A Daughter of the King’s Mental Health

Honestly, this is a bit of a difficult entry to write. Mental health is something that’s hard to talk about, but it’s also something we really need to address. 🙏🏻✝️

When Eve took the first bite of the fruit, the world shifted and changed. Sin entered, and with it came the brokenness that leads to struggles, like mental health challenges. The enemy has always tried to convince us that we’re not enough, but God’s truth is that we are loved and enough in His eyes.

Mental illness involves disorders in thinking and behaviour patterns, often caused by the lies we hear about our worth. And honestly… Everyone at some point believes that lie… that you are not enough. That thought has led many people to insanity, depression and anxiety as well as many more mental conditions. 😔 Have you ever felt like you’ll never be enough, no matter how hard you try? I’ve been there too… but the real thing is… We will never be enough… we will never be perfect… Only God is perfect and we should stop trying to be perfect.

But the truth is everyone is struggling with problems in society 🙏🏻😩 and everyone has believed at least at one point that they are not enough. But another truth is… Having mental conditions is not your fault. Don’t let someone say to you that it’s not your fault. Mental conditions are really hard to control. Take David for an example in Psalms 13:2-3:

How long will you forget me, Lord? Forever?

How long will you hide from me?

How long must I worry

and feel sad in my heart all day?

How long will my enemy win over me?

Lord, look at me.

Answer me, my God;

Tell me, or I will die.

Otherwise my enemy will say, “I have won!”

Those against me will rejoice that I’ve been defeated.

I trust in your love.

My heart is happy because you saved me.

I sing to the Lord

because he has taken care of me.

You see, even David 👑 who was exalted and given a position of great power sinned and was sad at heart .💗 But at the volta (search it up, Shakespeare is awesome!) He is giving thanks and rejoicing in his creator. But with mental conditions, it doesn’t and shouldn’t define who you are. I know people, especially adults, will tell you you are enough that you belong when sometimes it feels like it isn’t true. 😭 But the truth is a lot of those words come from God. So keep on reading Daughter of the King as we unravel all of this together… 😇 God loves you… and this is what he has to say about it…

Depression

Depression is when you have a feeling of steady sadness and a loss of interest which can affect your everyday activities.🎾 The extremity of depression 😭can vary depending on the person or situation. But sometimes it can get so bad that a person doesn’t want to wake up in the morning☀️and will stay in bed all day or even think suicidal thoughts. When you have depression sometimes you can’t see the point of the universe. 🌎The world is still spinning but you feel like it’s stopped. And I’m saying sometimes cause it depends on the person. 

Here are some common causes of depression:

• Family history (not everyone has a perfect family and it can leave Trauma and depression.)

• Genetics (yes depression can be in genes but you can fight it.. And not everyone gets it.. Keep reading)

• Life events or someone dying

• Hormones 

• Poor nutrition

• Not enough sleep

• Health

But whatever it is or even if your just feeling slightly sad 💐God still loves you so much that he gave his only son for YOU.👶🏻 He knew you would experience pain, and sadness and sin but he died so that you could still live after life on earth and once you’re in heaven there shall be no more tears and no more injuries🤕. It might be painful right now but the weight of it has been lifted onto his shoulders. 

Whatever you believe girl, he’s got you in his hands. He cares for you so much.  So much. Even when the dark comes flooding in and you can’t see the light of day… He’s holding you. Even when you turn away from him and lose yourself in a huge wide world… he’s holding you.

He loves you… I know you might have heard this before in Sunday school… but trust me it’s SO TRUE! 

Even when you choose to believe the lie that you aren’t enough he still loves you. And as your father he will love you no matter what.

Have you ever heard of a saying an apple 🍎a day keeps the doctor away? Instead of that I like to say A Psalm a day keeps the soul at bay. (other bible verses too of course! 😉)

Here are some of my favourite Psalms to read when I’m sad and other bible verses:

(Tip: For a beginner please use maybe a Good News Bible because it has easier words and easier to understand… intermediate use NIV)

• Psalm 34:17

• Isaiah 41:10

• Matthew 11:28-30

• Isaiah 61:1

If you don’t own a bible search up a online one or if you don’t know how to use one here is a youtube tutorial:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fn-il3NqCBc 

And a bible online app:

https://www.bible.com/ 

But the truth is Jesus has got you girl! You never have to be alone again cause he’s holding you in his hands.

Anxiety😨

Anxiety is a gnawing feeling in your stomach.. it;s a reaction to fears… It’s a fear that you're not enough or that something will happen. It can be many things: The fear to leave the house in the morning or The fear to talk or the fear of the dark. 

But Anxiety just isn’t fear it’s a word for when people are scared, sometimes so scared they start having panic attacks and fainting. It’s many emotions, it’s when your mind 🧠 takes over and do to much thinking and there is no room for your gut or your heart 💗to speak. Many people experience anxiety. It’s part of our brain, when we let a certain part of our brain speak too much and your warning senses kick in and you can start sweating or fainting or have a strong urge to run. Anxiety can also be put into fears like phobias.

Like I remember when I was younger I had an extreme fear of

Mascots. They scared me to death. I was also afraid of death… (Still am by the way it’s a common fear amongst us humans but I know there’s a better life in Heaven waiting for me)

It takes a while to get over a fear. But Anxiety is more than one fear; it's when you let your fears take control.

Anxiety can be caused by:

• Gender… Did you know that women are almost twice as likely to get anxiety than men???

• Social isolation

• Childhood trauma

• Stress

• Physical and mental health problems 

• Negative life effects (like if you break up with your BF and you worry it was your fault)

• Social pressures

This of course does not define you and it is not true for everyone.

But the main question is:

WHAT DOES GOD SAY ABOUT ANXIETY?

In the bible he says at numerous occasions and also in Isaiah 41:10: Do not fear for I am with you. 

He tells us not to fear and reminds us that he is in control. He knew you way before you were born and he would never harm you… But that doesn’t mean he’s to blame for a car accident because when the fruit was eaten we got to make our own choices. But that would lead us down a whole different track. The point is he tells us to trust in him.

Part of the way of curing anxiety is to have faith. I cannot stress how important Faith is. It’s one of the most important fruits of the spirit. ✝️If we have faith that God is in control then it basically banishes anxiety… but it won’t get rid of it forever. Anxiety will still come back… it’s part of sin. But Jesus is holding you.

One of my favourite bible verses is Psalm 23. When I was younger and I couldn’t get to sleep because I was so scared of giants my mum would tell me… ‘Read Psalm 23.” Honestly it’s such a good bible verse for anxiety. 

I’ll list it here…

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 

    He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

    He refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    They comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.

Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    Forever.

I also like one of the song versions it’s so COMFORTING try Still Waters (Psalm 23) by Leanna Crawford 📕

Some other bible verses:

• 2 Timothy 1:7

• Joshua 1:9

• 1 John 4:18

A bible story I like that relates to fear is Peter trying to walk on water. He trusts God so blindly that he walks on water for a second but then he sees the water and can’t walk on the water anymore. He calls out for God to help him. 

God replies “Have you so little faith?” and helped him.

The truth is: Faith has power over fear.

What to do about Mental Conditions?

There are many different types of Mental conditions we haven’t covered today, and I would also like to acknowledge that I don’t know everything about Mental Conditions and if you need to talk to a professional go talk to a professional. I am also very sorry if I have offended anyone.

My advice:

1. Pray to God

God wants to be in a relationship with you! If you're struggling with mental conditions or anything like that, pray to him about it! He wants to hear all about your struggles… he died for you! He died carrying your burdens and when you pray to him about something I can’t guarantee he’ll answer or get rid of all of your burdens… but he loves you so much and he wants to hear about it and if it’s His Will, he might cure you or send help. I remember one time when I was panicking I stopped. My Mother had always told me to pray about stuff and I prayed. I cried and I told God what was on my heart and I talked to him for probably about an hour. Afterwards I felt so peaceful and I immediately stopped worrying. Praying can work miracles!

2. READ YOUR BIBLE

I cannot stress how important reading your bible is. It strengthens your relationship and helps you work through struggles in life. 📕✝️💗

I recommend if you're a beginner reading Psalms, Mathew, Mark, Luke, John and Isaiah first.

3. Get Prayer

It might be from a youth leader or from a parent or if you don’t have any Christian people in your life you can contact us via the form on our page 🙏🏻We are always available to pray for you!!! But getting prayer from others who also have faith in Jesus has a healing power… especially when lots of people are praying for you!

4. Sleep

As teenagers we normally forget to do a very important thing…. SLEEP

Sleep can balance the chemicals in your brain out and build better resilience. Teenagers are supposed to get at least 8-12 hours of sleep a night! But mostly we stay up half the night or even get no sleep at all!

5. Talk to someone about your concerns

It could be a site like Beyond Blue or a trusted guardian but it’s important for your mental and physical health to talk to someone about it… Remember your health matters 💗💓 You can also talk to us!

The ending.

Ok so as we come to the end of this entry… I want you to know how amazing Jesus is... and how much he loves you.

If you were touched or moved by this entry please feel free to follow us and check future entries or even share this with your friends so they can be blessed to! We can’t promise it will be like this one but we’ll try!

Remember I don’t know everything about Mental Conditions but I do know one thing.

Jesus is holding you in his hands, Daughter of the King.

Take care xxx

-Heidi

Reference

Most of this is a mix of stuff I've learned, the bible and what God has instructed my hands to put down but thanks to:

Mental Health Foundation (2024). What causes anxiety? [online] www.mentalhealth.org.uk. Available at: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/our-work/public-engagement/mental-health-awareness-week/anxiety-report/what-causes-anxiety. (accessed 20/1/25)