de·pres·sion

dəˈpreSH(ə)n/ noun

1. feelings of severe despondency and dejection. "self-doubt creeps in and that swiftly turns to depression"

I began reading at a young age (all thanks to some amazing teachers!) I loved diving into a book and marking off how many books I had finished. Of course in second grade, you don’t get the great novels that you do once you are older, but a book is a book and I loved them all. Seriously, library day was THE BEST!

Flash forward to now, and I believe that God’s grace and the gift of reading have gotten me through some tough and difficult times. When I started freshman year in college, I felt confused and lost and honestly just dumb. Doesn’t college make us all feel like that eventually? So, after some doctor appointments and therapy, I realized that medication would not be my answer to getting through college or life. Sure, my medicine helped but I was having side effects and feeling constant anxiety still. It was an awful time while I tried all kind of things, I still had things going on with myself, and I just used medication as an outlet. I felt so helpless at one point I just wanted to drop out of college because I knew I could not keep putting my body through so much damage.

So, I began Googling. I researched suggested “fixes” but none seemed to be able to help. That is until I found my love for reading all over again. I started to schedule time to sit and read some of a book before bed, or sometimes even blocked out some time during my busy schedule to just read. I began reading constantly. From fiction to non-fiction, I enjoyed every single book.

This plays an even bigger role than just occupying my time though, I found it helps me with my stress and depression. I still have mental breakdowns every once and while, but it's nothing compared to what I felt my freshman year of college. Praise The Lord.

Depression is such a tough subject to discuss. I’ve had my downs and ups, but I use books to escape reality and become all around a better person. By finding something that would take my mind off of everything I found peace and strength within my self that I didn’t know I had. So, I challenge you. Do not let your depression become something that holds you back from chasing your dreams. In the big scheme of things, you will get through it with the right support.

For me, my depression became something I no longer gave thoughts to after I found books to be a useful tool. That definition of depression, yeah it’s true. Depression is tough and you have to step up and squash whatever it is giving you depression.

So, stop giving your depression power over you. Find something that relieves stress for you, whether it is binge-watching Netflix, playing with dogs (which I highly suggest), or running. Take time for yourself and realize that this feeling you are feeling right now will eventually fade.