Invisible Battles
Nadine Rose Salas Manio
There is a saying that goes “an idle mind is the devil’s workshop’’. This is true indeed when I went through an ordeal battling with anxiety and depression few years ago after I gave birth to my eldest child. I used to be a workhorse prior to settling down and building my own family. I used to think that depression is just a state of mind and it is just a phase that would easily go away. I was ecstatic when I became a mother and it never occurred to me that after a few months, I will suffer from postpartum depression. I would go and ask myself, “I have everything that I have ever dreamed of but why do I feel a sudden loneliness? Why do I feel empty inside?”
By the grace of God and support of family and friends, I was able to overcome and won the battle against anxiety and depression. I now have a different understanding and perspective towards people undergoing the same ordeal I went through. Depression has no face. You may be perfectly happy outside but struggling on the inside. It is more challenging to be in that situation nowadays because we are living in a world full of judgment. It is easier said than done but indeed, we have the sole power to control our mind. We have the power to choose what to feed and what will come out of our mind. We just need to have a strong determination to tell ourselves that if we believe it, we can achieve it.
It is devastating to know that a lot of people, even famous and rich personalities had succumb to the invisible battle that no one knew. I hope that one day, we could break the stigma and we can widen our horizon and understanding towards people finding a battle we know nothing about. It is a cliche yet true that kindness is free. Before we go ahead and be quick to judge, let us show compassion and kindness that will create a ripple affect among our fellowmen.
I would like to end this article by sharing my favorite bible verse each time I am engulfed with fear. 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” Whatever tough situation you are in right now, please remember that there is nothing that God cannot rescue us from.
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