Making Sense of Mental Illness

Whether you struggle with mental illness or want to help someone who does, you can find hope by understanding it more thoroughly. “She’s gotten so crazy!” “He had so much potential.” “Snap out of it!” We often say things like this when we don’t understand how to help friends or… Continue reading

Charity Revisited

man atop a mountain with sky

For the longest time, I didn’t think I had any charity. Whenever I heard about charity in Primary, Sunday School, Young Women, Relief Society, and even many of my university religion classes, the message I always got was that charity was service. Charity was going out and giving, working, and… Continue reading

Embracing Our Forever Trials

Sun shining through a hole in a dried leaf.

There are some trials that you just can’t shake—no matter how much you’ve healed, they’ll be with you for the rest of your life. And that’s okay. One day you wake up and your whole life is different. Maybe you’ve lost a loved one. Maybe you’ve suffered from an accident,… Continue reading

You Don’t Have to Feel Guilty—Depression Is Hard Enough

Depression diminished my feelings of gratitude and left me feeling guilty, but a talk reminded me that I don’t have to feel guilty for being depressed. Most people think depression is a constant, deep sadness. It’s not. At least, for me it’s not. When my depression is at its worst,… Continue reading

Stumbling Toward Heavenly Father

Struggling with mental illness does not mean you have a broken spirit. But how do we avoid feeling that way? We are all aware that life is not easy. Everyone experiences hard times and difficult trials. But for some of us, mental illness can make those dark times all the… Continue reading

Sadness Is Not Suffered Alone

As members of the Church, we can lean on our Heavenly Father, the Savior, and other members to lift the burdens of sadness and mental despair.  Since I was a young girl, I remember always feeling nervous. This nervousness persisted and became a part of my permanent thought process. Eventually,… Continue reading

I Became a Broken Vessel

ceramic cup on wooden table

I didn’t have depression, but it still left me broken and in need of Christ’s healing power. The first time I heard the conference talk “Like a Broken Vessel” by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland in 2013, I was touched. I felt empowered by the usual general conference “afterglow,” but I didn’t give… Continue reading