There is hope – My story of overcoming depression and anxiety caused by a neurological disease

One of the biggest challenges of chronic Lyme disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and other neurological conditions is the debilitating emotional and mental symptoms they cause. Indeed, depression, anxiety, brain fog, memory loss, slow mental processing and speed, among other mental and emotional problems, are common in people with the condition.

Throughout my recovery from Lyme disease and environmental illness, I struggled against all these symptoms, and more. Some days, I got up and cried before I could even go to the coffee maker. I spent hours lying on the floor, toilet paper in my hand, tears running down my eyes, as I struggled to find the will to get up and sit in front of my computer, or to do everything that needed to be done. done that day. My decision-making ability, my desire to perform basic daily tasks and my ability to think, socialize and be seriously affected by illness. The isolation, financial difficulties and other circumstantial difficulties of chronic illness have further aggravated depression, anxiety and cognitive problems.

Worse still, the difficulties of my recovery were compounded by the fact that I did not feel sufficiently supported by well-meaning loved ones and members of my church, who seemed to have a hard time understanding why I simply could not " to get me out of trouble. "My doctor has prescribed antidepressants. my friends have told me to "trust God" or to pray more, while others have urged me to seek advice or to exercise. All of these things were helpful, but none of them approached me as a full person or with regard to the roots of the disease, which was not just the infection.

Anyway, over time, I realized that Lyme disease was largely responsible for the mental and emotional symptoms I had fought, but that it was not the only cause. The root of the disease had actually started in my early childhood, and that's when I had to start my healing journey. By relieving the pain in my soul and the traumas of early childhood that opened the way to the disease, my body was able to recover more completely.

Depression, anxiety and other mental-emotional disorders caused by Lyme disease and neurological diseases are not easily solved because the root causes are often multiple. While an important part of the solution is eliminating infections or taking supplements to help balance body chemistry, I personally have not found that these products are enough for many people.

In addition, health practitioners focus on healing different aspects of the person. Some will advocate drugs or supplements to correct a chemical imbalance in the body, while others will focus on cognitive and behavioral tools to combat harmful beliefs and behaviors. Still others focus on the spiritual side of things and develop a relationship with God to strengthen the spirit.

Yet, my struggle for more than ten years against a serious neurological disease, my 14 years of medical research and ministry with dozens of other people with chronic diseases, including Lyme disease, have learned that depression, anxiety and other psycho-emotional symptoms are caused by a combination of mind-body-soul factors. Moreover, as our mind, soul and body are interconnected, what happens to one part of us often affects the other two, so it is often necessary to deal with healing at these three levels.

Thankfully, over the years, God and the many wonderful doctors and practitioners with whom I've worked have helped me overcome largely the depression, anxiety, and cognitive problems caused by Lyme disease , trauma and other factors that motivated me. a life of illness. I have been crying daily for more than a decade and taking antidepressants and sedatives to live most of the time with optimism, stability and emotional strength, strength and mental clarity. I do not take any medicine (even if I do not judge anyone who does it, as sometimes you only do what you need to do to survive!) – and I have largely solved the underlying trauma, biochemical imbalances and the infections that contributed to my emotion and mental challenges. So, if you are fighting depression, anxiety, cognitive dysfunction or other psycho-emotional issues, encourage yourself is hope of healing these devastating and debilitating symptoms.

I would have liked to know what I know today, fourteen years ago, when I fell ill. I think my recovery would have been much faster, but I hope I can spare others the same pain I endured by sharing everything I've learned over the years.

To that end, I have just published a new book titled Healthy, happy and free: Mind-body-soul solutions for healing depression.

While the book focuses on depression, the principles and tools I share are applied to other common psycho-emotional symptoms in people with Lyme disease, CFS, fibromyalgia, related diseases. mold and other manifestations of environmental diseases. This book contains everything I've learned over the past 15 years about how to cure depression and anxiety. It is unique in that it focuses not only on finding solutions to the biochemical causes of depression, but also emotionally and spiritually. those too.

It is also unique because it addresses the root causes of the disease so that you can be cured from the basics instead of simply giving you information about medications and other treatments that only mask or manage the symptoms. I also recite in the book anecdotes of my own story and my fight against depression to encourage readers.

Because of my experience and research, I believe that Healthy, happy and free gives hope and practical help to those who have not found it by the means at their disposal.

If you or a loved one is fighting depression, anxiety or other psycho-emotional symptoms caused by a neurological disease, I encourage you to consult Healthy, happy and free: Mind-body-soul solutions for healing depression. I think you will find here new answers that will help you recover, at the three levels of your person: mind, soul and body.

In the meantime, if you are looking for nutritional supplements to help support your mood, mental function and chemistry, I encourage you to check out the following article, in which I share some of the supplements that have helped me , to me and to others I know, to manage or cure depression, anxiety and cognitive problems caused by Lyme disease and neurological diseases.

May you be greatly blessed in your healing journey!

Connie Strasheim

Connie Strasheim is the author or co-author of 13 books on well-being, including the new paradigms recently published in the treatment of Lyme Disease: 10 Best Real Healing Strategies that Work. (October 2016) and Happy, Healthy and Free: Mind-Body-Soul Solutions for the Healing of Depression. She is also a medical writer and editor at ProHealth.com, as well as editor-in-chief of the Alternative Cancer Research Institute (ACRI). His pbadion is to help people with complex chronic diseases to free themselves from illness and the disease of the soul by using drugs for the whole body. She works with some of the best integrators in the world in this field. In addition to Lyme disease and insomnia, Connie's books deal with cancer, nutrition, detoxification, and spiritual healing. To learn more about his work, see: www.ConnieStrasheim.org.