Managing Marriage and Mental Health “Combatting Anxiety and Depression in Order to Improve Communication, Trust, and Intimacy in Marriage”Uzorak

Build and Nurture your Support System!

Community matters!

Whether you are the one that is facing anxiety and depression or your spouse, building a solid support system will give you strength and encouragement to keep going against all odds.

On a day-to-day basis and even moment by moment, there can be thoughts that ruminate throughout your mind. You will need systems in place to combat these unrealistic and irrational thought patterns. Within a group of supportive individuals, you can safely express how you are feeling and why you are feeling the way you are without the fear of being judged. A support group can demonstrate love, compassion, and empathy because they understand what you are going through.

One of the ways that you can combat or denounce negative thoughts from your mind is to renew your mind constantly, according to Romans 12:2. Another way is to adopt the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5). When bad and evil thoughts come to your mind, you must quickly eradicate those thoughts and think on the word of God. 

If you or your spouse have been diagnosed with or self-report anxiety or depression, you must know that the fight is not just a natural fight but also spiritual. There are strongholds which are rebellious castles or centers of opposition to the light of Christ that want to captivate your mind. Refuse to allow it and do as the Apostle Paul instructed in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (TPT). “Although we live in the natural realm, we don’t wage a military campaign employing human weapons, using manipulation to achieve our aims. Instead, our spiritual weapons are imbued with divine power, allowing us to successfully remove the defenses behind which individuals hide. We can demolish every deceptive fantasy that opposes God and break through every arrogant attitude in defiance of the true knowledge of God. We capture, like prisoners of war, every thought and insist that it bow in obedience to the Anointed One”.

You have an advantage over the enemy and over the thoughts that come to steal your peace, kill your dreams, and destroy your relationships (John 10:10b).

Reflection: Take time this week to think about who you need in your support group. Where would you find these people, and what initiative can you take to ensure you do your part in nurturing this group?