How are you coping right now? Here’s Christian help for depression, fear + anxiety.

This post: Coping skills for depression and anxiety (plus three lies I hope you never believe).

I am a Christian. Help for depression was something I never imagined I’d need. But I did. And I do.

Although I’m on the other side of the heat of this battle, depression + anxiety still rear their ugly heads from time to time. These are not issues I simply “got over” by doing the right things. But there are resources + habits that helped.

Here’s my story.

(Plus helpful coping skills for depression and anxiety, a freebie, and more).

——————–

I jolted from a disturbed sleep, suddenly aware of the roar of my pounding heart.

Blindly, I fumbled for the lamp switch beside my bed. My husband, Jeremy, moaned in his sleep as soft light flooded the room.

My frantic eyes landed on our infant son, peacefully sleeping not six inches away in a bassinet. A ragged breath escaped my lungs.

“Another nightmare?” Jeremy stirred beside me.

I nodded and stroked our baby’s face with a trembling finger. His skin felt warm against my chilled skin.

Within seconds, Jeremy was back asleep and I sat staring at our baby. The rise and fall of his tiny chest gave my pulse permission to calm a bit. A shudder tingled through my body.

Another night interrupted by fitful dreams and what felt like a midnight anxiety attack. I’d lost track of how many nights this scenario happened over the six months since our son’s birth.

Our four-year-old daughter had recently undergone surgery. That, and our baby’s failure to thrive- not to mention my own health issues and caring for our six-year-old and toddler- had nearly pushed me to the brink.

The brink of what?

Darkness engulfed the room and my mind like the heavy winter blanket I pulled over my shoulders. Silence hung in the air, punctuated by my husband’s and son’s restful breathing.

Salt touched my lips. I let the tears soak into my pillow and shut my eyes against the war inside my head.

Not for the first time, I wondered if this dark place would ever end.

Bonus: Opt in to my newsletter I’ll send you a free download- 12 Habits for Overcoming Fear + Anxiety. Get my download now.

How are you coping?

Many times, I would have answered that question with a firm, “Not well.”

Fear of the unknown haunts us in the shadows of financial stress, medical diagnoses, strained relationships, profound disappointments, political crises, national upheaval, and a million other threats. (Pandemic, anyone?)

Fear and anxiety are an unfortunate marriage that breeds a cruel offspring.

fear: the bad feeling that you have when you are in danger or when a particular thing frightens you

source: Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries

anxiety: a mental health problem that causes somebody to worry so much that it has a very negative effect on their daily life

source: Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries

Fear + anxiety = paralysis.

paralysis: the condition of being unable to move, act, or function

source: Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries

Fear and anxiety make us feel “stuck.” Like all hope is lost.

In the midst of dark nights and dark seasons, we may be tempted to give up. Don’t.

There’s something else we need to know about fear and anxiety…

Fear of the Unknown Will Make You Believe Lies

Many fears are false. As much as 85% of what we worry about never happens.

Of all the liars in the world, sometimes the worst are our own fears.

Rudyard Kipling

Sometimes what we don’t know is worse than what we do know. How to deal with anxiety of the unknown is a life skill every emotional healthy person must learn.

Experience taught me that depression, fear + and anxiety breed three especially toxic lies.

If you’re looking for coping skills for depression and anxiety, it’s important to realize:

—> As long as we believe these lies, we will probably stay “stuck” or paralyzed.

Bottom line: It’s so easy to believe lies without realizing it.

Lie #1: I’m Too Broken.

This is one of the most crippling mind games of depression and anxiety: the lie that convinces us that-

This is too messed up.

I’m too broken.

I’ll never be okay.

The irony is that this lie is rooted in a semi-truth:

In our fallen state apart from Christ, we are indeed messed up and broken.

Brokenness is inevitable.

There is none that doeth good, no not one.”

As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none that understandeth; there is none that seeketh after God.

They have all gone from the way; they have together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.'”

Romans: 3:10-12

The enemy is a master at twisting God’s Word to make us believe lies about our identity in Christ.

The Truth That Sets Me Free Tells Me That

I am a child of God, and he has lavished his love upon me (I John 3:1-3).

My body is the temple of Christ, purchased at a great price by God (I Corinthians 6:19-20).

I am created in the very image of God (Genesis 1:27).

My body is not a slave to sin (Romans 6:6).

There is no condemnation in Christ (Romans 8:1).

I am God’s masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10).

I am beautiful (Song of Solomon 4:7).

I can live with strength and dignity (Proverbs 31:25).

Bottom line: our brokenness does not determine our identity in Christ.

Lie #2: This Will Never Change.

This lie felt like a prison to me. I truly felt paralyzed (unable to move, act, or function) in the hard places.

This lie can be based on a inkling of truth:

Sometimes trials are long.

Some relationships are hard.

So many circumstances are beyond our control.

In those kinds of hard places, fear and anxiety can creep in and take over with lies of hopelessness.

You are stuck.

This will never change.

Things will never get better.

The world would be better off without you.

If you woke up this morning wondering if you’ll ever feel okay again, let me feed your heart some truth:

Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill His promises to her (Luke 1:45).

God is with her, she will not fall. God will help her at the break of day (Psalm 46:5).

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast (I Peter 5:10).

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it (I Corinthians 10:13).

Being confident of this: He who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).

Truth tells us that even when the struggle is long, even a lifetime, it will not last forever.

Bottom line: hard times will end.

Bonus: Opt in to my newsletter I’ll send you a free download- 12 Habits for Overcoming Fear + Anxiety. Get my download now.

Lie #3: I Can’t Tell Anyone I’m Struggling.

I remember the engulfing shame that came with the feelings of depression and anxiety. Christians and depression should be mutually exclusive, right?

No one else struggles with this.

I’m letting God down.

If people know, they will judge me.

More lies.

Because I believed these lies, I didn’t reach out. I didn’t tell anyone that I wasn’t okay.

Isolation kept me paralized, until I was finally ready to break the silence and ask for help.

God created us to thrive in community: family, friendships, the body of Christ. Healing only happens in safe community + often with professional help.

I’ve personally found tremendous help + healing through years of counseling with a Christian therapist. Don’t be ashamed to reach out!

Resources:

GroundWire.net [24/7 online chat for youth in crisis]

FocusontheFamily.com [one-time complimentary consultation with a Christian counselor)

Bottom line: Don’t be ashamed to reach out for help.

I survived that difficult season.

My little girl recovered from her surgery. My baby boy grew healthy and strong. Our family embraced another son two-and-a-half-years later.

I learned habits of emotional, physical, and spiritual self-care that I still practice today.

Apart from those hard places, I wouldn’t have experienced wholeness .

When darkness resurfaces (because it does), truth keeps me achored:

—> My brokenness doesn’t determine my identity.

—> Hard times will end.

—> Healing only happens in safe community.

Need some Christian help for depression, fear + anxiety?

I have a freebie for you (check it out below), but I also hope you’ll take a look at these Scripture cards from Lori Beth Designs on Esty.

The shop has beautiful cards to print + frame, and also smaller Scripture cards to carry with you, mount on a mirror or the fridge, or slip into your Bible or journal.

So… how are you coping?

If fear of the unknown robbing your peace? I’m here to tell you that overcoming anxiety with God is possible.

Let me send you my free guide: 12 Habits for Overcoming Fear + Anxiety.

1. Click here 2. Drop your name + email.

You’ll join my newsletter, plus get the free printable as a bonus.

1. Download the free guide. Join my weekly-ish newsletter and as a bonus, you’ll get the printable!
2. Print. Any paper will do the trick, but card stock would be ideal.  
3. Keep your guide somewhere handy, tucked inside your Bible or on your nightstand, for example.
4. Use during your quiet time. I encourage you to look up + highlight the Scriptures included in the “12 Habits” guide.

Here’s a sneak peek of your printable cheat sheet:

Click Here To Get Your Guide

Your Turn

Talk to me. Are you struggling with depression + anxiety? How can I pray for you right now?