As all of us become adults and learn to take on more and more responsibility, we are also presented with the difficult task of making more and more choices. And even if you don’t have an anxiety disorder, those choices can be overwhelming. Yet one thing that has helped in my recovery has been placing my trust in Christ as my compass.
Having faith that Christ saved me from my sins, that God walks with me along my journey, has been something I have told myself and fallen back on when making challenging decisions. It doesn’t necessarily make it easy, but it at least allows me to move forward instead of letting my anxiety paralyze me.
It also doesn’t mean that the choices necessarily work out the way I plan. And when that happens, when what I expect doesn’t come about, my anxiety and depression risk going into overdrive. Yet I try to be comforted by remembering that it isn’t only my plan at play, it is also God’s plan for me. After all, part of having a compass is following its guidance instead of your own.
Living with mental illness is hard. It is also hard to maintain faith in the face of adversity. Yet one of those challenges can make decisions harder and one can make them easier, at least for me. As always, the posts in this series aren’t meant to convert anyone. My faith works for me, and I want to be honest about the importance it plays in my recovery. But that doesn’t mean it works for everyone. And honestly, it doesn’t have to.
There isn’t a right or wrong way to have faith and there isn’t a right or wrong way to ease the anxiety of hard decisions. But hopefully, sharing my approach of using Christ as a compass will help some.
The Dark Tales Project 