{"id":1700,"date":"2018-03-02T20:00:54","date_gmt":"2018-03-03T02:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/?p=1700"},"modified":"2019-05-17T13:10:06","modified_gmt":"2019-05-17T18:10:06","slug":"breathe-just-breathe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/2018\/03\/02\/breathe-just-breathe\/","title":{"rendered":"Breathe. Just Breathe. (Breathe Series, Part 1)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A<\/a>Breathe. \u00a0Just Breathe. \u00a0 (<\/b>Breathe Series, Part 1)<\/i><\/b><\/h2>\n

by Lydia Floren<\/p>\n

Depression took me by surprise. I\u2019d never struggled with that particular problem. Anxiety, yes. \u00a0 But the overwhelming feeling of gloom and doom, the closing in, even the belief that the world might be a better place if you weren\u2019t in it? That I had not experienced, at least until last year.<\/p>\n

A shroud of sadness<\/b><\/h3>\n

At first, I didn\u2019t even realize what was happening. It would come and go. A feeling of hopelessness. A lack of energy. Unexplained tears.\u00a0 Even after I connected the dots and figured out I was depressed, it took me awhile to pinpoint what might be triggering it. For me it was light\u2014or rather, the lack of light. A particularly overcast summer introduced a shroud of sadness into my life. It clung to me as the days grew shorter and shorter, near-paralyzing me as its tenacles tightened.<\/p>\n

Breathe. Just breathe.<\/b><\/h3>\n

How does one survive such oppression? Such a threat to one’s vitality? I know as a physician (and now, through experience) that there are lots of things that can help:\u00a0 a special light in the morning, medication to change the brain chemistry, regular exercise, a healthy diet, positive people, connecting with God every day.<\/p>\n

But some days are just hard. A friend who has struggled with depression for years once explained it like this:<\/p>\n

\u201cSome days you just breathe. All you are supposed to do that day\u2014all you CAN do\u2014is take your next breath.\u201d<\/p>\n

Breathe. Just breathe.<\/p>\n

You may be depressed, or stressed, or overwhelmed. You may be blindsided with anger or pain or hopelessness or fear.\u00a0 And some times, some days, nothing seems to help.<\/p>\n

God understands.<\/b><\/h3>\n

God understands. God doesn\u2019t expect nearly as much from us as we expect from ourselves. But because we live in a performance-based culture, it hard for us to wrap our minds around that fact. It is difficult for us to grasp that our true worth–our value to God, to ourselves, to the world–is not based in what we do, but in who we are.<\/p>\n

Our true worth–our value to God, to ourselves, to the world–is not based in what we do, but in who we are.\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

Once that truth sinks in, it changes everything. We can relax.\u00a0 It is easier to accept that some days, what we are supposed to do\u2014and all we are called to do\u2014, is to breathe. Just breathe.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

PS: \u00a0Here\u2019s a great song I\u2019ve been singing lately:<\/p>\n

Breathe, by Jonny Diaz\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hnjeMwxFuBA<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Breathe. \u00a0Just Breathe. \u00a0 (Breathe Series, Part 1) by Lydia Floren Depression took me by surprise. I\u2019d never struggled with that particular problem. Anxiety, yes. \u00a0 But the overwhelming feeling of gloom and doom, the closing in, even the belief that the world might be a better place if you weren\u2019t in it? That I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[453,465],"tags":[134],"class_list":["post-1700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-anxiety-depression","category-finding-freedom","tag-anxiety"],"yoast_head":"\nBreathe. Just Breathe. 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