Day 4 & 5: Anxiety & Depression

The Bible says be anxious for nothing, but in all things be in prayer. Philippians 4:6

Unfortunately as a society we are all seeking the next thing with no certainty and have allowed ourselves to become anxious with things such as: standing in line, meeting new people, etc! Those anxieties lead to stress and depression and that's a dark place to be.

So today I wanted to talk about how I overcome anxiety and depression.

To be honest, I've only experienced one anxiety attack in my life and it was after a break up and man was that time frame tough. I typically allow myself to feel my emotions so they can pass through me and not remain bottled within, but letting these emotions out all at once lead to the anxiety attack. If you've never had one before, God bless you, but the feeling is like the room gets REALLY small, like you can't breathe, as if your life is so small.

Once I realized I was experiencing it, I took a couple of deep breathes, caught myself, started to pray for God's grace, covering, peace and love, then my heart calmed down and my mind became clear. I then started to affirm myself with positivity like: "Alisha you ARE enough, Alisha you WILL make it through this and overcome these emotions, Why are you crying? you're God's beloved!"

Here are 5 steps I told my friends to do to overcome their moments of anxiety:

1) PAUSE! Take a moment to recognize that you're overthinking.

2) BREATHE! Take a couple DEEP breathes and allow your breathe to bring you back to a calm and clear place.

3) SPEAK OVER YOURSELF (if alone, speak out loud words of affirmation that bless you to Remember who and how great you are). If you're around other people gently whisper those same positive affirmations to bring confidence back into your life and that moment.

4) Pray, Dance (to shake off negative vibes), Journal or take notes in phone, & drink water!

5) Talk to someone near you or call a close friend so they can lift your spirits!

When it comes to depression I apply these same steps, however depression is a darker space to be in. So I HIGHLY recommend reaching out to a close friend or family member to let them know you are struggling with keeping positive and hopeful thoughts about your life! Also play some uplifting music, watch an uplifting movie, or some comedy. Depression is a spirit that comes to taint your joyful and hopeful life, so if you ever find yourself in a dark space, that's more likely depression and I pray you apply these steps and surround yourself with light!

I pray you all overcome the darkness we are all going through and I hope this helped your process the next time anxiety tries to consume your life. Blessings, Lee!