? Dwelling on thoughts of rejection or potential rejection causes a chemical reaction in your brain that lowers endorphins in the brain. The earlier in life you feel rejected, the deeper your depression is, which has been well researched. I found that my depression went away when I dealt with my upsetting thoughts and memories of rejection.

Most depression episodes begin with your thoughts. The good news is that you control your thoughts. We know that depression naturally occurs when you lose something you love. This post is about how to conquer depression from childhood and situational sadness, fear, and anger. This is a vast subject, and I know I can’t cover it sufficiently. I hope my discoveries and recovery from depression give you hope.

Why Rejection Is the Source of Depression

In my experience, the root of depression is feeling unvalued. Rejection often starts at birth and sometimes before birth. In my case, my mother became pregnant during Nursing School. She had to quit school and marry an immature man in the Navy, so he was away most of the time. The marriage was on the rocks from the very beginning. My mother wrote letters to my grandmother when she was pregnant with my sister and me while being bedridden in the hospital for three months. In those letters, she shared her frustration about my father and the trauma of being in a hospital bed for three months before we were born. She had feelings of shame and anger while pregnant, which created a hormone imbalance in both her brain and my brain.

Throughout my childhood, she was angry and depressed about her situation with my father and could not show love. Because I did not feel loved or nurtured, I developed an attachment disorder. Things improved a little when my mother became a born-again Christian; then, my father professed Christ as his Savior. Their spiritual state changed, but their behavior did not. Both my parents were still dysfunctional from their childhood rejection issues. I realized that we all need to heal our childhood family trauma before we can be mentally healthy, loving parents. I became the same parent as my mother until I healed from the traumatic memories of my childhood. Those memories generated thoughts of fear, sadness, anger, shame, and guilt that controlled my emotions and behavior, and I did not love well.

I discovered that not feeling valued or validated causes a stronghold of rejection to take hold of your mind. It keeps you focused on the events that caused the feeling of rejection, and you begin to ruminate and develop resentment. Resentful people cannot love well. I believe rejection leads to depression because we all want to feel loved and valued. So, when this expectation is not met, you feel betrayed, angry, fearful, anxious, insecure, apathetic, or, many times, pathetic. Is this something you have experienced? There is hope. In my book on this website, I write about how to be free from the stronghold of rejection and many more strongholds. Begin reading chapter one to understand the role our memories play in developing strongholds and depression. 1–Healing Begins by Transforming Painful Memories

Two Powerful Ways to Change Your Thoughts to Chase Away Depression

The most powerful treatment for depression is forgiveness. If you don’t forgive those who did not love you well, then those memories will continue to spawn sadness and depression in your life. For instance, I became depressed when my son and his wife would not make plans to visit when they came back for a wedding. They stayed with her parents, who lived five minutes away. My husband and I invited him and his wife several times for a visit, but they made up excuses. I felt rejected. I let my thoughts go to every dark corner to gather up as much self-pity as my mind could find.

Knowing that I control my thoughts, I came to my senses, went to God in prayer, and then I forgave my son for rejecting us. I also loosed the wrong thinking and a spirit of depression and rejection from my heart. Immediately, the depression was gone. Sometimes, you must do this several times when your thoughts go dark. The Bible says in Matthew 18:18, “Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” And 2Corinthians 10:4-5 states, “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”

I took captive my depressing thoughts by loosing wrong thinking from my mind and the depressed, sad feelings from my heart. Later, I called him to see what he was up to. I told him how I felt (minus the self-pity) and that visiting would be nice since we rarely see them. He and his wife came over the next day for about an hour before returning to their home state. I was thankful for that short visit.

The last way to overcome depression is harder than forgiving, and that is being thankful. The Bible encourages us to be thankful in everything, pray continually, and rejoice always (1Thes. 5:15-18). I write about this in my post, A POWERFUL MOOD CHANGER, and I encourage you to read it. Changing your thoughts to forgiveness and gratefulness keeps the spirit of depression away.

Conclusion:

Depression is different for each of us, but it often occurs when you focus on your hurt and loss. To overcome painful thoughts, change your focus by doing things that make you happy and finding things to be thankful for, like focusing on Jesus. Depression from the guilt of sin can be remedied by repentance and forgiveness. When you feel no hope, hope in the promises of God. Overcome depression from rejection by forgiving those who reject you and healing painful memories, which I describe in my book. You can alleviate depression from brain chemistry imbalance by eating a Mediterranean diet, eliminating sugar products, and exercising, which I describe in my last post. It is okay to consider an anti-depressant to correct the brain’s chemical imbalance. When I experience situational depression outside my control, I take Saint John’s Wort at night and 5HTP in the morning to help me get through the difficult time. More about that next week. Whatever type of depression you have, there is hope to get out of the pit and return to peace and joy.

RELATED POSTS:

How to Overcome Depression by God’s Power

A POWERFUL MOOD CHANGER

How to Recognize and Eliminate Emotional Cancer

The Core Negative Heart Issue.

Five Steps to Heal Your Heart and Purify Your Soul

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All verses are from the English Standard Version. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share this link with your friends and family: hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected. Please do not reproduce any part of the posts or my book without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website. 

My latest book, Unlocking God’s Promises, explains 18 categories of relevant promises to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91.  

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts. 

Additionally, consider my book Fighting Unseen Battles, which describes the many unhealthy beliefs that control our lives and what the truths are. To learn more about this book, read the post How to Fight Unseen Battles.  

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request.

Healing Depression: The Role of Gut Health and Diet

Are you interested in knowing the root cause of depression? Your mental and emotional health will improve once you fix the root causes. In my last post, I explained how the power of God helped me overcome my depression in college and still helps me today. Spiritual health has a direct link to mental health. In this post, I want to teach you how physical health is linked to mental health. Being depressed like my mother and depending on medications was not what I wanted. I needed to find the root cause of my depression. I used trial and error because I didn’t have the internet.

My Story: How Lifestyle Changes Helped

I became severely depressed when my first husband abused me constantly. At times, I contemplated suicide, so I understand why people think suicidal thoughts. I did not feel valued by my husband, and I felt stuck and thought death was the best option to escape my pain. When I contemplated stabbing myself, I thought about my children, which kept me from doing it. I only thought about my afflictions, which made it hard to have healthy relationships.

Even though I was a Christian and went to church and Bible studies, I felt helpless that my marriage would change. Bible studies help me focus on God as my source of hope and love. Some people turn to drugs or alcohol or both to escape their pain, which significantly increases suicidal thoughts.

My friends were telling me I needed to get on anti-depressants. Knowing how much my mother saw the psychiatrists and changed medications, I knew I could not afford it. I was seeing a Christian psychologist who understood the damage of abuse. She helped me know what healthy love was and how to love myself. Thankfully, she bartered with me, where I did sewing jobs for counseling services. She was good about helping me deal with the trauma of abuse from my husband. However, she did not address my childhood trauma. As a result, I was still angry and insecure. I didn’t know how to love because I did not grow up in a loving environment. But God’s love sustained me during this time.

Because of the trauma from the abuse and not eating well, I suffered from many health problems. My sister gave me a book, “God’s Way to Ultimate Health” by Dr. George Malkmus. I eagerly read it. He had testimonies on the sidelines, and I read about how the raw food diet healed a woman of her deep depression. I changed my diet that day. Within six months, my depression and most of my health problems were healed. My back and joint pain were not cured, but that was because of degenerative joint disease, which is now healed by eliminating sugar, corn, and wheat. I still make 50-80% of my diet raw, plus I eat fish and organic meat. At 63 years old, I don’t have any health issues. I sometimes have migraines, which are hereditary, but those have decreased since I started using Celtic sea salt in my diet.

In Genesis 1:29, it says, “And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.“

The mental health training taught me that gut flora is critical to mental health. Ninety percent of the feel-good neurotransmitter dopamine is manufactured in the gut and travels to the brain via the Vegas nerve. What happens in the gut occurs in the brain. I improved my gut health by eating a Mediterranean and FODMAP diet with raw sauerkraut. To learn more, read It Doesn’t Take Long to Reset Your Gut Health With Small Lifestyle Changes.

Lifestyle changes also improve hormone imbalances, which also play a role in depression. To understand more, read Can a Hormone Imbalance Cause Depression? Understanding the Link Between Hormones and Mental Health. Eating a healthy diet and exercising improves hormone balance. To learn more, read 10 Natural Ways to Balance Your Hormones.

Also, read what WebMD says about Lifestyle Changes for Major Depressive Disorder, and Healthline has a great article called Lifestyle Changes for Depression.

Find all the Mental Health posts here.

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All verses are from the English Standard Bible. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share this link with your friends and family: hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected. Please do not reproduce any part of the posts or my book without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website.

Check out my latest book, Breaking Mental Strongholds, which you can order on Amazon. To learn more about it, read my post called Breaking Mental Strongholds Book. Also, check out Fighting Unseen Battles on Amazon. To learn more about this book, read How to Fight Unseen Battles.

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request.

How to Overcome Depression by God’s Power

Everyone experiences depression during their lifetime. Situations like a job loss, divorce, not feeling valued, snub at a party, problems with family, the death of a pet or loved one, or a relationship breakup will trigger depression in varying degrees. Depression is a normal feeling, but letting it rule your life is not healthy.

Even the Apostle Paul experienced depression. 2Cornithians 7:6 (NAS) states, “But God who comforts the depressed comforted us by the coming of Titus.” King David expresses depression throughout the Psalms. In Psalm 69:20, he writes, “Reproaches (chiding; scorn) have broken my heart so that I am in despair (hopeless; helpless). I looked for pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none.” Depression is living in despair and extreme sadness. You may have a genetic predisposition for depression, especially if family members struggle with chronic depression.

There is hope to be free from the oppressive spirit of depression. I have even commanded the spirit of depression to be gone when I felt oppressed by despair and self-pity. More about that later in this post.

As with anxiety, depression has varying levels and triggers that begin in the mind with your thoughts. Read my post on How to Overcome Anxiety to learn more. This article does not explain the details of depression because it’s available on the internet. I intend to offer you hope and encouragement to overcome general depression. I have experienced severe depression several times in my life, and I have a family history of depression, including bipolar and psychosis. As I watched my mother struggle with chronic depression and taking antidepressants for my whole life, I knew I did not want that for my life. I am going to share with you how I overcame severe and genetic depression. Severe depression leads someone to contemplate suicide. If someone talks about death or killing themselves, get them help immediately. Don’t be afraid to ask if they have a plan.

Turning to God is Key.

In college, I became severely depressed and contemplated suicide. Now, I recognize that evil spiritual forces, as described in Ephesians 6:12, afflicted me after I committed my life to Jesus Christ. I was focusing on what I didn’t like and everything that was out of my control, like my childhood trauma. It didn’t help that I was still listening to AC-DC and other dark, hard-rock music. I also struggled with emotional instability from my childhood trauma, which affected my relationships. My depression improved after I prioritized my faith in God, reading the Bible, and giving up worldly music for Christian music. This boosted my hope for a brighter future. King David said the following in Psalm 42:5  several times, “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation.”

Turn to God in Prayer and Trust Him.

Psalm 143:7-8 states, “Answer me quickly, O LORD! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit. 8Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.”

Prayer and trusting God are critical to overcoming depression because they change your thinking and focus. Know that God loves you and wants to comfort you. Instead of focusing on your loss or hurt, you are focusing on God’s love and guidance to help you in your time of need. Instead of focusing on your hurt and offended heart, prayer helps you trust God to make right any wrong done because God is a God of justice. Reading God’s word gives you the power to overcome oppression.

Isaiah 61:7-8a states, “Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion; instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot; therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy. 8aFor I the LORD love justice; I hate robbery and wrong.”

Proverbs 3:5-6  states, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

Jeremiah 29:11-13 states, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

Isaiah 41:10 states, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Jesus Came to Give You Life Abundantly

Depression feels like darkness in your soul and heaviness in your heart, so spiritual warfare is important to break out of this type of oppression. Read Ephesians 6:10-20 to learn more. I also wrote a series of posts on spiritual warfare, which you will find helpful.

Jesus said in John 10:10, “The thief (Satan) comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Satan and his demonic realm seek to destroy anyone who will allow him to. He can’t read your mind, but he knows how to deceive you and make you believe his lies.

1Peter 5:8-9 “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.”

Prayer and trusting God are ways to resist the devil and stand firm in your faith. Another way to resist the devil is to humbly submit to God by obeying Him, setting your mind on Him, and then drawing near to Him through prayer. You can then tell the devil or evil spirits oppressing you to be gone in Jesus’ Name because Jesus has defeated them and their authority over you. To experience God’s power to overcome, you must first humble yourself and seek Him for help.

James 4:6-8 “But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

To learn more about purifying your heart, read Five Steps to Heal Your Heart and Purify Your Soul. This post explains how to be free from the hurts and offenses that keep you stuck in the darkness of depression.

Only Jesus can give you life through the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:11 states, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” But you need to keep your mind on the things of the spirit. Romans 8:6 states, “For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” Setting your mind on the Spirit is easy when you pray and read your Bible, then you will feel life and peace. No depression can reside where the Spirit of God is allowed to rule.

Conclusion

I pray you are encouraged. There is so much more I could write. I wrote something similar in 2020, which has more details if you want to learn more: How to Overcome Situational Depression. I wrote a great series of posts about how to become free, which you will find helpful.

If you need more scripture references to encourage your heart, go to https://www.openbible.info/topics/depression

Also Read:

Conquering Depression by Healing Thoughts and Memories – March 1, 2025

Healing Depression: The Role of Gut Health and Diet – February 23, 2025

How to Overcome Depression by God’s Power – February 15, 2025

How to Overcome Anxiety from Trauma Memories – February 8, 2025

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All verses are from the English Standard Version. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share this link with your friends and family: hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected. Please do not reproduce any part of the posts or my book without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website. 

My latest book, Unlocking God’s Promises, explains 18 categories of relevant promises to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91.  

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts. 

Additionally, consider my book Fighting Unseen Battles, which describes the many unhealthy beliefs that control our lives and what the truths are. To learn more about this book, read the post How to Fight Unseen Battles.  

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-Changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, the 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request. 

How to Overcome Anxiety from Trauma Memories

Anxiety is the number one mental health issue in the world. I will share how I overcame debilitating anxiety from trauma memories. I remain somewhat nervous and distressed when triggered. The internet has many articles on anxiety if you want to learn specifics. This post addresses anxieties beyond typical, everyday occurrences. Getting on a plane or speaking in front of people may cause anxiety for one person but not another. You may get nervous or worried when taking a test, entering a competition, or a job interview. Anxiety from traumatic experiences is a cause of depression, addiction, and PTSD.

I will not tell you that anxiety is weakness and beat you over the head with Bible verses. However, a spiritually healthy person will have less general anxiety because they trust in God and know they can give their worries or concerns to Him because He cares and will act (Psalm 37:1-5 and 1 Peter 5:7). Trusting God is the antidote for general anxiety.

Today, I want to delve into why we have debilitating anxiety and how to overcome it by healing trauma memories. Trauma is an overwhelming event or experience that exceeds one’s capacity to cope and has a lasting and controlling effect on the mind and body.

Anxiety and Stress.

I developed anxiety during my dysfunctional and abusive childhood, which caused a lot of stress. As a child and teen, I dealt with the stress by escaping through daydreaming, reading, watching TV, church events, and going to friend’s houses. Childhood stress often leads teens to escape through drugs and alcohol. Last week, I wrote a post explaining how to overcome stress because stress and anxiety go together. If you remain stressed for too long, you will become anxious. Please read last week’s post if you haven’t already done so. Your anxiety may be triggered as I share my testimony, so practice the stress reduction exercises I described in last week’s post.

I developed a full-blown anxiety disorder when I was married for seven years to my first husband, who was very abusive. That is also when fibromyalgia manifested. During one of our fights, he said, “You will never see the kids if you leave me.” This statement triggered panic attacks, and I still remember the exact moment he said it and where we were. I knew he meant it, and I felt trapped.

I can testify that admonishing someone not to be anxious or fearful who is experiencing trauma or trauma memories is counterproductive; instead, reassure them with something hopeful and guide them to see different options. I could only see my trauma and my need to escape. I had no other perception, even though I prayed for God’s help.

God spoke to me during a prayer walk and said I was free to leave my husband because he broke the covenant of love. I did not think through a safe plan and did not seek counsel, but God was with me, and He protected me and the children. I recommend that you talk with a counselor about a safe plan to leave an abusive partner, especially if you have children. Establishing a support system is helpful. The police department can help you find good counsel. Though I trusted God and knew he cared for me, it did not stop me from having full-on panic attacks every time my husband came to get the children. You can learn more about how God performed many miracles in my life during that time in the post called Trust God to Keep His Promises.

Anxiety and fear

Just as stress and anxiety go together, so do fear and anxiety. After I left my first husband, I became overcome with fear that he would kill me or the children, that he would keep his promise, and that I would never see my children again. As I write this, I am becoming anxious because words have power, and rethinking those words and reliving the emotion generate anxious feelings. So, telling someone not to be anxious but with thanksgiving by prayer and petitions, let your request be known to God, and you will have peace (Phil. 4:6-7) is not beneficial. This is a mental health issue, not a spiritual issue, though they are interrelated.

Overcoming Trauma Memories.

First, I recognize and take the trauma thought captive. Next, I put it out of my mind by saying something like; I take these destructive thoughts “that I will never see my children again” captive, and they are to leave my mind in Jesus’ name. Breathe slowly and deeply while relaxing tense muscles.

Second, I remind myself that God is with me, and I do not have to be afraid because he is my protector. I claim His promise that He is my shield and deliverer (Ps. 18:2 and Ps. 144:2). Putting out of my mind the stressful thoughts and putting in God’s promises helps the most to deconstruct trauma memories. God’s promises give you hope and a different perspective. Prayer works to help you transform your thoughts and wrong beliefs with God’s promises. Read my posts on God’s promises to know what they are.

The hardest thing God asked me to do was to visit the places I did not feel safe. So, I went to my childhood home and asked God to show me the memories of when I did not feel safe there. As soon as a memory came to my mind, I forgave the person in the memory. Next, I put the trauma memory out of my mind in Jesus’ name, along with the spirit of fear or some other oppressive spirit God shows me. Next, I put a spirit of peace or deliverance into my mind. I then thanked God for protecting me, being my shield, and keeping me from greater harm. I went to other locations and did the same thing. After completing this exercise, I was free from controlling thoughts that create anxiety in my life. Before I did that, I would have a panic attack for no reason. I believed they came from my fearful memories of not feeling safe. Once I asked God to heal those memories and put them out of my mind and put in God’s promises, I no longer had panic attacks.

What Trauma Memories to Look for.

As you look through the following list, try not to despair but follow my example of forgiving, putting off the negative memories and the spirit of oppression, fear, or bitterness. Then, replace it with a good thought that God was with you, understands your suffering, and is there to help you overcome it. Apply any of God’s promises. Find something to be thankful for about that situation, and so on. Healing trauma memories is necessary to stop them from controlling your thoughts, emotions, and behavior. I still have memories that need to be healed because I recognize automatic emotional reactions to specific triggers. You also may need to grieve a loss of some kind in the trauma memory. I advise you not to dwell on the loss or trauma.

  1. Violence toward you or someone else: physical altercations, screaming fights, threats of violence, unfair punishments. Did you live in fear?
  2. Emotional, sexual, physical, or mental abuse toward you or someone else. Did you have someone to go to for comfort? Were you abandoned because one or both parents were on drugs or incarcerated? Were one or both parents mentally or physically handicapped or mentally ill and could not care for you? Did you feel supported academically and encouraged to do different things? Was there constant pressure to do better or do more? Did you feel loved and accepted? Were you demeaned and put down?
  3. Neglect of emotional or physical needs. Was there enough food to eat? Was the home a pig stye, and were your clothes not washed, which caused you embarrassment at school? Did you feel nurtured or encouraged to be your best at something you enjoyed? Were you abandoned by one or both parents through death or divorce? Was there empathy?
  4. Were you bullied at home, school, or on social media? Did a teacher or other school personnel ridicule or embarrass you in front of the class?

Trauma memories are very different for everyone, even within the same family. To be free from debilitating anxiety, you must seek God to heal those memories and heal your mind. There is hope for complete healing. To learn more, read my online book.

RELATED POSTS:

ANXIETY: Protected by Worry and Fear Strongholds

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All verses are from the English Standard Version. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share this link with your friends and family: hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected. Please do not reproduce any part of the posts or my book without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website. 

My latest book, Unlocking God’s Promises, explains 18 categories of relevant promises to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91.  

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts. 

Additionally, consider my book Fighting Unseen Battles, which describes the many unhealthy beliefs that control our lives and what the truths are. To learn more about this book, read the post How to Fight Unseen Battles.  

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request.

How to Overcome Stress

Have you or are you experiencing stress? Stress occurs when you feel overwhelmed by a situation that is often out of your control. I would venture to say that all of us have experienced stress. Your spiritual health is evaluated by how you handle stress. Would you agree? For example, when you feel stressed, do you pray or swear? Do you worry or trust God? Do you become anxious or thankful?

Stress affects:

  • Your mental health when your job or family dynamics are challenging,
  • Your emotional health is affected when living or working with a problematic person or people,
  • Your spiritual health is affected when you have guilt from sin or legalism,
  • Your physical health is affected when you do hard physical labor or are overworked.

Did you notice how your muscles tense up when you feel stressed? Muscle tension is your body’s stress response, triggered by the parasympathetic nervous system. Head, neck, and shoulder muscle tension are common factors in tension and migraine headaches. Stress causes musculoskeletal pain in the lower back and upper extremities. When I am physically or mentally stressed, my fibromyalgia will flare up, which is very painful.  

You may not have control of the situation causing the stress, but you can often control how the stress affects you. For example, my whole body tensed up when I learned that my daughter-in-law had to be induced early because of high blood pressure. I remained tense from worry until the baby was born.

The solution is to find a restful place or do a restful activity and intentionally unplug mentally and physically. It’s no surprise that rest is the solution to stress, so how do you rest when your life is full of stress?

Five healthy ways to overcome stress.

1. Learn to relax. Get comfy, tighten your muscles and face, then completely relax your muscles. Feel the tension drain out of your body. Remain relaxed. It helps to do the 4×4 breathing, where you breathe in four seconds, hold for four seconds, breathe out for four seconds, and hold again for four seconds. As you focus on your breathing, release more tension. This is also a great way to fall asleep fast. Relaxation shuts off the parasympathetic nervous system and reduces the cortisol level in your body. If you think about a stressful situation and become tense, practice this relaxation technique again.

2. Meditate. Meditation involves prayer and focusing on encouraging scriptures that reassure and comfort you. Ephesians 2:4-6 states, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Colossians 3:1-2 states, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” If our spirits are seated in heaven, and we are spiritually healthy, then our minds will be focused on the things of God in the Bible. When our minds focus on God’s truths, we will have peace and rest (Is. 26:3).

For example, I was harassed by a new supervisor who wanted me to quit. When I reported her to HR, she became vicious. I was very stressed and anxious. I meditated on Isaiah 41:10, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” I put this verse on my computer screen to remind myself to focus on God and rest in this promise. I also forgave her, put off the negative, stressful thoughts, and put into my mind God’s promises. There are many promises you can meditate on to help you destress and change your mental focus. See my page called POSTS about God’s Promises for examples.

3. Take a full day off. Even God rested on the seventh day. Genesis 2:2-3 states, “And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” God is our example. We need to take a day to rest for our mental and physical health.

4. Distraction. Listen to praise music, read your Bible, do a puzzle, watch an inspiring movie, walk through a garden, or work in a garden. You get the idea.

5. Exercise. Walking and meditating on God’s character and the Scriptures reduce stress. Jumping on a mini-trampoline is also helpful in getting rid of tension.

Please leave a comment explaining how you relieve stress. Turning to food, sugar, alcohol, or drugs is not healthy and not recommended. May God bless you richly.

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All verses are from the English Standard Version. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share this link with your friends and family: hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected. Please do not reproduce any part of the posts or my book without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website. 

My latest book, Unlocking God’s Promises, explains 18 categories of relevant promises to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91.  

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts. 

Additionally, consider my book Fighting Unseen Battles, which describes the many unhealthy beliefs that control our lives and what the truths are. To learn more about this book, read the post How to Fight Unseen Battles.  

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request.

Why Be Physically Healthy?

The best reason to be physically healthy is because your physical health is directly related to your mental health and quality of life. Anxiety and depression are the number one and two mental health issues, and both can be improved or eliminated by being physically healthy. Being physically healthy requires self-control, a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-24). Disciplining our fleshly desire to be lazy and consuming soda, desserts, and candy is hard. The Holy Spirit in you will help you take care of your body and mind, which is the temple of God (1Cor. 3:16 & 6:19). You can choose what is good to have a healthy body and mind.

The following characterize what a physically healthy person does.

  1. Eat healthy (i.e., Mediterranean or FODMAP).
  2. Eliminate all soda, junk food, sugar, and wheat products. These cause inflammation and weaken your immune system.
  3. Drink a lot of clean water (32 – 64 oz).
  4. Exercises (i.e., daily stretching, mobilization, walking, or strength training.)
  5. Fasts (i.e., intermittent twice a week, 24 -36 hours once per week.)
  6. Rest from working (Sabbath)
  7. Sleep well, at least 8 hours.

Exercise and Mental Health

The link between physical health and mental and emotional health is widely researched. According to the Mayo Clinic, regular exercise has many mental health and emotional benefits. It can help you:

  • Gain confidence. Meeting exercise goals or challenges, even small ones, can boost your self-confidence. Getting in shape also can make you feel better about how you look.
  • Get more social interaction. Exercise and physical activity may give you the chance to meet or socialize with others. Just sharing a friendly smile or greeting as you walk around your neighborhood can help your mood.
  • Cope in a healthy way. Doing something positive to manage depression or anxiety is a healthy coping strategy. Trying to feel better by drinking alcohol, dwelling on how you feel, or hoping depression or anxiety will go away on its own can lead to worsening symptoms.
  • Exercise releases feel-good endorphins and improves your sense of well-being.

According to the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; “Physical activity has many well-established mental health benefits. These are published in the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans and include improved brain health and cognitive function (the ability to think, if you will), a reduced risk of anxiety and depression, and improved sleep and overall quality of life. Although not a cure-all, increasing physical activity directly contributes to improved mental health and better overall health and well-being.”

Food and Mental Health

What you eat affects mental health, which you can learn more about in this article. An article by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) explains, “A growing body of research points to the mental health benefits of a healthy diet. Studies have identified particular benefits in addressing depression, and several studies point to the benefits of the Mediterranean Diet. A 2019 review published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that increased fruit and vegetable consumption positively impacts psychological health, and daily vegetable consumption has a therapeutic impact by reducing symptoms of depression in people with clinical depression. A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine webinar presentation highlighting Nutrition and Mental Health reported on how improvements in diet can improve depression. A healthy diet provides more vitamins and minerals, healthy fats, and fiber from fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, which can reduce inflammation and alter neurotransmitters to reduce symptoms of depression.”

Fasting and Mental Health

Fasting improves your mental health. This article by Dr. Roseann explains, “Intermittent fasting, which alternates between periods of eating and fasting, has shown potential benefits for mental health, including the mitigation of anxiety symptoms.” “The act of fasting for 24 hours or more can lead to increased production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which plays a critical role in brain health; low levels of BDNF have been linked to anxiety.” “Fasting benefits by the hour also include the potential regulation of inflammation, which has been implicated in depression. A 24-hour fast, performed regularly, may reduce chronic inflammation, thereby potentially reducing depressive symptoms. Additionally, fasting protocols, such as the 16/8 method, may foster a routine that provides structure for individuals struggling with depression, possibly resulting in a sense of normalcy and predictability.”

Sleep and Mental Health

According to the article by Psychology Today, “Sleep is essential to mental-emotional health and well-being. The relationship between the amount and quality of sleep a person gets and their mental-emotional health is reciprocal. Sleep both affects and is affected by an individual’s mental health status—mental health challenges such as anxiety and depression often make it harder to sleep well, and poor sleep can contribute to worsening mental health. Inadequate sleep is characterized by difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, and feeling fatigued throughout the next day.

Sleep is the body’s primary way to restore, repair, and rejuvenate. Sleep helps restore the cells in the body and wash away toxins accumulated from the day—literally. During sleep, the brain effectively goes into repair mode, activating neuronal connections.”

Conclusion

Can you see the direct link between spiritual health, mental health, and physical health? Prayer connects you to the power source, God, who then helps you be self-controlled. For example, when I go to a church potluck or family gathering, I pray for God to help me resist the temptation to indulge in unhealthy drinks and desserts that make my body weak. A mentally healthy person values themselves and wants to care for themselves. They are self-disciplined and self-motivated to persevere and do what is best for their health so they can enjoy life. They take responsibility for their condition and how to improve it.

May God bless you richly as you seek His help to be healthy.

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All verses are from the English Standard Version. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share this link with your friends and family: hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected. Please do not reproduce any part of the posts or my book without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website. 

My latest book, Unlocking God’s Promises, explains 18 categories of relevant promises to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91.  

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts. 

Additionally, consider my book Fighting Unseen Battles, which describes the many unhealthy beliefs that control our lives and what the truths are. To learn more about this book, read the post How to Fight Unseen Battles.  

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request.

What is An Emotionally Healthy Person?

How does a person’s mental health influence their emotional health? I never thought there was a relationship between mental health and emotional health until I began to heal my trauma memories. When my memories and resulting resentments were healed, my emotions changed. There is hope that your future can be different.

What you dwell on creates memories, either good or bad. The stronger the feelings, the stronger the memory connection. For example, think about your favorite vacation. Why was it your favorite vacation? What made that memory so strong? Strong feelings develop beliefs like “I had a great vacation because…”. Or, “I hated that vacation because…”.

For example, I hate going to the Outer Banks because of many traumatic memories from my negative perspective. How we feel is a matter of perspective. My husband loves going to the Outer Banks and didn’t understand why I was traumatized by it. I was anxious about so many things that my perspective was negative, which generated bad behavior. These negative beliefs caused me to stay home alone while my family vacationed at the Outer Banks. Being home alone was better than dealing with the trauma I felt going on that miserable vacation. Have you noticed that each family member has a different memory of the same event? Some family members are more traumatized by an event and have bad memories, which often affects their relationships in some way.

I also realized that my mental health improved when my spiritual health improved because the Bible verses I memorized changed how I processed disappointment from unmet expectations. The scripture that had the biggest effect on my mental and emotional health was 1Theselonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” So, when my expectations were not met, and I got angry, I would think, “What can I rejoice about?” Then, I would pray and give God the situation that made me angry or depressed. Next, I would think about what I can be thankful for in the situation. That discipline took me two years to master. By changing my thinking, I changed my feelings, which changed the beliefs that controlled my behavior. So, my relationships changed, and so did my future.

An emotionally healthy person does not allow a problem or disappointment to define who they are but sees themselves as separate from the problem. They can go to God with the disturbing issue and trust God to help them with it. An emotionally healthy person can self-regulate their emotions and have inner control. The following list is not an exhaustive list of what an emotionally healthy person is. As you read each one, count how many you struggle with.

  1. Can love others without judgment.
  2. Has a healthy self-worth and gives all shame and guilt to God.
  3. Being able to regulate your emotions like sadness and joy.
  4. Can give grace to messy people who frustrate them and are unaffected by their opinions.
  5. Giving to people, not being selfish, and not expecting others to conform to their expectations.
  6. Maintains hope in God despite life’s setbacks.
  7. Take responsibility for their emotions and actions, and do not blame others.
  8. Is not fearful but trusts God.
  9. Identifies wrong beliefs and adopts God’s truth for their beliefs.
  10. Is empathetic toward others.
  11. Is comfortable being alone and being with people.

In the coming weeks, I will address many of these and how to identify the source of the negative feelings and traumatic memories. There is hope for complete healing. God bless you this week. Thank you for joining me today.

RELATED POSTS:

What Does a Healthy Person Look Like?

Are you Spiritually Healthy?

How Mentally Healthy Are You?

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All verses are from the English Standard Version. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share this link with your friends and family: hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected. Please do not reproduce any part of the posts or my book without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website. 

My latest book, Unlocking God’s Promises, explains 18 categories of relevant promises to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91.  

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts. 

Additionally, consider my book Fighting Unseen Battles, which describes the many unhealthy beliefs that control our lives and what the truths are. To learn more about this book, read the post How to Fight Unseen Battles.  

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request.

How Mentally Healthy Are You?

What is mental health? Because I am a former mental health basket case, I think I am qualified to tackle this issue and to offer anyone who needs it hope. You know you are mentally healthy when you have peace despite the problems around you. In this world, we will have many troubles. Jesus said in John 16:33, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” Tribulations mean troubles, suffering, misery, hardships, and difficult trials. Only when we stay focused on Jesus do we have peace and can endure the hard events and people in our lives.

We live in a sinful world full of people who are evil and self-centered. The trauma and abuse both in and outside our homes cause mental illness issues. I was angry, depressed, anxious, and suicidal. I have come to accept that I have an anxiety disorder from all the trauma I suffered. Just today, I jumped and screamed when someone shot their gun close to my home. I do not live in a violent neighborhood, but it is hunting season, so I hear shooting all the time, but I still jump. I even joined a women’s pistol shooting club to overcome my anxiety about guns, but I still jump and scream.

When I look at various articles about mental health, including my coaching classes with Light University, I learn that there are many perspectives on what a mentally healthy person is. The following list summarizes people’s views of what a mentally healthy person looks like.

  1. Aware of negative thinking but not obsessed with it.
  2. Identifies and accepts disappointment but does not discount it.
  3. Forgive those who offend them.
  4. Is realistically thankful about something even when expectations are not met.
  5. Humbly consider others’ needs and desires.
  6. Understands boundaries and uses them.
  7. See possibilities and positives in hardships and not obsess about unrealistic, worst-case scenarios.
  8. Proactive and not defensive. So, they receive criticism and use it for positive change and do not get defensive or become depressed.
  9. Do not get into futile arguments to prove their right.
  10. Knows they can only control their thoughts and actions and not what others think or do.
  11. They are content but also persevere towards positive goals.
  12. Do not need validation from others to feel good about themselves.
  13. Do not relinquish their power to external influences.

This list does not cover every aspect of mental health. If you have mental health issues or want to learn more, please read my free online book to begin your healing process. My online book at hopeforcompletehealing.com helps people identify events that contribute to mental health issues and how to resolve them.

Some people are more resilient at handling difficulties because they focus on the positives and seek solutions. People like me who are melancholy or have fairness issues tend to focus on what they don’t like and how hopeless their situation is. So, your mental orientation will determine how mentally healthy you are. Do you see the positive or the negative? Do you seek solutions or sink into helplessness and self-pity?

If you have an influence over children, teach them mental resiliency, which is how to handle disappointment and be self-controlled. To learn more, read The Link Between Disappointment, Resentment, and Self-control. In the coming weeks, I will write posts about specific mental health issues and how to resolve them. I will also explain how to be spiritually healthy to influence your mental health so you can be mentally resilient.

May God bless you richly, and may His face shine upon you.

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All verses are from the English Standard Version. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share this link with your friends and family: hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected. Please do not reproduce any part of the posts or my book without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website. 

My latest book, Unlocking God’s Promises, explains 18 categories of relevant promises to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91.  

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts. 

Additionally, consider my book Fighting Unseen Battles, which describes the many unhealthy beliefs that control our lives and what the truths are. To learn more about this book, read the post How to Fight Unseen Battles.  

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request.