There was a time when I did not want anyone to know I struggled with depression and especially that I had to take medication for it. \u00a0Throughout my life, I’ve always been concerned with what others thought about me. \u00a0I felt if people knew I was depressed and I needed medication to help me, I would be thought less of, made fun of, and\/or people would not take me seriously. \u00a0Actually, these things may be happening as we speak, but I have chosen to use what I’ve been through and what I have learned to help others.<\/p>\n
2 Corinthians 1:4 says, He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. \u00a0When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. (NLT)<\/em><\/p>\n No matter what anyone is going through in their lives, even if it is something other than depression, we think we are the only one going through it. \u00a0When we find someone who has been through the same thing we have, it is easier for us to relate to them. \u00a0I have found that to be true in my case.<\/p>\n It was extremely difficult to open up and let others know I have a diagnosis of clinical depression and anxiety. \u00a0I work in the medical field so I see and talk with a lot of people. \u00a0Some time ago, I slowly started sharing parts of my depression story with others if the situation arose. \u00a0In sharing my story, I found it seemed to relax them and help them open up. \u00a0In turn, it thrilled me that I could help someone even if it was to let them know they are not alone and they have someone they can talk with. \u00a0Over time, I gained confidence in myself and the desire to help others keeps growing. \u00a0I believe each one of us have something we can help others with, big or small, it all matters. The verse above is God encouraging us to help and comfort others who are going through the same thing.<\/p>\n I’m sure you can think of a time you needed help and you found someone who had already been there. \u00a0And that is what we are to do for others. \u00a0I believe when we help others it helps us. \u00a0So I encourage you to slowly start sharing your story with trusted people, even if it is in bits and pieces. \u00a0Helping others will also help you!!!<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There was a time when I did not want anyone to know I struggled with depression and especially that I had to take medication for…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":1560,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[75,5,114],"class_list":["post-1498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hope-and-encouragement","tag-anxiety","tag-depression","tag-helping"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n