I suffer from a diagnosed PTSD and Depression for many years . I need a healing way.
The Mayo Clinic has a web page about depression. Maybe you’ve looked at it, and maybe you’ve tried everything. A lot of it is about medical treatment, psychiatry, and counseling, but it mentions things you can do on your own such as avoiding alcohol and getting exercise every day.
It’s important that you have been diagnosed. Some people diagnose themselves and others, and their diagnosis may not be correct.
I pray that God will help you with healing.
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I have tried many Psychiatrists and Therapy options , nothing works for me. Pray for me in Jesus name.
I am not the right person to ask about this topic. I get depressed sometimes, surely. I’ve experienced numbness in the midst of tragedy (the true definition of “trauma,” which is a buzzword misused in modern therapy).
For me, personally, I am a realist. I accept what has happened as real, and also something that has happened. I cannot change what has happened, and so I simply accept it happened. I can remain a victim or I can say, that sucked and I won’t let it define me. It just simply was something that happened. Do I wish it hadn’t happened? I do. Can I change that it did happen? I cannot.
So, what do I do? I turn it over to God. I tell Jesus in Adoration how I truly feel about what had happened. I look at what he had to endure on that Holy Cross. What Jesus went through truly sucked! And He invites us to unite our sucky moments in life to His.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not against therapy, but not all therapists are realists. Many have been taught modern pseudoscience and practice things that I believe feed delusion.
Everyone is different. I understand that not everyone is the same. What works for a realist is not the same thing that will work for someone with empathy (which I lack ; ) There is no one answer to this question. I do believe that Jesus is the answer, however.
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You are right! I don’t know but Trauma changed me into a different person I didn’t choose to be, It changed my mentality and my way of reaction . It’s something I can move on from easily. but anyway, you are right. I trust Jesus at the end. Thank you. Keep me in your prayers.
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Many people think that mental health is a pseudo-science and I agree. I’m skeptical about these new “mental illnesses”. It’s normal to feel depressed or anxious, every human does at some stage in their lives, you wouldn’t be human if you never had these feelings. And yes people are traumatised by all kinds of events in their lives. But it seems to me that they just use it as an excuse to put people on dangerous drugs that have the ability of making it worse.
There is no science to being diagnosed. They’ll just ask a few questions but if you just wait and ask those same questions in a week or month you will most likely get different answers.
They’ll say you have a “chemical inbalance” but can’t tell you exactly which chemicals are imbalanced. Instead they’ll feed you a drug to see if you feel better, if not they’ll try another, without explaining the possible side effects that those drugs have, including making you worse.
I was diagnosed with depression and the drugs they put me on made me hallucinate. That drug changes your serotonin levels, that’s exactly what LSD does, no wonder it made me hallucinate. I looked at the side effects of the drug and was shocked to read so many bad side effects, it can make you worse and even make you become suicidal
I visited a friend of mine and his kid wasn’t himself, he didn’t want to play, he just sat there like a zombie. I asked what’s up, they said the doctor diagnosed him with ADHD and put him on drugs, now his just like a numbed up zombie. That’s no way to treat a child who is hyper active
My cousin had a fantastic life, he was very successful in just about everything he did. Then they said he had a mental illness, they put him on drugs and he committed suicide. Why did he do that, it was the drugs that messed up his mind, all he was having was a little mid-life crises like everyone does. The drugs drove him to suicide.
Some people will say well these drugs worked for them, ok but not for everyone, for some it makes things worse. People have been dealing with these things for thousands of years without drugs, they make us who we are, we become strong and resilient when we overcome these feelings. But big pharma wants to push all kinds of drugs onto you for any reason, even for having normal feelings.
Be careful about taking these drugs, big pharma doesn’t care about you it only cares about money. Find out the drugs side effects, don’t just read what the box says, research it, use multiple sources to learn the drugs potential side effects
God bless
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Do you know how they “diagnose” you? It’s not like taking a blood test where they can see which chemical you are low on. No. All they do is ask you a bunch of questions and say you have a “chemical inbalance” without knowing which chemical is imbalanced. Anyone can get this questionare and do it themselves. It’s not a “scientific” way to diagnose someone for an illness, just a bunch of questions to see how your feeling and thinking. I wrote about my experiences and thoughts on mental illness above if your interested in my perspective.
God bless
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I actually agree with @CristoRei on this one.
Lemme tell you something…you’re allowed to have negative thoughts. I’ll say that again, you are allowed to have negative thoughts. You’re allowed to be yourself. You’re allowed to feel things. And anyone who tells you you’re too negative and you’re too depressed or whatever, is literally a 
.
I’m going to give you an example of someone I know. And, before I do, I’m sorry, I know I constantly bring up my Mother, but I just love her so much! She is the most powerful woman I’ve ever known in my entire life, and to this day she continues to astound me with how beautiful she really is. But, I’m going to use her as an example. My Mom suffers in silence every single day. Her life literally consists of eating, drinking, sleeping, working, and showering. She doesn’t have a social life. She’s very much a recluse. She doesn’t innerstand other people, everytime she goes to work she yells to get her point across, because whenever she feels disrespected or not loved she’ll make sure you know it! Not a whole lot of people like her, because she’s overly honest and she’s very blunt. She had a very rough childhood growing up, her Mother wanted nothing to do with her. Her Father, although he loved her very much and she recognized that her Father loved her very much, had to punish her because her Mother would tell her husband the bad things she did during the day and when her Father got home, he had to punish her of all the bad things she did during the day (keep in mind, her Father didn’t come home till very late at night, so all of the bad stuff my Mother did during the day, she didn’t really remember what she did that was wrong so by the time she got punished, she was confused on what is she did wrong). She was on all a lot of depression medication, which messed her mind even more. She was told at the age of 6 that she was a mistake by her Mother. She left home at 17 years old and was told by her Mother that she would get pregnant if she left the house at 17, and she left anyways at 17 and didn’t get pregnant before marriage. And, lemme tell you something, she is so beautiful to me.
You see, most people, when they’re around her, they pretend to love her, but they really don’t (or they have a very odd way of showing it I guess LOL). When my Mother birthed me and my 3 other brothers, we were Mom’s pride and joy. She said that ever since she became a Mother, her kids mean more to her than anything. That, of all the terrible and tragic things she has ever experienced, nothing gave her more joy and more of a purpose than her children. And…it’s really sad, because out of all us brothers, I’m the only one who will come to visit her. Why is that? Well, my brothers say that one reason they really don’t like her is because she makes everything about her and all she does is complain. And, the thing of it is, they’re not wrong. Everytime I come to visit her, I will sit down and she will complain about how bad her life is and how bad work is and she’ll complain most of the time that I’m there. Every so often she’ll say something that made her laugh or smile, but most of the time she does complain.
But you know what? I love her. She’s unique. She doesn’t believe in putting on a performance in front of me. This is how she is, and you know what? I love her! I love the way she is. I love how she trusts me so much that she’s not going to perform in front of me. I love that she is raw with how she feels, all the time. And everytime I go over there, she’s such a joy to me. Because, unlike some people who judge her based on the surface, I know, that deep down she has one of the most beautiful souls I’ve ever encountered. She amazes me….like, you wanna talk about beauty? My Mom surpasses them all. I mean, she is such a warrior to me. She has had the absolute most sh*tty hand that has ever been dealt, and yet, she rises above it every single time. This is a woman who has been through quite literally hell her entire life, and she keeps it altogether. No one can outdo my Mother, she’s just a really strong-willed person, and she is just full of love. When you really get to know her, and really get to see what she’s been through, I just can’t help but love so much. In fact, she might be the only person in this world that I love more than even myself. Plus, her negativity doesn’t affect me, cause everytime I go over there, I’m always converting her negative energy into positive energy (In other words, I’m secretly healing her using the gifts that God gave me).
So, in saying that….believe me when I tell you, that you are not depressed, and you don’t have PTSD. You are just you. You were probably born as a very sensitive person, and the problem is, in our society, sensitivity is looked down upon. Sensitivity means in this Godless society that you “feel too much” or you “think too much.” My friend, you are a child of the most High. You are a gift to this world. And the sad part is, this world does not know how to treat gifts. In fact, most people in this Godless world will treat you as less then, because they do not see the beauty in what you bring to our world. You are a highly sensitive soul, and a lot of people do not like that. In fact, if you’re extremely sensitive like my Mother is, you are labeled as “too much” or “too negative.” Well…I got a message for you, and that is, you’re not! You are not too much. You are not too negative. It’s the people around you who don’t realize how much of an impact you have on their lives. And sadly, you won’t ever hear this from people. You won’t hear this from your psychiatrist. You may not hear this from your friends. You may not even hear this from your family (and if that’s the case, your family has failed you….because again, you’re a gift to them, and most people do not know how to treat gifts). And I’m just going to be real with you, you are not your body, nor are you your mind. Because deep inside of you, you are love incarnate. You are a beam of light energy, but of loving light energy. And, whether people know this or not, you are the most in-tuned person to that light energy. You see, being in this meat suit that we inhabit, limits us in being who we truly are, loving beams of light. And, because you show more light than normal, people don’t like that. In fact, people are jealous of what you’ve got. This is why you were given these labels, because God forbid we could actually have a person on this planet who shines extremely bright, so bright that people can’t handle it. God forbid we’re given a beautiful gift, a beautiful soul on this Godless rock we live on.
So many people on this planet have their head up their a**. They think that just because they have some fancy title, or some degree in something that they are the know-all be-all of everything they went to college for. And, it wouldn’t hurt these same people to eat some humble pie every once in a while, God only knows how many times I have to eat that pie….I have to eat it everyday because I am a flawed hueman being. But…what I’m trying to say is, you’re special.
I mean this when I say, if you ever have a problem, you can come to me. No problem is so great that you can’t come to me about it. I know I’m just a random person online that you don’t know, but, you can come to me about any problem, and I will sit there and listen. If you don’t want me to comment to you, I won’t, I can just be a soundboard for you if that’s what it is you want. Because you’re special, and in a very good way. You deserve to have someone who will suffer with you. Because, that’s what I tell my Mother all the time, that I am more than willing to suffer with her. And, if you want me to, I can suffer with you as well. You are loved, God made you as pure love…you cannot be anything else. And, I love you….and so does God, and Jesus as well. And, I am willing to suffer with you. Feel free to DM me about anything.
God bliss you you beautiful soul!
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I had read your comments, and I don’t disagree with what you wrote. When I expressed concern about self-diagnosis or diagnosing others, I was thinking of a situation in my immediate family where one person said that another had PTSD. Also, I know a Catholic psychotherapist, and if I needed mental health I would trust her completely. Caution is warranted when a mental problem is diagnosed, but with a reliable professional, I would trust that more than a person saying, “I have PTSD” or “She has PSTD” going by impressions only and no tests at all.
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Some good points made by you guys. I spoke a lot about bring careful with the drugs that they prescribe to you but I didn’t actually give any advice on how to overcome these things. I think that talking about it helps a lot. Men have a hard time doing this which is why we see more men committing suicide than women. Women are much more open to talk about their feelings than men. If you have no one to talk to then see a counsellor or a psychologist. Not a psychiatrist because they’re the ones that use drugs to try and solve a problem, drugs that they don’t really know much about. When you talk to others you can get things off your chest, you may also hear about their experiences which really helps you to see that your not the only one with these feelings and that they are normal. Like war veterans getting together and recounting the horrors they experienced, it helps both the speaker and the listener.
God bless
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I wish I could of spoken to my cousin Daniel before he killed himself. I hadn’t seen him in a long time and didn’t know he was having those thoughts. I’ve had suicidal thoughts and I think I could of talked him out of it.
I would have said look at your life, it’s fantastic compared to mine, you have more friends than me and more money, you have your own business and have travelled the world. If your life is not worth living for than mine is certainly not, if you kill yourself then i should just follow you because your much more successful than me.
Think about the people you love the most, your mother, your father and your brother. Think about the pain you would put them in if you kill yourself. It wouldn’t be fair on them. Whatever pain your going through would be nothing compared to the pain you would cause them having to deal with your death for the rest of their lives. Your just transferring your pain onto them and that not fair, it’s selfish. If you really loved them you wouldn’t do that to them or me and my family, your other cousins and your friends. You would traumatise us all for the rest of our lives.
I miss my little cousin Daniel. I miss him a lot. If only I could of spoken to him maybe I could of made him think differently. Maybe I could of changed his mind. Made him realise the excruciating pain he would be leaving his family. He still appears in my dreams and it makes me very sad thinking about it 
God have mercy on his soul
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This is why if you have a relative, a friend, or even the man you saw walking down the street, if you ever have someone in your life who is severely struggling, what they need is your presence. Just being there is all they need. You don’t have to give them advice, you don’t have to tell them anything, just being there, and being present for them is the greatest gift you can give really anyone. I can’t tell you how many times my Mom has told me that I’m the only one in the family where she really does feel like she is loved for exactly who she is. And that’s because the poor woman has never been loved for being who she is. And I hate that for her. I hate that she doesn’t feel loved by anyone except by me. I’m tired of my Mom being labeled as a depressed woman, cause that’s not who she is. My Mother, at her core, is a loving person, and to label someone is to dim someone’s very existence and spirit. My Mother is a perfect example of why you should judge no one.
All of these labels, religious, Lutheran, Buddhist, White, Black, Aryan, Arabic, American, Canadian, Jewish, etc…. All of these labels mean absolutely nothing. Because deep inside everyone, we are all the same. We all come from the same thread, and that thread is God. All of these labels don’t mean anything, cause at all of our core is a being of divine light. Jesus never came down to divide people, he came down to unite people.
We’re the hueman race, and hueman includes everybody. And that’s how it should be, because labels distort what we truly are, which are beings of light and unconditional love. Instead of labeling something right or wrong (using common sense), why don’t we instead ask ourselves what we can learn from any situation that is presented to us? Again, use common sense, I’m not advocating for someone to do something that’s against the law. What I’m trying to do is to get rid of these non-sense labels, because all we do is distance ourselves from others when we label others. Everyone’s on the same level, no one is above or below anyone. All are equal in God’s eyes…so let’s treat people as such.
I’m not just directing my comment at you but at everyone…sorry if it seems like that. I just hit the nearest reply button, I didn’t scroll all the way to the top and hit reply. I mean’t this for everyone, not just you….
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We all have things that we wish we could have done differently. I heard a song on the radio that I really wanted my Dad to hear. And rather than call my Dad after I had heard it, I though I could just tell him the next time I talked to him. He died a few days after. The words of this song were everything that I wish that I could have communicated to him. It is written from son’s perspective and how his Dad embarrassed him when he drank.
I remember looking up to look up to him
And I remember most the time, he wasn’t there
I’d be waiting at the door when he got home at night
He’d pass me by to go pass out in his chair
And I’d say
"Walk a little straighter, daddy
You’re swaying side to side
Your footsteps make me dizzy
And no matter how I try
I keep trippin’ and stumblin’
If you’d look down here you’d see
Walk a little straighter, daddy
You’re leading me"
He stumbled in the gym on graduation day
And I couldn’t help but feel so ashamed
And I wasn’t surprised a bit when he didn’t stay
He stumbled out before they called my name
And I thought
"Walk a little straighter, daddy
You’re swaying side to side
It’s not just me who’s watching
You’ve caught everybody’s eye
And you’re trippin’ and stumblin’
And even though I’ve turned eighteen
Walk a little straighter, daddy
You’re still leading me"
The old mans still like he always was
But I love him anyway
If I’ve learned one thing from him
It’s my kids will never have to say
"Walk a little straighter, daddy
You’re swaying side to side
Your footsteps make me dizzy
And no matter how I try
I keep trippin’ and stumblin’
If you’d look down here you’d see
Walk a litlle straighter, daddy
You’re leading me"
Yeah, walk a little straighter, daddy
You’re leading me
My Dad had an addiction and was a slave to the bottle. It wrecked his Marriage, his relationships with family and friends, affected his relationship with us boys, and ultimately led to his death.
Do I think that he would have been able to overcome the pull of his disordered desires had he listened to this song? I doubt it.
Addiction and Suicidal thoughts are similar. They are things that our bodies do that you and I have little control over.
You could have talked to your Cousin and maybe he would have been distracted from it for a while, but the pull would have returned had he not taken steps in his life to change.
I do believe Jesus can heal these disordered thoughts and desires, but we must turn to Him and away from thoughts of despair.
We must focus on the gifts He has given us and not on darkness (I know easier said than done). Will we do this perfectly? Surely not. Can we do this perfectly? Not on our own. We need the grace of God, who longs to set us free.
I have met some who have made it simple, Either I’m drinking or I’m not. It’s that simple. This is where I think the practice of Lent can help us overcome many of the impulses that attack our souls. If we offer up these desires to God and allow it to honor Him, He offers to make our burdens light (Matthew 11:30). If we take His yoke upon us, then we are not alone.
If you tell yourself Suicide is not an option. Just like the soul who says drinking is not an option, then it takes some of the weight off. And in times where things do feel heavy, ask God to help you, Come Holy Spirit. Pray it a few times and then go. Go where? Go somewhere out of that place. If you are feeling pressured to drink? Go away from wherever you are that is causing these desires. If you are having dark thoughts, go out into the sun and breath in the fresh air. Listen to the birds chirping and the clouds in the sky. If there are none, do not lose hope.
When some of the disciples wanted to leave Jesus, our Lord turns to the others and said, is this your desire too? St. Peter responds, “Lord, to whom shall we go?”
Jesus said also, “Come, follow me…” (Matthew 4:19).
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I have been praying for you that God will show you a healing way and give you the grace to follow it. Today’s Gospel, from Matthew chapter 7, says, “Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For the one who asks always receives; the one who searches always finds; the one who knocks will always have the door opened to him.”
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As long as that is what you want to focus on at that moment, then yes, focus on the gifts he’s given you. It’s one thing to sincerely focus on the positive, but it’s a whole other thing to focus on the positive when really you’ve had the worst day imaginable. Just like your Father was with the bottle, positivity can become a toxic addiction too. To avoid the negative and only go towards the positive is an example of an addictive mindset. I want go towards something that “feels good” instead of facing the bad things that happen in my life.” Remember…addictions are forms of escape, and having an addiction to positivity can become a form of escapism.
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“Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” — James 1:2-3
“…We also rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance.” —Romans 5:3 And produces hope (verse 4), which does not shame (verse 5).
“Give thanks in all circumstances” — 1 Thessalonians 5:18
“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them… The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” — Psalm 34:17-18
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.” — Proverbs 3:5-6
“O Lord! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit. Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love.” — Psalm 143:7-8
“The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.” — Psalm 9:9
I never said that this is an easy thing, but a practical thing. When you think you have nothing, you have everything you need; God! And in times when you think you are nothing, you are not relying on God’s understanding (Proverbs 3:5).
So, I stand by my twofold strategy:
- Focus on Jesus (who also had a really bad day, and really days leading up to that really bad day)
- Get out of wherever you are physically. A famous saying in our home is, “I need movement.” We can say that we are doing something, when we really are not.
I think we agree on the second point, which is to distract yourself with something good, rather than something bad.
Exercise is good if you are feeling restless, but exercise can be bad if one is doing it out of a disordered perception of oneself (I’m referring to those who struggle with body dysmorphia or a compulsive disorder and excessively exercises to the point where it becomes unhealthy or even an idol). These individuals are skipping step one, which is focus on God, His blessings, on His glory, and on His Word. We do not suffer alone. God is with the faithful. God is their strength if they turn to Him in Prayer and thanksgiving.
We also have the communion of saints. There are Saints who struggled with many of the same things that you and I struggle with. They will gladly Pray for you if you ask them to. And God hears these Prayers, because we are all members of Christ’s body. God is not the God of the dead, but God of the living (Matthew 22:32; Luke 20:38). When a saint dies, she is not dead, but alive in Christ Jesus and is not separated form Christ’s mystical body after their earthly life, but remain in Him and He in them.
I know you have a different perspective on what happens when someone dies, but this is a Catholic forum and this is what we believe.
I love talking to you, because we can disagree and have a conversation about it instead of just hurling insults at eachother, which is wonderful. That’s one reason why I love this forum, cause instead of kicking me out all because I disagree with certain things, you’re instead willing to hear me out and that’s because most of the time I don’t resort to name-calling or insults. I think there was one time, not to long ago, where I got snippy with you, but I make sure that if I am being called anything but a white boy, I will address it…because just like I have certain qualms about your religion, people tend to have certain qualms about mine. Oh, I remember what you said, you said something to the effect of “non-believers believe they are Gods” but you made it out as if I dabble with demons. Yeaaaaaaah not really. Yes, Spirituality is an umbrella term, so yes, it could mean that one evokes demons or worships demons, but I don’t do that. Something I could do, which I will never do, but something I could do is summon a tornado near someone’s house and basically destroy the home with the tornado. I’ll never do that, but I could. But this idea that I involve Satan in my practice is not only wrong but it just isn’t true. But again, what I believe requires one to give up old misconceptions about certain things, and that’s one of them. I seriously doubt the United States Military would teach us about Satanism. Some things this religion labels Satanic, isn’t really Satanic. Basically these labels are given mostly because someone’s afraid of something, and it’s foreign to them, so they label it Satanic based out of fear. Which isn’t surprising seeing as thought this religion loves to boast about fear. Because, like it or not, part of the reason why some people suffer is because of fear. So, in that case, you’re not really helping someone, instead you’re just increasing their misery.
But anywho, to clarify my stance, I have no problem with someone trying to see the good in everything. In fact, I have no problem with positivity. It would be foolish of me not to recognize that positivity has a place in our Universe. I mean, our Universe on a Spiritual level is made of love, and really, in a Spiritual sense, when you’re on this planet and when you’re living your purpose, a beautiful thing Spiritually actually happens. You see, whenever you are living your purpose and you are happy, your mind expands. And so, because the Universe is made purely out of love, everytime when someone on this planet is in a good mood and in a positive mood, the Universe will start to expand. And again, that’s because we’re connected to everything. So, there’s most definitely a lot of good that comes from positive thinking. I’m not shooting that down. All I was getting at was, it’s very easy to tell if someone is genuinely happy versus someone who is pretending to be happy or pretending to hold it together. And all I was trying to say was, that’s a form of toxic positivity, cause you’re not helping your situation by pretending everything is ok, you’re making it worse. I’d rather a person be real with me then pretend everything is ok, cause that just makes whatever that person is going through worse. I would know because I used to do that….a lot! I don’t know how this translates when it comes to a person’s death, but I promise you, I only have good intentions….