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Social Anxiety & Judging Others
Melody is back today to share what I thought was an interesting take on social anxiety -- if you have social anxiety, are you constantly judging others?
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Anxiety in a Christian Woman’s Life
Anxiety in a Christian Woman’s Life [Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Melody Quinn. I really appreciated Melody’s outlook on anxiety in a Christian woman’s life and I hope you do, too. We have a few posts on Devotional Diva on this topic, because it is not uncommon and certainly nothing to be ashamed of! Be encouraged.] I am a Christian woman who has struggled with anxiety all of my life. It has only been in recent years that I have begun to explore my identity outside of this statement. In my search to understand my identity as the Lord created me, I began to look at how anxiety…
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Worry Free Living…Joyce Meyer Excerpt
[Editor’s Note: I received a copy of Joyce Meyer’s new book, Worry Free Living: Trading Anxiety for Peace to read and select an excerpt from! I have to say, this was a very relevant book for me and I loved it! I always love Joyce, but man this spoke to me. I really, really enjoyed it and I’ve been referring back to it already. Here’s an excerpt from a later chapter. It was hard to choose, but this was my favorite. Joyce just really makes a lot of sense in this chapter! I hope you’re encouraged!] Prayer Produces Peace, Rest, Patience, and Hope Several times in this book I have mentioned…
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Cross Over
[Guest Post by Rayni Peavy. This post is a part of the 2015 Devotional Diva Christmas series entitled, “Extraordinary Christmas.” It was originally published on Devotional Diva in 2012.] I’d never been afraid to fly. From the time I was a baby I’ve been flying on a regular basis. Even flying across the country a few months after 9/11 didn’t scare me because I trusted God with my life. And then it happened. Several years ago, out of nowhere, I began having anxiety attacks. Unfortunately two of them came back to back on a long plane ride overseas. It was a traumatic experience, to put it mildly. From that moment on…
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From Depressed to Blessed: How I Found an Attitude of Gratitude
[Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Kristen Vortices. I wanted to have some gratitude-focused devotionals in November, as we are celebrating Thanksgiving in the US. This week’s devotional is the why? to practicing gratitude and next week’s answers the how?] A few years ago I found myself depressed. My job became really frustrating and the more I tried to fix my situation at work the more stressful my job became. I became short with my family and friends who I loved. Instead of focusing on others I began to focus on myself. As I focused on myself, I became less and less happy. Finally I fell into depression. For months I lived…
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Becoming a Mom is Completely Terrifying
Becoming a mom is completely terrifying. Almost every night for the past few weeks, I’ve started falling asleep…and then I realize, I’M GOING TO BE A MOM. I go into a panic, thinking about how hard it will be to take care of my new baby and trying to think of all the things I still need to do. I try to rationalize my knowledge of infant care and how I can get everything done. In my mind, if I can make sense of something and have a reasonable plan, I start to feel better. I’m excited for my little boy to arrive, really, I am. I want to be…
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I Must Be Perfect
[Guest post by Rachel Madden: I think Rachel’s story on perfectionism will really encourage some of you, especially those who struggle with being a “perfect mom.” Remember “I must be perfect” is just a lie!] Psychology Today quotes, “For perfectionists, life is an endless report card on accomplishments or looks. A one-way ticket to unhappiness, perfectionism is typically accompanied by depression and eating disorders. What makes perfectionism so toxic is that while those in its grip desire success, they are most focused on avoiding failure, so theirs is a negative orientation. And love isn’t a refuge; in fact, it feels way too conditional on performance.” Please tell me this…
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The Scarless Pledge
[Guest post by Takiela Bynum: Do you struggle with self-harm? Are you ready to take the scarless pledge? So glad God brought Takiela to Devotional Diva to share this!] Some people cut for relief, I cut because I wanted to die. She’d taken several pain killers to prevent her from feeling any pain. Besides, she needed a backup plan in case the other thing didn’t work out. She located the vein, turned her head and quickly slid the razor across her flesh. She winced at the sharp sting. The warm ooze drizzled down her hand and left its trail on the hard wood floor. She climbed into bed and hoped for…
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I'm Moving On From A Painful Past
I have spent this summer introducing you to myself. Guest posting will return on September 2nd, but after today Devotional Diva is going on a short hiatus. I still have a lot of ideas for post topics, but last week I asked my husband what he thought I should write for my final post. Without asking for any of my ideas, he just replied, “You should write more about your life now.” He’s completely right. I’ve written quite a lot about my past this summer. It makes sense, because all of us draw on our past for hints on how to handle our futures. I’ve written about my physical assault at…
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Looking Back on My Physical Assault at Work
I believe my physical assault at work led to my downward spiral into depression and anxiety. But it also taught me about my own courage. I was already depressed. I had already suffered trauma. I was still physically sick. But I was trudging on. I tried to keep up with my job at Chuck E. Cheese. Chuck E. Cheese has a system in place that aims to ensure children’s safety called “Kid Check.” Families that enter together (adults included) all get a stamp with a number on their hand. That number is checked upon exit to make sure that kids leave with the right adults. Babies get a sticker with the…