Close to 800,000 people die by suicide every year.
That is 2,191 a day, is 91 an hour, and one person every forty seconds.
Forty. Seconds.
As mental health issues continue to suffocate the lives of countless individuals, people look for relief in various places: friends, social media, food, drugs, alcohol, pornography and sex.
The battle of the mind becomes a minefield that each of us is trying carefully to journey through.
Unfortunately, it is a lot easier said than done to defeat the voices that suppress us.
My Personal Experience With "Mindfield"
I was in a dark place not too long. I started writing a poem and out poured these words naturally:
This depression is suffocating my mind, i've been battling mental illnesses including thoughts of suicide.
I had never spoken those words before. I had never admitted to myself that I was feeling this discouraged. I didn't realize how dark of a place I had gone too.
It was time to start fighting back.
Here are 3 Things To Defeat The Voices That Suppress You:
1) Change The Environment
If you can't take control of your mind, you must take control of your surroundings. Do this by changing the environment you are in.
If you are in your bedroom, go to the living room. If you are in the living room, go outside. If you are at the office, take a bathroom break. If you have already taken a bathroom break, take a five minute walk outside. If you are in class, ask your teacher if you can use the restroom.
Changing the battlefield is so important when we are battling our mind. I call it a "mindfield" for a reason. If you continue to journey through the territory you are in you will be taken alive. Excuse yourself from your current environment and enter a new one.
2) Say Out Loud What You Are Feeling
The enemy wants the fight to stay locked away inside your body... don't let It. I have started saying out loud how I am feeling so that I can bring to fruition my thoughts and feelings. When I hear what I am feeling I am able to rationalize who God says I am a bit easier. Whenever I stay trapped inside my mind, things spiral downward.
You're not good enough. You messed up again. People don't like you. You're not a good Pastor. You're just too young to understand.
The lies will swallow you whole if you let them. Escape the mindfield by bringing your thoughts to fruition through vocalizing them.
3) Ask A Friend For Encouragement
This is by far the hardest one... thus why I saved it for last. I have only done this twice in my life, but every single time I reach out to someone who cares for me and asks for encouragement it helps.
WE WERE NOT DESIGNED TO WALK ALONE.
YOU WERE NOT DESIGNED TO WALK ALONE.
I know that it can be difficult to let people know you are struggling. Maybe you don't want to burden them or you think they don't care.
They do care, and it's not a burden.
I have reached out to my best friend twice and simply asked him to send me a text message of encouragement. Within minutes he responds with a paragraph reminding me of who God says I am.
"But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control." - Philippians 3:20-21
The battle of the mind is difficult to journey though, but I am living proof that we do not have to bow down to its strength.
Fight the good fight by changing your environment, vocalizing your struggle, and reaching out to a friend for encouragement.
You do not have to feel this way forever.
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