Hear, Hearken, Obey: A Pattern to Overcome Adversity

Person sitting on a dock looking at a lake

When it feels like our life is cracking under pressure, how do we continue? Sometimes the answer is to submit to the will of God. I was 12 years old when I lost all my friends—for the second year in a row. Another move, another state. With burgeoning depression, I… Continue reading

Sunday Blues and Sabbath Delights

an image of a mountain with a sun shining over it

I dreaded Sundays. I wanted to enjoy them, but I didn’t until I learned to focus on my relationship with God. In his talk “The Sabbath Is a Delight,” President Russell M. Nelson uses the word delight sixteen times. To me, delight meant eating ice cream or watching a romantic comedy; it did not… Continue reading

Combating Suicide

Man sitting alone on bench in darkness

The LDS Church has recently launched a new webpage, “Preventing Suicide,” to combat suicide and its traumatic effects.  Suicide is difficult for many of us to talk about—perhaps because we don’t want to be vulnerable, make others uncomfortable, or say the wrong thing to someone who we know is struggling.… Continue reading

How to Come Up for Air Among the Waves of Mental Illness

Waves Crashing on Rock Near Mountains during Daytime

Even though we may be drowning in the waves of mental illness, our reliance on Christ will help us make it to shore. Around when I started high school, I began to experience anxiety on a level that wasn’t just nervousness or anxiousness. My struggles with anxiety have always made… Continue reading

Healing Spiritual Depression

an image of a statue of an angel with a cross in the background

Dealing with depression can be difficult, especially when it affects our spiritual lives. But with proper treatment, depression does not need to keep us from feeling the comfort and guidance of the Spirit. The symptoms of depression are fairly recognizable: apathy, sadness, guilt, lethargy, insomnia, loss of appetite, and so… Continue reading

Speaking More Positively by Overcoming Negative Thinking

Group of friends standing outside.

You can build better relationships with those around you when your words flow from optimistic thoughts. “Even in the golden age of civilization someone undoubtedly grumbled that everything looked too yellow,” quoted Elder Jeffrey R. Holland during his April 2017 general conference address, “The Tongue of Angels.” Even in the best of… Continue reading

Stormy Days and Mountain Waves: Finding Strength

Ocean waves at sunset.

We were created to withstand and overcome even our most challenging trials. Have you ever asked the question, “How could God let this happen?”  I have. I was 17 and struggling with severe depression, and I couldn’t understand why God didn’t just take it away and help me feel normal… Continue reading

Why Can’t I Just Be Perfect?

cracked road

From childhood, I had done my best to be “perfect.” But Heavenly Father subtly reminded me that imperfections were steppingstones to eternal life. As a kid, I was always happy and helpful, and as my mother called me “the angel child.” Somehow though, I took that nickname to heart in the worst… Continue reading

When Worry Wins

an image of a small dog laying on the floor with its head on the floor

We all experience anxiety. But when anxiety dictates your actions, you need to find help.   According to mental health specialist Lyle J. Burrup, “anxiety is a normal human emotion” that can grow to become a debilitating disorder that “impedes normal functioning.” In his Ensign article “Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders,” Burrup… Continue reading

Seeing, Stopping, and Surviving Suicide

two women on couch in mourning

You or someone you know may be thinking of suicide. Learn how to tell, how to help, and how to heal after a suicide attempt.  According to Dr. Kenichi Shimokawa of LDS Family Services, suicide is the second-leading cause of death among people between 15 and 29 years of age… Continue reading