There I sat with my Bible in hand, but all I could do was cry to God that I needed help. I had a stack of Bible studies. I had the dedicated time to sit with God. I had all the journals to help track what I was learning. But I couldn’t get past the emotions it took for me to engage in that Bible study with God when, emotionally, I was a wreck.
I was going through a hard season emotionally that really framed the rest of me - including the physical and spiritual components. I could not fully live physically or spiritually when my emotions and my mental health were not in a healthy place. I physically felt sick during these times. Emotionally, I was moody and anxious in most areas of my life.
Scripture helps us understand this more.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
- Galatians 5:22-23 ESV
“When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out
of all their troubles.”
- Psalm 34:17 ESV
“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”
- Proverbs 17:22 ESV
“A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.”
- Proverbs 14:30 ESV
God created us to feel. But through the brokenness of this world, we encounter a lot of challenging emotions that can derail us in our act of living out who God called us to be. These are not bad emotions or ones that we have to cut out completely. It is natural to get sad, but if our sadness is getting in the way of living out our daily lives reflecting Him, we may need to work through that challenging emotion. Finding ways to get back on track emotionally will help improve our physical and spiritual health as well!
There are easy and practical ways to improve ourselves emotionally. I’ll offer a few suggestions here.
DEEP BREATHING
Our bodies, especially our brains, need proper oxygenation in order to process our environment and generate what it needs to do next. So deep breaths will help us in that process. In turn, we find that we experience less stress, more relaxation, improved circulation and digestion, and increased focus. There are great apps or online supports to help with learning to train your body to take deep breaths. There are breathing apps or online YouTube videos where you watch a bubble expand and contrast and match your breathing. It’s that simple! I also recommend the book Breath as Prayer: Calm Your Anxiety, Focus Your Mind, and Renew Your Soul by Jennifer Tucker. She gives great ways to incorporate scriptures into our deep breathing. For example, if you are struggling with giving your burdens to the Lord, you can think as you are inhaling, “I give my burdens to You,” and think as you are exhaling, “You will take care of me.” This can help calm your physical self while you are feeding your spiritual self at the same time. Our emotions improve as we engage in regular deep breathing.
MEDITATION
Meditation started as a concept in Eastern cultures. However, we have adapted it well in Western cultures and even within the Christian culture to fit our needs and still receive the benefits. The idea behind meditation is to quiet the mind from the information it is trying to process and focus on one specific thought in order to think deeply over the concept. Psalms 1 and 119 actually call people to meditate on scripture. Meditation can have two sides. First, to focus our minds in order to stop the racing thoughts in order to receive what God has for us. Second, to focus on a specific scripture to think deeply on that one verse or passage. For some people meditation is most useful in the mornings to stabilize emotions and help focus the spirit. For others meditation would be best at night before bed to quiet the mind to help ease into sleep. There are also sleep stories that help specifically at night. My family uses these on a weekly if not daily basis! There are apps that you can sign up for with a paid subscription including Abide and Glorify. A secular app is the Calm app. There is a whole section of sleep stories for children in Abide and Calm as well. You can also find many free YouTube videos that can also be utilized. Find meditations that help to stabilize your emotions so that you can tap into the physical and spiritual benefits as well!
BEHAVIOR ACTIVATION
On days when our mood is the lowest, it is hard to make ourselves engage in activities that would normally bring us joy. This is because our neurotransmitters are all out of whack and we need to engage in activities that will get us back on track. These activities are the exact ones that we have been avoiding because they are not reinforcing us anymore with all of those feel good vibes. You may notice you are avoiding certain things, such as calling a friend, meeting up for coffee, fitting in a run, going to the gym, creating something new with your hands, playing music, reading or listening to podcasts/audiobooks, etc. If you notice you are avoiding it and it is something that you used to enjoy, actually schedule these things into your day.
5:00 go for a run
6:00 eat dinner with friends
7:00 listen to a podcast
8:00 play some music
Then follow the schedule, even when you don’t feel like it. Engaging in the activities that previously brought us joy will activate our bodies and lift our moods.
None of these recommendations are meant to replace any meaningful work that could occur for you in the context of counseling. These are first steps to trying something to improve your emotional state that can be incorporated even today. I also recommend the new book by Jennie Allen entitled Untangle Your Emotions: Naming What You Feel and Knowing What to Do About It. But if your emotions are interfering with your daily functioning and these first steps have not proven to be very helpful, I recommend you seek out a counselor to help you further.
I have found that when I am blocked spiritually, I am not on track emotionally or physically. When we holistically seek out spiritual, physical, and emotional health, we find the best outcomes.
During the time I mentioned above, I approached my Bible for six months every day to only pray to God to tell Him I needed help. It was when I was able to get help with my emotions that at the six months mark I was able to engage in God’s Word again. I’ve never been that low again and I pray I never do, but I remember that time often to help remind me of the importance of balancing my emotional, physical and spiritual health.
Which of these strategies will you try today?
Meet the Author!
Carisa Wilsie is a licensed psychologist and orphan care advocate. She lives life with many bright and compassionate people that hold her up. She is a wife and mother to three who were born out of her heart through adoption. Most importantly, she is a Christ follower and strives everyday to live out her unique calling. Thoughts shared here are based out of personal opinion and experience.