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Can you just say what you mean?

I have never been the kind of man to brood over the faults and missteps of others, but I must take inspiration from my own life and the many mistakes I have made and have yet to fix. I would say that there are many times I avoid conflict just because I think my opinions don't matter when in fact they do matter, they matter quite a lot. But more so than my opinion I like to turn to the bible to resolve some deep weeds in my thinking right now and I would like to replace them with biblical truth before I close my eyes and go to sleep tonight. I used to think that all problems were solvable until I started encountering things (thinking patterns) that were very destructive and hard to replace.

I think at the heart of all our problems is the way we choose to think about things. Thinking is a choice and what we choose to think about determines the course of your life. The concept of psychiatry is to change the way a person thinks about their problems and if you are up for it I would like to give an example from my own life. I always though there were limitations on how much I could learn as a person, until my mind started changing and I developed new habits and replaced old thinking patterns with new thinking patterns. I have been seeing a mind doctor for quite some time now and I'm not ashamed to say that I've learnt a lot just by being a patient.

Here are some of the things I've learnt so far; 1. No problem is insolvable, when in doubt look to the last good thought you had and dwell on that. 2. Medicine works. I don't care if you have a back ache or a head ache, God created doctors and he used man to create things to relieve our pain, be they emotional or physical. 3. You should never be afraid to seek help from a professional if you need it, but you must want to get better not just a band aid to cover something that can be easily fixed by a good night sleep. 4. There is great comfort in knowing that you are not the only person who feels this way. Through time there have been many people who have gone through the exact same things that you are going through and have come out of it on the other side. 5. Never give up.

I used to think that there was shame in being weak and vulnerable, but what I have found is that there is great strength in revealing your heart to another human being. When we see the faults in our friends we don't feel so isolated and we want to share our lives with them in the right way, and that means being completely honest and open with our feelings and letting others into our lives so we can "do life together" (By the way that is one of the motto's of my church.) The whole purpose of this human experience is not to go off in some corner, like a hermit and shut out all your thoughts feelings and emotions from those who love you the most, part of my recovery from depression was to break the cycle of isolation that I foolishly built up through my own pride, and let others see my heart.

There is one warning here, not everyone is where you are. They may be the ones suffering the most in life and when you are vulnerable with them, they take advantage of your weakness instead of being vulnerable themselves and lifting you up. One last caution, not everyone wants to be happy. They are content where they are in life, and by you showing them how you feel will just give them fodder to use things that were meant for encouragement, to tear you down. Choose who you reveal your heart to very carefully. But when you find someone trustworthy, hold on cause you are in for the ride of your life.

This is Mike.

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