Recently I read an article that I felt impressed to share it with my Stake sisters. It is in the March 2017 Ensign, entitled "Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders". We live in an increasingly stressful world and as sisters we feel the impact of that stress in many ways. Anxiety and depression are magnified by the stresses of life and by the social media culture. I'm pretty sure that all of us have seen the affects of anxiety and/or depression, whether in our own lives or in the lives of family members and/or friends. It doesn't need to be clinical - even periodic or episodic issues with anxiety and/or depression are difficult trials to deal with.
I liked this article because it was straightforward and helpful to both those who might be experiencing these things and to those who are watching from the side. It can be hard for those in the middle and those on the outside to understand and know where to seek help or how to help.
Several years ago, I served as a ward Relief Society president. Many of my sisters were struggling with anxiety and/or depression on varying levels. The bishop and I counseled together often to know how to support these sisters and their families as they worked through the issues and situations. I realized during that time a gratitude for my own personal experiences with depression and anxiety, because those experiences gave me empathy and understanding for my sisters that I would not have otherwise had. Decades before I was ever called as Relief Society president my personal challenges and the challenges of close family members taught me the value of seeking help and the need for taking ownership of our challenges. During that time as Relief Society president I came across a small, simple book that I felt provided hope and help. I gave away many, many copies of that little book over those five years. I don't know if it's still in print, but it was from a series of books written by Randy L. Bott (a BYU Professor). The series was called "Comfort My Soul in Christ" and the book I gave so many copies away of was titled, "Depression: Finding His Light Amid the Storm". Someone I gave a copy to all those years ago, commented to me just a few days ago that they had been re-reading it and found it once again helpful and hopeful.
A few years back, our younger son returned home early from his mission. He was broken by overwhelming anxiety. It shocked my husband and I to the core. We knew that anxiety had been a problem for him in middle school and we had found help for him. High school and first year of college hadn't caused any alarms. It never occurred to us that it would become a problem on his mission. As he came home and we slowly walked through the process of finding him help, I was again grateful for my previous experiences with anxiety and depression because it gave me a greater ability to cope with the difficult situation. It was emotionally hard for him, for his younger sister still at home and for us as parents. My oldest son texted me the day his brother came home. All it said was Romans 8:28 "all things work together for good to them that love God". That has become a favorite scripture. I have come to see the hand of the Lord in my life during the good and the difficult times. My younger son has come to see that although it was an awful time for him, he can (and has) let the Lord turn it for good in his own life and in the lives of others.
We usually only see a portion of the people around us - the part they let us see. We quite often have no idea what personal difficulties they may be struggling with. But no one goes through life without pain, without suffering, without struggles. We can't take away the pain of others and we can't (and shouldn't try) to solve their problems. But we can offer support, compassion, understanding and guidance. We can minister to them in genuine ways. We can reflect the love of their Savior for them and in doing that we truly offer hope. I chose the picture for this post from my collection of skyscapes. It is a sunrise photo taken one morning after driving the Seminary kids to school. I love to see the sun rising to bring light to the day - to dispel the dark hours of the night. It is a hopeful moment of the day. We all need to feel that kind of hope in our lives.
We are never alone - even when we feel loneliness and isolation. We are never without help and support - even when we feel helpless and lost. We are all daughters of a Heavenly Father who loves us and we all have access to Him through prayer. We are all offered peace through the Atonement of our Savior. "...and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities." (Alma 7:12) I know from my own struggles that peace and comfort can be found through the succor of Christ our Savior. To any of my sisters who may be struggling, I would say: Reach out to your family, your Ministering Sisters, your Relief Society presidency, your Bishop - get the help you may need.
With love,
Lorie Pierce
