Overcoming Depression without Drugs

By Patty Mason –

Depression was a constant battle, bringing on overwhelming feelings of sadness, anger, even rage, and hopelessness. It crippled my mind, heart, spirit and soul and destroyed every part of me. When the depression hit, I was living a good life. I had everything this world deems valid. I had a husband who loved me, three beautiful healthy children, a nice home, and a successful career. Even though I had everything I longed for, I felt empty. Nothing gave me the sense of life, love and purpose I had been searching for, so I wore the mask that told the world I had it all, when inwardly I was dying.

During the depression I made every effort to find answers, to get better, but nothing helped. I couldn’t free myself from the emotional turmoil; so, I turned to family, friends, and doctors, but no one could help me. During the depression, I never felt lonelier. As a result, hopelessness flooded my heart and I gave up. I convinced myself the only way out was to die.

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In the days that followed, I did something I very rarely did—I prayed. I did not pray for God’s help or healing. Nor did I call on Him to find answers. Rather, I asked Him to take my life. Every morning I prayed for the insanity to end, and every night I prayed to never wake up.

The most crucial point came on December 12, 1996. Reluctantly, I got up, not wanting to face another dark day. As I stepped into the shower, hot tears poured from my eyes. Naked, drenched, and ashamed, I felt like I had been ground into the ashes from which I came. I had nothing left. And through the sobs, I began to talk to God. “I have nowhere else to go but you. You have to do something. No one can help me; only you can help me!” Suddenly, through the sobs, I heard what sounded like a faint voice, “Go to MOPS.”

At the MOPS meeting, (MOPS stands for Mothers of Preschoolers) the speaker shared about what it’s like having a lack of joy and no real purpose in life, and the only way to find pure joy was through Jesus. When she finished, I followed her to the back of the room. Without warning, a dam broke within my soul and I began to dump my life at her feet. I couldn’t stop crying—I couldn’t stop talking—not even when I realized every woman in the room had turned around to stare at us. Quietly she listened for several minutes. Then, without saying a word, she reached out and touched me on my left arm; and when she did, the hysterics stopped. The crying and run-on sentences instantly stopped. There was no more nausea in the pit of my stomach. The heaviness lifted—everything—all of the darkness that had consumed my life was completely gone.

This woman did not possess the power to heal me, but I believed God did. And that day God delivered me from depression. I was living in despair, but when Jesus touched me He turned the ashes of my pain into something beautiful. At my lowest point, He came into the turmoil of my personal madness and set me free.

From that time on Jesus has taken all of my efforts to find happiness and has offered me something of greater value. I went from looking for love in all the wrong places—to knowing true love. I went from wearing the mask, trying to be perfect in a flawed world—to resting in the assurance that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I went from having no hope—to having a hope and a future filled with God’s love, power, and His unfathomable grace.

 

Patty Mason is a 53 year old wife and mother who found hope and healing when Jesus reached into her well of depression and set her free. From her painful past God created Liberty in Christ Ministries, a ministry dedicated to helping others find hope, healing, and freedom for their souls.

Her books include, Finally Free: Breaking the Bonds of Depression Without Drugs and Experiencing Joy: Strategies for Living a Joy Filled Life.

To learn more about Patty, her books, or Liberty in Christ Ministries, visit: www.libertyinchristministries.com

Below is a list of links if you would like to use them:

Website link:
http://www.libertyinchristministries.com/

If you’d like to have a focus on finding joy in the midst of depression…here is a link to an interview and teaching on Coffee and the Word, March 13, 2013.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/coffee-and-the-word/2013/03/13/break-the-cycle-experience-joy

Link to my story on the 700 Club via YouTube. Note: this video is also on my website.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BLahnvD2Sg

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Overcoming Depression without Drugs
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