Head and Heart Health

Today is World Mental Health Day and the official launch of Delightfully Bold!

Why today? Well, Delightfully Bold wouldn’t be a thought in my mind if it weren’t for my lowest point that brought me to seeking professional help. It was 2019, and I was lost, and suffering from anxiety, guilt and anger. I asked around, searched for a Christian-based therapist and found a location in Central Florida that might work. I drove 45 minutes for a 50 minute session and then 45 minutes home. With two little boys under the age of two that drive was the most peace and quiet I ever got and most definitely needed.

Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.

1 Peter 5:7 NIV

Therapy knocked me down, made me sit in my feelings, and then built me back up. That’s the best way I can describe the overall experience. Every session I walk away with several lessons that I learned about myself and what I value. From the beginning, one topic that kept creeping back in with every visit was the need to understand what being a Christian meant to me. Through all of life’s moments — in work, in parenting, in living my day to day, in friendships, in family troubles — there was one continuous thread through my conversations. When I felt God moving in my life, I was the strongest, best version of myself. When I felt distant from him because of my shame or anger, I felt small, weak and ran on empty. I should have realized it sooner than I did, but my only requirement when seeking out a therapist was that they were a Christian because I knew that my conversations were going to be rooted to those beliefs. It’s like I knew that circling back to Jesus and my relationship with him was going to be what really got me through this very tough season.

Taking charge of your mental health by finding an outlet that best allows you to rest and recharge, to manage the negative thoughts and enjoy the little moments, looks different to each of us. This also looks different with each season you go through and may even change throughout your experiences. Writing, exercising, a night out with my husband, a personal “mental health” day from work, are some go-to fixes when I have the time. Most of those options require uninterrupted time and a babysitter, so they don’t happen as often as I’d like.

When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.

Psalm 94:19

Three quick practices that I started and still do to calm my anxiousness and bring me comfort (please feel free to try, but you may have your own as well):

• Pray – My prayers in times of anxiety focus on calling out the feeling and asking God to be present in the moment and comfort me.
• Listen to Worship Music – I always blast it, my eyes are usually flooded with tears, but I’m uplifted, and I begin to feel the weight of my anxiety release.
• Journal – I love to write, for myself, for others, to document and explain, speeches for weddings, papers for school. You name it, I’ve got a Google Doc or notebook for it.

My therapist has been my biggest fan of me leaning into my writing. At the beginning of 2022, I told her that my goal was to just live outwardly and unapologetically, and she actually said “delightfully bold” and it just stuck with me. My heart has been so heavy recently with this desire to write, but not just for myself — for others. The desire was all-consuming. I would wake up and have ideas for posts, go to sleep with ideas but no strength to take the next step. In my most recent session, I brought the idea to write for others up and became overwhelmed. It was time to go for it, and not just thinks about it, but do it. So, thanks to her, I get to take this journey with whoever wants to join me.

I truly hope that the stories and moments I share are comforting, bring perspective and encourage you to join me in living a Delightfully Bold life.

**I want to clarify that this has been my experience with mental health, each of us has a different walk, and how we may handle our diagnosis or the things we may face is unique. There is no one size fits all solution, but I would hope that you would consider talking with God when it’s really hard.**