Today is Bell Lets Talk day here in Canada. Whatever your thoughts on that, I think we can all agree that putting our stories out there is risky. Others have done it and their courage changed my life. Now it’s my turn to be brave. This is the short version of my story, but it’s my story nonetheless…

Since I was a young teen, I’ve fought through seasons in which everything felt hopeless and I felt worthless. Seasons in which I desperately wished I could escape from life.

From me.

There were nights when anxiety weighed on my chest like lead so I could barely breathe. Days and nights when my husband would hold me and pray for me as I tried desperately to gain perspective, to stop the tears, to untie the knots in my stomach.

I did all the right things, but being a Christian does not make you immune to feeling this way. Yes, you should read your Bible, pray, worship, and “just have more faith”…

…but sometimes having faith means using the God-given help that’s available to you.

I added supplements. Started tracking the hard days on a calendar.

And found a very predictable pattern.

One morning in late spring, my husband held my hand in the doctor’s office as I nervously explained what I had been tracking for months and wrestling with for years. Decades. He shared, too, about the dark days and dark nights.

When we left, I had a prescription.

A few weeks later, I had a new perspective on things. Not perfect, but much, much better. Nearly three years later, I still take medication every day. And my life is much better for it.

It doesn’t happen that way for everyone. I get that. But I’m sharing my story simply to say that sometimes, we need help as we tackle the hard work of working on things.

If you’re facing that same kind of hard work?

Rest assured God is working on those things with you. But sometimes He uses doctors. Counsellors. Therapists. Medicine. If you’re struggling, it’s okay to ask for help.

I beg you to ask for help.

Talk to someone who is trained to objectively assess your struggles and connect you with the resources you need.

And please, when you do so, understand this:

You’re not a failure if you find yourself nervously reaching out. Quite the opposite, in fact.

You’re a fighter.