Tag: isolation

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Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on Meeting Together

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.  I introduced the theme last week (you can read that blog post here).

For the rest of this month, I want to share some ideas that may help prevent suicide.

Meeting together is one of the best things I do to maintain good mental health—and it’s a lifesaver when I sometimes struggle with suicidal thoughts.

Gary and I lead a Fresh Hope support group on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month at our church. It’s good to meet with other people with a mental health diagnosis (and/or their loved ones) and discuss different aspects of depression and anxiety. Sometimes we laugh together and sometimes we cry together, but each meeting gives us the opportunity to check in with each other and get encouragement as we live with the ups and downs of our disease.

Isolation can be tempting when we feel bad. It’s easier to stay at home and hide when our negative emotions start taking over. Being around other people can feel difficult and scary.

When you see that you’re starting to pull away from other people, that’s a good time to push yourself to do the exact opposite.

Call a friend and talk for a while.

Invite some friends or family members over for a game night.

Go to church and try to connect with someone during fellowship time as you sip a cup of coffee.

Make an appointment to talk with a therapist about the issues that may be contributing to your negative mood.

Check out a support group near you. (You can find a Fresh Hope group near you or join an online group by going to www.freshhope.us.)

Meeting together just may give you the hope you need so you can get past those thoughts of suicide. Please don’t give up!

“And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:25 NLT)

Do you feel like pulling away from everyone when you feel bad? How can focusing on God help you reach out and meet with others instead?

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Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on Mental Health in May 2022 (Part 2: Keep Talking)

I made a terrible mistake when I got clinically depressed back in 2014.

I stopped talking.

Oh, I was saying lots of words, but not the ones that mattered.

I talked to my students—in Spanish and English—as I taught my classes each day. But I didn’t ask the other teachers for advice and help with the discipline problems and other challenges that stressed me out.

I talked to my friends at church, but I didn’t tell them how much I was struggling as I got more and more depressed.

I was more open with my family, but I didn’t say enough about how I was feeling until the hopelessness almost overwhelmed me. Finally, I told my husband everything and got the help I needed.

As we focus on mental health this month, let’s recognize the tendency to clam up and isolate ourselves when things aren’t going well.

We don’t want to burden others with our problems.

We think we “should” be able to handle things on our own.

We feel like other people get tired of hearing about our struggles.

So we stop talking and get wrapped up in the negative thoughts that prompted this vicious cycle. Staying there all alone will just add to our feelings of anxiety and depression.

Sharing our thoughts and feelings with someone else may help relieve some of that stress and get us moving in a more positive direction.

It could be a friend, a family member, a therapist, or a stranger on a hotline (800-273-8255).

It doesn’t matter who it is. Whatever you do, keep talking.

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2 NIV)

Do you stop talking when you get depressed or anxious? How can focusing on God help you choose to talk to someone instead?