He Healed My Depression

God has created a patchwork of miracles for me this year.

I have not written about the miracle that has taken place in my life because I wasn’t sure it would really stick, and I doubted whether I could “keep it up.”

It began in Feb 2010 when I was expecting Amelia Jane and I received a father’s blessing for comfort.  I was going through a time of great darkness and depression, even to plaguing thoughts of suicide.  So dark was my depression I thought I would have it my whole life, and never be free from it.  In my father’s blessing, he told me that Amelia would come safely.  Then he promised me that her entrance into our family would heal me completely of my depression. 

When the blessing was over, I doubted the words my father had spoken.  I thought he was just saying them because he didn’t want to deal with me being sad anymore, and not because he’d felt prompted by the spirit. 

Now, 18 mos later, I can see the many miraculous ways in which heavenly father has worked things out for this to happen, and I can truly and honestly say that I am healed from that great and heavy depression which had consumed me.  I know that Heavenly Father could see into my future, and the things which would help me to heal, and Amelia’s birth truly WAS the beginning of that healing.

There are many factors which have gone into this healing.  My sweet Amelia has filled my heart where Elizabeth left an aching hole.  My sweet Elizabeth always has a place there, but it no longer hurts.  I love you Elizabeth.  I always will. Thank you for bringing your sister here to bring our family so much joy. 

The other factor that has gone into my healing is the IUD I had placed shortly after Amelia was born.  I truly believe it to be a blessing of modern medicine that the hormones have regulated my moods.  I simply cannot feel the same level of sadness that I felt before. It doesn’t feel chemically possible anymore. 

There have been several key players in my healing.  One of them was the chiropractor, Dr. Shetlin.  We went to his presentation and learned about getting real REM sleep, cutting out foods that our body doesn’t even recognize as food, exercise, and so much more.

After attending that class, I began going to bed around the same time every night, and exercising often in the mornings.  I stopped eating after 8 pm most nights so my body could actually get REM sleep before midnight and I didn’t need as much sleep.  We completely changed our diet, and you would not believe how much it has changed our health, both physically and emotionally.  I never realized  before that I had a stuffy nose all of my life, but after cutting out milk products I have been breathing free for 4 mos and it’s amazing!

Every morning, without fail, we have made smoothies with fruits, oatmeal, leafy greens, fiber and juice.  My body craves them when we don’t.  I feel they have truly put me back into balance.  We have cut out most of the treats we used to eat, and I notice a huge difference in my mood when I do eat too much sugar.

Another incredible blessing was that John lost his job.  It sounds funny, but it was actually an answer to his prayer in disguise.  I had been praying for him to change, to finally come to the temple with me, to meet me in a place where we could both be close to our Savior.  And miracles have happened.  A sequence of events has brought us to our knees in prayer together, and to our scriptures, and to the temple.  We have felt the spirit come back into our lives, filling us with gratitude and love.

 

I have recently gained an incredible testimony of tithing.  After  John lost his job, we were blessed beyond measure, literally more than we had room to receive it.  We are usually those people that keep forgetting to pay tithing weekly, so we end up paying for a couple months at a time, but we have always paid a full tithing.  After John lost his job, there was no question whether or not we would pay, even though we had over 6 mos of tithing to pay.  Since we gave that money to the Lord, He has not ceased to fill our lives with abundance, so much that I literally couldn’t handle any more!  During the month of December after John lost his job my phone would not stop ringing with requests for my photography services. 

The other blessing of John losing his job is that he is home with me, and I don’t have to be in the dark alone at night when my depression used to overcome me. 

One of the biggest factors of my depression was my negative thoughts.  A series of incredible things happened that have changed my perspective.  First, I bought a book called Through His Eyes that helped me differentiate between truth and lies in my head, with most of the negative thoughts being completely untrue.  Then I read a book called “As a Man Thinketh”.

Then, a few months ago, John’s mom was inspired to give me a program she used to sell called “Attacking Anxiety and Depression” and I started listening to the CDs and following the steps.   This program, and all the other factors that contributed to the way I think has made me a completely new person, and even John has noticed.

Everything is so different now.  Our lives have been filled with so much spirit and love, I have never felt this much happiness in my entire life.

I know that by small and simple means are great things brought to pass, and that Heavenly Father has worked in all of these ways to bring about this miracle for me.  I am so thankful for this miraculous healing, and know that it is only through Him, and the peace from my Savior Jesus Christ that I can feel this way.

It is true.  You really can be healed from depression, and I am living proof.

This doesn’t mean that life will be a breeze for me now.  Everyone has ups and downs.  They just won’t be so black and hopeless anymore. They will be temporary.  And I can believe that happiness comes back again.

Are you suffering from depression too?  

Try this 30 Day Challenge:

Don't eat anything after 7pm.

Keep a notebook by your bed and write 5 things you are thankful for each night.

Go to bed before 10pm at the same time every night.

Wake before 8am and exercise for 30 minutes.

Get as many vegetables as you possibly can into your diet

CUT OUT: milk, soda, high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oil, red meat

USE MORE: Olive Oil, Fruits, Oatmeal, Veggies, Fish

Negative Thought Journal

Pay attention to how you talk to yourself.  Would you talk that way to your best friend?

Think of how you would cheer up a friend who was saying those things. Write it down.

Write down your negative thoughts and challenge them. Are they really true? What could you write down to contradict it?

Notice how your brain negatively connects the dots to jump from a small event, to a huge catastrophic future. Write down the thoughts that got you to "the end of the world." You might find them to be so ridiculous they are laughable.

When I was focused on NOT thinking negatively, I just kept thinking negatively.  Instead, REPLACE each negative thought with a positive thought. It has to be believable, not extreme, but true.

Tell me your thoughts!