A teen on tmcyouth.com recently asked for help on how to deal with feelings of depression, anger, and suicide. The following is a heartfelt discussion, and her response to it. You can find the full discussion thread by logging on to the homepage at tmcyouth.com. From there, click on the Forums link, then Healer's Exchange, and look for the thread called, "anger and depression."

Anonymous

I am suffering with anger and depression and suicidal thoughts. Plus, my mood seems to swing a lot. Can anyone give me any advice? Thanks!

soccergirl5op

Hey, it's your friend from camp this summer. God loves you. You are His beloved daughter in whom He is well pleased. You live forever in God's kingdom. Listen to His guidance. He will never leave you hangin'!

gardenerofthought Moderator

I also had to face suicidal thoughts as a teen. I was angry with my parents, angry at the world, and mad at God. I had to find a different basis for thinking about myself than the one that had me feeling unworthy, unlovable, and unnecessary. It came for me in reading through the 10 commandments. I thought about the one that said not to take the name of the Lord in vain. I didn't swear, so I thought I had this one covered. But this time, the question came, "What is My name?" The immediate answer was "I AM," the name God gave Moses when he asked God what His name was. When I put I AM in that commandment, I realized that every time I said (or thought) I am worthless, unlovable, stupid, etc. I was actually taking God's name in vain.

Since I was His image and likeness (according to Genesis 1), then anything I said about myself as God's reflection, had to be true of God as the original. I decided to try replacing the negatives with Godlike qualities and affirming that I possessed them by reflection. Took some effort (but those efforts are always supported by the Christ—the message from God to man), but gradually my thoughts about myself turned around. All the suicidal thoughts left, and I was eventually healed of all the symptoms of depression.

You are loved and valued and that can't be hidden from you anyone else!

SARAH HYATT
MEMBER, BOARD OF LECTURESHIP

valpal

After reading what everyone has been saying (great ideas being shared!), I am reminded of some bad thoughts I was dealing with yesterday. I started out my day as usual, but then as I was doing some things around the house I had to take care of, I started feeling apathetic. I had been having a great week seeing friends and doing activities, and these feelings just came out randomly.

Then I realized how ridiculous that was. I can't have joy one minute and not the next, or happiness being around people or doing certain activities and then unhappiness being alone.

Before if something like this had happened, I would have just let it pass until I was back to my usual self. I would have attached the feeling to me. But now I realized, there was no reason for me to be feeling this way, and this definitely was not something I needed to attach to myself and be a part of.

I had a nice talk with my mom and by the end I was back to myself, happy and motivated. The clouds had given way to the sun.

Now I know this is not the same exact as your situation, but what you can take away is that error tries to attach itself to us through bad thoughts and feelings and wants us to get upset and see these thoughts as a part of ourselves, but we have to realize that they are really not. Even though it can be hard, we have to see the Truth about ourselves. I really like the MBE quote, "Resist evil . . . and it will flee from you." It can be hard and seem overwhelming, but even just taking it one step at a time can be helpful.

You are reflecting God, the one Mind, and although the thoughts seem real, you can stomp them out with the Truth!

brojoh

I think most of us have had to deal with some sort of depression, frustration, anger . . . Everything may seem dark and gloomy, but even on the darkest of days, in the heart of the night, the Sun is shining. All you need is a glimmer of hope . . .

Pray for guidance, and know you won't be left down. It is only when we start to outline that we run into trouble. Be still and listen, inspiration will guide you.

Lots of Love
J

Anonymous

Hey Sarah,

That is so cool how we, at one time or another, had the same problems. I want to thank you so much for your response to my cry for help. I think that your response was so in sync with someone of my age group. I am not a full 100% better yet, but I am working still to get there. A lot of your ideas really inspired me. One in particular was how you looked up the 10 commandments and the 3rd one about not taking the Lord's name in vain. You realized that just thinking about killing yourself is like taking the Lord's name in vain, which I thought was cool. I am so grateful for Christian Science because it is such a great religion and I love how a lot of the people in it would care about me so much that they would write such inspiring things to me to make sure that I was doing all right and not wanting to commit suicide anymore. Thanks again for your great response! |CSS