Hope for Mental Wellness
The journey of hope and healing for anxiety and depression.
My Story.
Welcome! Thank you for taking the opportunity to visit our mental wellness page. Whether you struggle with anxiety, depression, OCD, PTSD, or feel as though you are in a lonely or vulnerable place in your life, whatever the reason, you are in the right place now. It means so much to me that you are here!
My name is Tara, and I am a wife to an amazing man, a mother of four beautiful babies, and a lover of Christ. When you visit this site, I want you to know your presence here supports me and my journey and the millions of others across the world who suffer from anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders. My goal is to create a space promoting peer support skills to inspire hope that healing in mental health is possible.
FOR YEARS I WAS UNSURE.
My journey is unique, just like yours. Anxiety and depression have plagued my family and me for years. My first panic attack started with the pregnancy of my second child. The last seven years of my life, anxiety, and depression have led me through many different places. I have felt feelings I couldn't describe other than "nothing" and felt feelings on the anxiety and panic side where I thought I was dying, seriously.
Anxiety and depression are probably some of the most horrible feelings I have ever felt, and for years I was unsure what any of it was. I was sure I had a medical misdiagnosis. The suffering was all so physical; how could there be nothing wrong with me? Mental health is tough. You can't put your finger on what it is sometimes, and questions like, "What is wrong with me? Why can't I handle this? Is this all in my head?”
A TURNING POINT.
I can remember a time in my journey where I was so physically and mentally worn, day after day, and I would just hope and pray that I would feel "normal" again the next day. Daily tasks became a chore, even being with my family that I loved so much seemed like a chore. I would ask myself, "How can this be? I shouldn't be feeling this way about my own family!"
I wanted the old "me" to be back, the one that didn't think about anxiety, panic attacks, or obsessed over my "safe" people or places. I was in this torment for so long I sometimes couldn't even remember what life was like without the anxiety and depression. Thoughts come to me of remembering being so exhausted at the end of my day, only to lie awake with insomnia. That was pure torture. I was so exhausted and tired but couldn't sleep. So many thoughts plagued my mind, and each morning I would wake up only to find the lingering anxious feeling returned, the obsessive thoughts returned, and the constant worry of when the next panic attack was coming was right there. Exhausted and drained, there were many days I fell to my knees and just cried. I felt so hopeless.
The journey toward healing was a long one for me. It started when I turned to alternative medicine or as some call it functional medicine. It's a holistic approach to our ailments. Over the last three years of educating myself sincerely and humbling myself to different areas of trying to gain knowledge and relief have I made great strides in my health—Body, Soul, and Spirit. My relationship with God began to blossom and become the main focus of my life. All of a sudden, nutrition started to become important to me. The more I focused on my entire being for healing, is when I began to feel this change happening on the inside. Awareness of how much stress my body was under was also another major factor. It almost seemed like everything I had thought was normal "mom life," was way out of wack. There was no self-care what-so-ever.
The symptoms did not disappear right away. It was a slow start, and it might seem like that for you. But one step is all it takes, one step toward wellness. I'm here to share with you the hope of mental wellness.
FAITH, BELIEVING IN MORE THAN THE EYES CAN SEE.
Feelings of anxiety and depression are genuine. But hold faith, as I can tell you from my experiences, you are not alone. I have felt what you are feeling. But, God. God is going to take your story and use it for good if only you would let Him. All you need to do right now is believe. That's step one. Have you accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior? Do you believe He is for you and is capable of healing you?
I would love for you to use my journey and this page as a resource of tools to help you with your mission of healing. If you can just rest in this verse for a moment, 2 Corinthians 4:18, "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." Know that what your seeing and feeling are 100 percent genuine, but are also 100 percent temporary. God's word is truth, and if we believe its true, then we must believe in this promise that this is temporary and that this too shall pass.
A UNIQUE TOOLBOX FOR YOUR JOURNEY.
Through this journey, I like to think that I have picked some wisdom or knowledge from each trial on the path to healing—let us say these are tools—each tool I put it in my unique journeys toolbox. And now, I have this beautiful toolbox filled with tools—my personal experiences, trials, and tribulations, to share with you that I pray can help you on your unique journey. I want you to help you fill up your toolbox with the tools on this resource site and mold them into your creation, make them your own. God speaks to everyone in different ways, so this toolbox is yours and customized to you.
I would love to say my anxiety is in the past; however, its simply not true. Still today, anxiety is a battle I face at different times in my life. But most importantly, I am in a place of such trust with the Lord that I know He will use all of what I have experienced from my mental health to minister to help me assist in ministering to others.
My goal is to aid in exposing the lies that the enemy has put in our heads about who we are, where we are going, and what our purpose is here. Your story may be similar to mine, or maybe it is not, that's okay, no matter the reason why you have experienced anxiety and/or depression, it's still the same. Can it help us to know why we feel the way we do? Of course, but remember that we all are in this together, you are not alone, and I am here to walk with you. You are in a safe place, right where the Lord wants you—resting in his loving arms.
THE HEALING JOURNEY IS FULL OF EMOTIONS.
God created us to have emotions. Emotions are part of what connects us to this world. Think about what life would be like if we weren't able to experience anything with emotions. The joy of seeing something so warming to your soul would be no different than experience pain or anger when say, someone has hurt you.
As we can see, emotions are a necessary part of the journey. We feel joy and love, but we also can feel pain and suffering, but know that in the pain and suffering, is where the pressing of the grapes happens—that's what produces the wine. Your mind, will, and emotions are what make up your soul. Because of the sinful world we live in, we do experience things we would rather choose not to go through. Think about this if we never experienced trials; why would we need Jesus?
When we accept Christ as our Savior, we receive the Fruit of the Spirit, and we are well equipped to handle what comes our way. The Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Through Christ, we have all of these, and we can confidently walk in the Spirit knowing we are rooted in Christ, and he is our foundation. These trials and torments do not have to steal our joy, and they only do when we allow them to. Can we say there is something we can gain from this? Absolutely! Take heart!
Can you think of anyone in history who has such wisdom and joy for the Lord that has never experienced any type of trial? The beauty of this journey is we get a choice. We have an opportunity to choose Jesus and say yes to the word of God, or choose our path. Please let me encourage you that through this storm of mental torment, you have a heavenly Father that loves you so much. He is head over heels in love with you. Can you think of anything you love that much? Now take that times infinity. That's pretty intense love. Thank you, Jesus, for the gift of emotions to allow us to experience this love.
Rest one more time in this truth, and we have Jesus. He knows anxiety, depression, and physical torment in ways we could never know. And the great thing—we have direct access to this! Here's the key, we need to nurture and allow the manifestation to take root in our hearts. How does this happen? I believe this happens when we start to take a whole-being approach to our wellness. We need to nurture the Body, Soul, and allow the Spirit to manifest in us.
IN BODY.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17, "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple." There is no denying we are a physical body. Our body is what connects us to this earthly world. Our senses we use to bring awareness of our surroundings and environment back to the mind to process.
There are so many ways we can tend to the care of our physical bodies, to name a few; this could be exercise, taking a walk, nutrition, and more. We could focus on drinking more water, and supplements may be a consideration or possibly medication; they all have a purpose and a part in the journey at times. Maybe for a season, perhaps for many. It's okay. Where you are right now is okay. Let's not fight it. Let's accept it as part of the journey, and let's go on from here.
IN SOUL.
If I were to sit and talk with you face-to-face, I would be talking to your "soul." It is our mind, will, and emotions. It's what makes up "you." The soul is what you like, how you feel, the way you think. What in life drives you? What do you love? That's part of your soul. There are also a lot of ways we can nourish the soul, different from the Spirit. We can nourish our minds with positive thoughts and affirmations that rewire your brain! There is a science that proves this. Nourishment may even look like volunteering to feed your soul. I have a lot of input in this area and look forward to sharing it with you in the future. Let's get back to what you love. "A Christian's hope isn't an escape or wishful thinking, as C.S. Lewis says, but something that a Christian is meant to do." We have hope in eternal life, which means that we can attack today with a renewed vigor and strength. Friend, it's going to be okay. Jesus will walk this journey with you, but remember, the Lord went before you, Jesus walks beside you, and the Spirit of the Living God is in you.
IN SPIRIT.
Every person, when saved, receives the Spirit of the living God to dwell inside of them. With this truth, we have direct access and a direct connection with God. Matthew 26:41, "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." This scripture shows us that Spirit in us is wanting and willing to be the "leader," but we have a choice. That's the great thing about God, we don't have to choose Him, but he wants us to do so! There it's nothing more desiring to him than to have you saved and lean on him, but the flesh can get in the way of us living the truth of all of this is, we need the Spirit to be the leader.
The best way to start equipping ourselves with Spirit and being connected to the Spirit is to get go straight to it, found in the Word of God. We have 24/7 access to this wisdom, and we always have direct access to prayer. You may have heard this before, believe it, prayer is powerful!
MY MISSION.
As I continue on my journey and follow the path the Lord has positioned me on, I open my heart to be a light, Matthew 5:14, in your darkness. The road to recovery starts with focusing on the tools from our rich toolbox of wisdom. I am blessed and grateful to be fulfilling my soul's purpose of supporting amazing women in reaching their fulfillment of hope, reconciliation, and tranquility. I hope you find these tools supportive throughout your journey.
I look forward to regularly adding new tools and words of wisdom. My vision is to one day start a Mom" me" ministry that assists mothers in need with daily chores and tasks that become overwhelming in perinatal times. To support mothers to equip themselves with biblical truths and to be able to minister to them in ways that they can nourish the "me" in momme.
Additionally, be able to offer private sessions focused on one-on-one spiritual leadership and mentoring. I also aspire to create a place for individuals to share their journey, practice prayer meditation, and mindfulness in a calm, relaxing environment created especially for the mental wellness community. One thing in my life right now is for sure, and I am on fire for the Lord. I pray He allows me to minister for His glory to you in a way that is simple, biblical, and something that will stay with you—this is my hope for mental wellness.
