My Story.

I've always been a very anxious kid. For me it was just a normal way of life. However, during my sophomore year while on the cheer squad that anxiety level increased to the point where I would have multiple anxiety attacks in a week more than I'd ever had. It wasn't healthy, so when the season ended, I turned to Student Council for my junior year. 

I love all the experiences and everything I've learned from student council, but with the pressure of being the example for the school. I felt like I couldn't show any emotion other than happiness. Due to that, I kept lots of my feelings and thoughts on the inside. 

The anxiety soon turned to depression. During this time, everything was hard. Waking up and getting out of bed was hard. Going to class and staying on top of things became incredibly difficult. Not letting myself look depressed became even harder. It got to the point where I would forget to eat. And the thoughts of hurting myself increased, those thoughts stuck with me every single day. 

I wasn't happy. I wasn't myself. I was drained of everything. I felt hopeless. 

I didn't know what to do. 

That's when my family stepped in and I let them know what was going on. I couldn't keep all this in anymore. I couldn't keep going like this.

The solution we came up with was only the beginning; medication, counseling, healthy eating, etc. That was how I let the world fix me, but I knew I needed something greater than that. 

I needed Christ. I needed the atonement and his grace. I needed his pure love in my life. 

I didn't think that way off the bat, I slowly, very slowly got there. But when I did, when I completely put my heart, life, and joy in his care, I noticed the change within me. 

The anxiety is gone. (other than the ACT it came back for that.) I no longer have thoughts of hurting myself. I'm not longer depressed, hopeless or full of despair.

I'm happy. I'm filled with joy. I love who I am red hair and everything. I have so much to be thankful for. I'm finally me. 

If you're going through what I went through, I promise you if you turn to Christ you will be healed. Just how he healed the blind, or raised the dead. He lives for you. He's waiting for you to come unto him. 

Like Al Fox said "Imagine Christ in front of you, and then he smiles." You will be filled with joy. I promise you it gets better and the blessings you get from turning to Christ are immeasurable.