Thanksgiving is over. Back to semi-normality if you can survive the Christmas season. No, I won't tell you it's about your attitude. I won't tell you to be grateful for what you do have. I won't tell you to get out and socialize. I won't tell you to have more faith. While those strategies help for some, each of us were creatively, uniquely made. There is no one universal answer to dealing with mental health issues. If there were, there would be no more mental hospitals, psychotropic drugs, or suicides.
When I meet people who start entering the friendship zone, I make it clear upfront I am not good with socializing. I always feel like a burden. I have a lifetime of baggage that is deeply embedded into my perceptions. Isolation is safer for me as I read books about others who have the same issues as me. Relationship issues.
The best way for me to stay healthy is to stay true to my gut feelings rather than going with the flow, following society.
Jesus had 12 disciples who followed him, a few followed Him all the way to the cross. Yet there were also 3 women who followed along, "some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases". Luke 8:2
Beth Moore suggests the 12 men followed Jesus because they were called, while perhaps the women followed because they were cured.
The women followed Jesus... either because they were so thankful He cured them, or because they had illnesses... or maybe because they loved Him.
Place me in all 3 categories. You see, we have to find coping mechanisms based on our limits, and we know our limitations better than anyone.
And that is why I devour my Bible rather than getting out to socialize.
