Why Is This the Last Thing People Try For Anxiety And Depression?
What do most people do first? … Everything else!
Here is a list of things friends may suggest to you, if you confide you are anxious or depressed:
Have a drink
Cheer up
Get busy, get involved, take up a hobby
Exercise
Do breathing exercises (such as box breathing)
Meditate
Talk to someone
Reduce caffeine
Sleep well
Journal
Limit social media
Get professional help
Stay connected with friends, family, and community groups
Grounding Techniques like the “5–4–3–2–1” method (name 5 things you can see, 4 you can touch, 3 you can hear, 2 you can smell, and 1 you can taste) which claims to help in moments of acute anxiety. (but, I think, is just distracting you.)
Say “No” when you really want to, and set boundaries to reduce stress and overwhelm.
These things may be good things to try (except for drinking alcohol!). They can be included in your arsenal of coping mechanisms. But they are not going to heal the root cause.
The natural approach:
The natural health approach is crucial even if you are on medication. Talk to your doctor first. and work with them to incorporate a ketogenic diet. This is the Keto Diet connection you need to nourish and heal the brain and the body.
The brain doesn’t feel bruised or sick, rather it shows its health through mental symptoms of depression and anxiety, overwhelm and stress, headaches, general fatigue, and possibly worse later on, if not addressed. Without healing the root cause, symptoms can progress, both physical and mental.
The diet you need is a healthy, low-carb, ketogenic diet consisting of unprocessed foods. This is important to add to your self-care and lifestyle, especially if you have mental health challenges, even as simple as minor depression and anxiety.
You can strengthen your brain by eliminating toxic foods and drink, and adding healing foods and supplements.
Okay, so far so good. But then what is the last thing most people try that actually should be the first thing?
What about your spiritual side?
This is the most overlooked, and yet one of the most prevalent causes of depression and anxiety.
Don’t wait to address the spiritual aspect of your depression and anxiety until you’ve tried everything else first!
Here is what you should do immediately, regardless of other programs or prescriptions you are using:
Lean into, or start (if you don’t have one) your relationship with God.
Grow in your spiritual relationship as a priority.
Put on the whole armor of God as found in Ephesians 6:10–18.
Trust in the Lord’s might and not your own strength.
Take your authority as a believer in Christ, and use it.
Let’s take a look at each of these points and how to do them:
1. Your relationship with God
The gospel — do you actually know what it is?
First, see yourself the way God sees you from His holy perspective, according to His law, the Ten Commandments. Paul tells us the law was given so that we could recognize ourselves as sinners, lawbreakers, who need someone to save us from the penalty of our sin. That penalty according to Scripture is eternal separation from God in hell.
Second, repent, turn away from your sin, and accept Jesus as your only way to the Father and to heaven. Take Him to be your Savior, and surrender your life to Him as your Lord.
2. Growing in your relationship with God
Get discipled! That means learning God’s Word, and replacing the ways of the world (that have been your guidelines up until now), with God’s ways.
You don’t have to be perfect, but if you mean business with God, and you are sincere, then you have authority over all the power of the enemy! (Luke 10:19)
What does this have to do with your depression and anxiety? Well, it could actually be the root cause of it. Some depression and anxiety is coming from a purely spiritual cause!
There is a story told by Derek Prince. He was experiencing a period of time in which he sensed opposition and oppression that was hard to define. There were various frustrations, apparently unrelated, that brought a cumulative sense of bondage against him. He felt barriers in communicating with those who were closest to him. People he trusted failed him. He was barely making enough money to cover his family’s bills. Things kept going wrong. The mental pressure kept building every day.
As he prayed and sought God about all this, he was reminded of the set of four, very expensive, beautiful, Chinese embroidered dragons he had inherited from his grandfather. A question kept forming in his mind: Who in the Bible is represented as a dragon? He knew it was Satan. They depicted the adversary of Christ, and they had a showcase in his home! He struggled with the decision, but he knew he had to get rid of them.
Shortly after he got rid of the dragons, his finances dramatically improved. In fact, his income more than doubled! The other seemingly impossible situations in his life began to work out easily.
As he sought the Lord to understand all this, he realized that he and his household had been under a curse. By disposing of the dragons he had released himself from the curse and opened himself to the blessing God had planned for him.¹
Pastor Shawn Carter, also, teaches on his YouTube channel — Unveiling the Paranormal — that involvement with demonic activity often leads to depression and anxiety.
So, have you had anything to do with:
Ghost hunting?
Consulting mediums, taro cards, fortune telling, ouji boards and pendulums, witches, rituals, ritual sites, etc.?
Do you watch dark movies and/or read horror books? That is basically telling the dark side that you are interested in them and want more!
Do you have occult objects in your possession? Whether or not you know you have them and /or recognize that they are occultic doesn’t matter!
The kingdom of darkness under satan’s rule, works entirely through legalities. Possessing his trinkets gives him legal rights into your life. That is why every new Christian should familiarize themselves with all that is considered to be occultic, as well as cursed objects.
To help you with that, here is a wonderful resource:
Check out this list found on https://truthinreality.com/2012/10/27/the-occult-cursed-objects-cults/
Do you consult your horoscope, angel cards, psychics? Do you practice New Age techniques? Do you use crystals, and other objects used in the New Age movement? Here is what Steven Bancarz, former New Age teacher, says in his book The Second Coming of the New Age:
“I have two videos on occult objects which address how they give demons legal ground, and how holding on to them prevents your mind from being able to renew and refresh itself from association with occult objects.”
I also talk more about this subject in Attack Anxiety & Depression With Spiritual Weapons! on my YouTube channel: God, Mental Health, and the Keto Connection.
So, as Pastor Shawn Carter often says, the first step is your relationship with Jesus. Without this, you only have the world’s tools to battle your mental distress.
Listen to what Jesus says in Luke 10:19:
“Behold I give to you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”
3. Put on the whole armor of God
I battled anxiety during and after my divorce. I’ve told this story before. But it was like hand-to-hand combat with the devil!
It took a while, but I gradually grew stronger, and God answered all my prayers along the way! I knew I was not alone! I learned to put on the whole armor of God found in Ephesians 6:10–18.
I tell this story in detail in the article on my website, “Can Anxiety Be Cured?” if you want to know exactly how I won my battle in the Lord, and in the power of His might, you can read it here:
https://www.godmentalhealthandtheketoconnection.com/post/can-anxiety-be-cured
4. Trust in the Lord’s might and not your own strength
Use the power of simple prayer which is part of your relationship with Jesus.
Again I give credit to Pastor Carter, who teaches how simply asking for God’s help in any clash with the powers of darkness is powerful.
Keep yourself spiritually clean by keeping short tabs with the Lord. If you mess up, just tell him you’re sorry and ask His forgiveness. Keep Him first in your life. Pray throughout the day. Keep the connection going.
You can cleanse the air too, as Pastor Russ Dizdar taught. Just ask Jesus to remove all spirits that are from the dark side, wherever you happen to be.
These things are great safeguards against the attack of the enemy.
No matter your circumstances, nothing can come between you and the love of Christ ! And His perfect love for you will cast out all fear and darkness.
5. Take your authority in Christ and use it.
Address the enemy.
Say something like, “You spirits that are causing me to have anxiety and depression, spirits of fear and heaviness, I bind you and your reinforcements in Jesus’ name. I rebuke, renounce, and reject you in Jesus’ name. Get out of my life and go where the Holy Spirit sends you. Never come back, in Jesus’ name. You or your replacements, revenge, retaliation spirits, past, present, and future, in Jesus’ name — the name that is above every other name.”
If you sense them coming back at some future time, and they will try and test you on this, just go through it again. It will gradually happen less as they realize you are off-limits now.
If you have any questions, prayer requests, or would like to talk one-on-one please leave a contact form on my website https://www.godmentalhealthandtheketoconnection.com/booking and I’ll email you a time we can talk on the phone.
I would love to help any way I can!
Thanks for reading!