I must be dying!

I know you have all seen these ecards on Facebook and Pinterest. I found one that is perfect for me! However, for me it's not always a laughing matter. I will joke and discuss my health anxieties with anyone, but it doesn't mean that its not serious. I've been wanting to blog about this for a while. Honestly, it's the Christians that scare me. Unfortunately, some pastors and fellow believers don't believe that depression or anxiety is a real condition. We must not be trusting the Lord. We need to work on our relationship with God. If someone has an illness impacting their kidney, do we question their faith? Nope. The truth is, IT IS REAL. Everyone experiences anxiety from time to time. It's totally normal. But for some of us, it's life altering. A couple of years ago, I got a really strange and painful ear infection. I went to a minute clinic. The nurse looked in my ear and freaked out. She told me that she thought the infection had spread to other soft tissues. After telling me this, she takes my blood pressure which was high. I eventually went to an ENT in Charlotte who told me that I had an ear infection caused by cleaning my ears out. It was easily treated and I was on my way happy happy happy. That night I woke up in the middle of the night with my heart racing. My chest was hurting and I felt like I couldn't breath. I just knew I was dying! It was a panic attack. But I was fine! I knew I was fine but my brain just couldn't make that connection. I was in a fight or flight mode constantly and for no real reason. This continued for a while. I refused to take medication. I prayed. My first 6 months of marriage was filled with anxiety. Over what? I don't really know. The Lord brought me to a point where I knew I had to take medicine. Taking the medicine actually helps my UC out as well. The reason I am sharing this is because I know there are so many people (especially women) in the church who suffer from depression or anxiety that are afraid to talk about it. They are afraid they will be judged. I just want to say it's OK! The Lord has given doctors the wisdom to recognize and treat these kinds of illnesses. Your body is a temple of the holy spirit. You are commanded to take care of it. If you break your arm, you get it fixed. If the levels of serotonin in your brain are out of wack. Get it fixed! You are a messenger of the gospel of Christ. You should be in the best shape to do that.