Healing your Mental Health Spiritually

Thank goodness it’s finally spring. After those long winter months of hibernating and hiding from the cold weather, spring time gives us so much to look forward to. While the warm days of summer are my ultimate favorite, and still something that I am yearning for, as spring opens it’s doors it ushers in new blooms, new life and just a breath of fresh air I feel excitement.

That fresh air that I am breathing right now is pumping me full of creativity. But through this rush, I feel the need to stop and take a look back.

Before my Eating Disorder completely took over my life in 2018, my husband and I had planned to take our 4 year anniversary trip to Greece. Even though we had only been married 3 years at that point, we had been planning our trip for 2019 almost as soon as we got back from our honeymoon.

By December 2018, my ED had taken over. In February 2019 I entered an ED treatment center. Going to Greece was no longer an option. See, in February 2019, I could hardly leave my house and eat, let along eat in another country. As I fought my ED every single day in 2019, I brought up my Greece trip in therapy often. I thought about the girl who had traveled and seen most of Europe just a few years prior. The girl who ate, maybe with fear, but a girl who ate and enjoyed. I thought desperately about the girl who was independent, strong and brave- in 2019 I felt like I was none of those things because I was so limited by the fear in my mind.

My husband and I still brought up the Greece trip throughout that year- we promised that when I was recovered that I would travel again and we would go to Greece. Greece became this symbol to me. It meant that I had won, that I was free of that debilitating fear, and that food was safe again. Greece meant that I was back to who I knew deep down that I truly was.

By February of 2020, I wasn’t fully recovered, but I was truly getting there. I was so close that I could taste it. We started planning a summer 2020 trip to Greece. And then, well, you all lived through 2020. You know what happened to my Greece trip.

We waited, and we are still waiting on Greece. But during those 2 years we had saved up enough money and we were SO ready to travel. I was ready to get out of my house and see a new part of the world.

We just got back from New York City a few days ago. We were there an entire week. And that week, for the first time I realized that it was REALLY true- I am living in recovery. I got on planes, I ate all the meals and food that I wanted, I didn’t let food or fear stop me from doing one thing on that trip. I DID IT ALL- all without the Eating Disorder holding me hostage.

The shell of a girl that I was in 2019 is gone. The true me, the one that God built up to be stronger and more resilient and happy that I can ever imagine is standing here.

I shed my old self- the self that enemy was actively controlling with fear and anxiety and I am made completely new by the peace of God.

2019 is the year a lot of people wish that they could go back to- the year when things were normal. For me, that was my year of constantly fighting the enemy in my mind with God’s Word and battling meals daily with prayer and affirmations. 2020 was the year that I got my feet under me and started walking the way that God wanted me to walk and take the path that he had laid out before me. 2021? While I can’t predict the future, I think that this is the year that God uses me in ways that I can’t even imagine.

I write you all of this to let you know that there is hope, no matter what mental health struggle you are facing. There is hope of recovery and healing. Future you is waiting on you, the girl reading this right now, encouraging you to make the difficult choice to CHOOSE healing and recovery. It’s not something that is going to heal in a day- whether it’s anxiety, depression, and ED or an addiction. It’s an active choice to heal God’s way.

As spring begins this year, I know that I’ve shed that shell that my ED had around me, attempting to ‘protect’ me from the world with fear based rules that almost killed me. I feel this newness blooming inside me from the seeds of recovery, redemption and healing that God planted through my long journey fighting my ED.

The only way out of these mental struggles is to go through them. We have to feel it all- all the fear, all the situations that scare us- we have to choose to face them and fight them God’s way. Healing God’s way isn’t like healing on this earth. Treatment from doctors, physicians, nutritionists, care teams, psychiatrists and therapists are SO important on this journey. Healing spiritually is JUST as important as all of those other things.

This spring, I encourage you to start to shed old patterns and behaviors that no longer serve you, or serve the purpose that God has planted in you. Shed the routines that keep you in these thought patterns that aren’t biblical. We all have different triggers and different reasons for why we think the way we do. No matter what, we can always turn to the biblical truths about ourselves. Check out my posts of Christian Affirmations to see some great affirmations to start your day off with!

Want to know where to start healing your mental health spiritually?

First, take a look at your day. Where is God? Setting aside time daily to dig deep into God’s Word through a devotional (check out my free one, Transitions, here!) and take time to pray. I set aside 30 minutes every morning to do this. Yep… I changed my routine so that I get up earlier. I spend every morning with God first thing.

Then, I added in daily affirmations. Affirmations as SO important in changing your thought pattens. You have to feed your brain good and Godly thought patterns to show it a new way to think! I’ve got a list of 100 Christian Affirmations here, as well as an article on how to write your own affirmations! If you want a printable, I’ve got a set of affirmations and verses that go with the Transitions Devotional in my shop! Make sure to check those out too! (BTW, I’m always adding new products, devotionals, printables, freebies and more to my shop! Join my email list so that you can be notified when new things become available!)

Next, start taking a hard look at your thoughts. What are those triggers that send you spiraling down? Make a list of them. Next to that list, write an affirmation, or a thought replacement, for each of those triggers. One of the biggest thoughts that ran through my head when my ED was powerful was “I can’t handle this.” The one that I replaced it with is “I am a strong and mighty warrior. God is in control of this.” I changed my thoughts to what God says instead of what the enemy says. Repeat these over and over and over. Even in the midst of panic attacks, crying and looking at my food, I repeated and repeated. I actually kept these written on notecards so that I was ready to fight whenever the enemy attacked me.

Understand that you’ll win some battles, and you’ll loose some- recovering from a mental health issue spiritually isn’t about being perfect. It’s about showing up and deciding to fight with God. God never expects us to be perfect. He expects us to try, to put Him first and to trust Him. He never expects perfection- so let go of that expectation for yourself.

I’m linking some other encouraging articles here! I hope that you read them and that they are helpful as you start this season of transition into a new way of thinking and spiriutal healing.

Your Eating Disorder’s Purpose

How to Pray When You’re Overwhelmed

Finding the Strength in the Chaos

How to Learn to Love Yourself Again

I am always praying for you. Feel free to reach out through email at [email protected] and to follow me on Instagram @heightsinheels where you can see daily inspirational posts as well as DM me!