11 Steps to Help You Face Mental or Emotional Challenges

How to best respond when mental or emotional challenges confront you or those you love

"Likea Broken Vessel," Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, General Conference, Oct. 2013

 

1. Above all, never lose faith in your Father in Heaven, who loves you more than you can comprehend. As President Monson [has] said: “That love never changes. … It is there for you when you are sad or happy, discouraged or hopeful. God’s love is there for you whether or not you feel you deserve [it]. It is simply always there.” ⁴ Never, ever doubt that, and never harden your heart.

2. Faithfully pursue the time-tested devotional practices that bring the Spirit of the Lord into your life.

3. Seek the counsel of those who hold keys for your spiritual well-being.

4. Ask for and cherish priesthood blessings.   

5. Take the sacrament every week, and hold fast to the perfecting promises of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

6. Believe in miracles. I have seen so many of them come when every other indication would say that hope was lost. Hope is never lost. If those miracles do not come soon or fully or seemingly at all,

7. Remember the Savior’s own anguished example: if the bitter cup does not pass, drink it and be strong, trusting in happier days ahead. ⁵

Photo from https://www.lds.org/bible-videos/videos/the-savior-suffers-in-gethsemane?lang=eng#gallery=

8. In preventing illness whenever possible, watch for the stress indicators in yourself and in others you may be able to help. As with your automobile, be alert to rising temperatures, excessive speed, or a tank low on fuel.

9. When you face “depletion depression,” make the requisite adjustments. Fatigue is the common enemy of us all—so slow down, rest up, replenish, and refill. Physicians promise us that if we do not take time to be well, we most assuredly will take time later on to be ill.

10. If things continue to be debilitating, seek the advice of reputable people with certified training, professional skills, and good values. Be honest with them about your history and your struggles. Prayerfully and responsibly consider the counsel they give and the solutions they prescribe. If you had appendicitis, God would expect you to seek a priesthood blessing and get the best medical care available. So too with emotional disorders. Our Father in Heaven expects us to use all of the marvelous gifts He has provided in this glorious dispensation.

11. If you are the one afflicted or a caregiver to such, try not to be overwhelmed with the size of your task. Don’t assume you can fix everything, but fix what you can. If those are only small victories, be grateful for them and be patient. Dozens of times in the scriptures, the Lord commands someone to “stand still” or “be still”—and wait. ⁶ Patiently enduring some things is part of our mortal education.