Tara, over at scoutie girl, wrote a post today on being stuck, feeling fear, and not giving into depression. she was candidly honest about her own struggles with depression and how she has pushed past them. so for we scout wednesdays, tara asked us to share our own struggles, whatever they may be.
I have never really posted about something like this before, but i felt like i have something to share about this that may help someone out there in blog land!
I feel like my childhood was normal and I had lots of friends, boyfriends, and I thought I was pretty happy!
When I got married, my husband was very supportive and encouraged me to be creative and find something I liked to do. I started with Tole Painting, then Scrapbooking, sewing, making jewelry and cards.....the list goes on.
I tend to be a little obsessive when it comes to trying new things....I want to buy EVERYTHING you could possibly need for the craft and more. I don't know why, that is just how I am. So I end up buying all this stuff and then I am too afraid to actually try it! When I do try something new, if I fail, or mess it up somehow, I get very discouraged and give up.
This has been my life and still is like this a little. I think having KIDS, an ETSY shop and a supportive husband helps A LOT!
You may be wondering what this has to do with FEAR or DEPRESSION, but it really is crippling to be so afraid of trying anything new for fear of failure. It doesn't help that I have severe PMS 3 out of 4 weeks of the month!
So here are 5 things I do to let go of my FEAR and DEPRESSION:
1. I believe in a loving Heavenly Father who I know loves me and wants me to succeed. It's not always easy to remember this and I struggle with this every day!
2. I am better at not giving up than I used to be. I try and remember that all these creative, talented people out there, failed over and over before they finally succeeded!
3. If I start having negative thoughts, I immediately try to either do something nice for someone in my family, or serve someone I know....even someone I don't know! By the time I have done this, I usually have forgotten what negative thing I was thinking of!
4. I exercise. I go for a run. It is proven to help depression!
5. Pray. OK, I know some of you may not be religious and don't pray. Well, advice to you is meditate. Take time to just sit and take deep breaths. Think positive thoughts!
I know these 5 things are nothing new and you have probably done some of them yourself at sometime in your life. They work for me and I am getting better! I am not nearly as unhappy and moody as I used to be (ask my hubby!).
I am an easier person to live with than I used to be. I have a long way to go....but now I have HOPE.
How do you let go of fear? How do you have HOPE?
Just found your blog on the Etsy forums. Great post - way to open up! I believe in all of your steps. Especially praying to my Heavenly Father.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to check out your etsy shop now! :)
oh, I'm exactly like you with trying new things! I definatly want to do it all and then buy a TON of supplies and then never do what they were meant for, leaving them to collect dust.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, I need to fight the fear that I have about trying something. It's ok to fail! And I'm so very thankful that I have Christ in my heart who loves me despite my short comings. And that alone makes me want to try more things :)
I actually read the same article as you, I tend to think fear holds us back from achieving what we want to. Its really difficult to be free from those niggling thoughts but your right in trying to do something about them.
ReplyDeleteI once read its better to think about why your worried about something rather than thinking about the worry itself to try and rationalize it.
Such a great post. :) and a lovely blog. I'm following.
ReplyDeletenicole visiting from
http://lettersfromcoco.blogspot.com/
What an inspiring post!
ReplyDeleteI love that you turn to your Father in Heaven. He always helps me through I just forget to use his help sometimes.
Have a happy day!
XOXO~
Sophie