A New Adventure

There is a certain event in my life that so deeply impacted me that it completely changed my perspective of the people around me.  This particular time is burned into my memory so that every now and then, it pops up into my thoughts and completely takes over my focus. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has a special memory like this. We all have experienced at least a few such major events that influence how we see the world and what we believe. It impacts our behavior, and how we handle every other situation in our lives. It is these events that determine who we are.

Of course, my entire life has not been molded by one single event. I have several in my memory bank that shape my personal beliefs and values. There is one in particular that really stands out though. When I was six years old a very close friend to my family, committed suicide. He was young, in his thirties maybe. I absolutely adored that man. My family has even teased me that he was my first “crush”, or whatever you want to call a two year old’s infatuation with her dad’s best friend. He called me princess and even though I hated that nickname at the time, it has now become a treasured memory.

You see, I do not have a single memory of him not smiling, it is impossible for me to imagine him ever feeling sad, angry, alone, or any of the other emotions that you typically associate with those who feel the only way out is to end their life. The sad thing to me is that, usually, that is how it tends to be when you hear about a suicide. Family, friends, the community; they all say they had no idea what the person was feeling, or they thought the person was happy.

The stark truth is that depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders are very misunderstood, and in some cases not even considered at all. A lot of times, we think that something "tragic" must happen in a person’s life to “make them this way”. We ask questions like, are both parents involved in their life? Were there financial issues? Abuse? Relationship problems?

But what if none of that applies? What if one day you wake up and you just don’t have the energy or desire to get out of your bed? What if every little thing seems to irritate you for absolutely no reason whatever? What if you simply cannot help but worry incessantly about every little detail. What if it is not the circumstances that cause the emotions? What if you have no idea whatsoever why you are unhappy, you just aren’t?

As soon as we hear about a loved one taking their life, we immediately get hit with a million questions. What was wrong? What could we have done different? How did this person not know they were loved?

For a long time, I never understood this. I myself have struggled with some of these feelings. Waking up irritated for seemingly no reason, crying if the littlest detail did not go how I wanted it. Feeling lonely when I was surrounded by a crowd of family whom I knew loved me unconditionally. I thought, what is wrong with me, can I not just be normal? I never talked about these feelings because I was afraid people would think that something “tragic” must be happening in my personal life for me to feel this way. When in truth, it had nothing to do with what was going on around me.

Knowing how my friend passed away made me think about how I perceive the lives of those around me. It motivated me to think more deeply about what others may or may not be feeling, and all these years, I have strived to reach out to everyone I meet with kindness, to make them feel loved and important. Unfortunately, sadness still seems to exist all around me, and no matter how hard I tried, I just could not understand this monster that seemed to lurk through the lives of so many. Where was it coming from? How could we fix it? What could I do to help them when I didn’t even understand what was causing it?

Over the last few years these issues have continued to press on my heart. I also have a love for books—writing and reading—and thus it is my dream to become an author, however, I have continually felt the Lord leading me to minister specifically to those who struggle with depression, anxiety, and feeling alone. Seeing people struggle with these things literally breaks my heart, and there is nothing I want more than to lift these people up, to put a real smile, not just on their face, but on their heart as well. As I have waited for the Lord to give me a specific direction on how to do this, I have been researching and studying, learning all that I can concerning mental illnesses and their causes and effects. It has taken quite some time, and prayer, LOTS of prayer, but I think I may have found something worth sharing. We can’t keep looking at the surface for our answers, it’s time we dig deeper than that. All this time we have been searching all around us, when, in fact, the real answers lie within us.

A little over a year ago, I started taking a line of health supplements called Plexus. I have had significant success with these products and have since signed on as an ambassador so that I can help others to live healthier lives as well. In the last year I have heard the terms, gut health, candida overgrowth, and leaky gut repeated over and over again. Before last year I had never heard of leaky gut, I only had a slight idea of what candid even meant, and gut health certainly was not a part of my daily thought process!

All of that, however, has changed. Over the last several months I have read article after article leading toward the idea that our gut is the key to the health of our entire body. The deeper I look into all of this, the crazier it gets! Even doctors are beginning to see that there is a significant connection between the kind of bacteria growing in our gut, and skin issues, autoimmune disorders, diabetes, inflammation in the joints, and even…wait for it…mental health! Yep, you read that right. Doctors are seeing that the bacteria growing in the gut of those who struggle with depression, anxiety, autism, ADD, ADHD, and PTSD is significantly different than in those who do not.

All this time doctors have prescribed medications in hopes that they can improve brain function when the real problem lies on the inside; in the gut. All of this new information is just mind blowing to me. God created every little part of our body, even the parts we cannot see, to work perfectly as one system. Each minuscule detail fits together so that the body functions as a whole, and the core of it lies in our guts.

My hope is to share what I have learned with as many people as possible, so that we can all be better equipped to take care of the body that God has blessed us with. I feel that God has lead me to this new knowledge as a way to help those who lay so heavily on my heart. Maybe the reason people wake up in the morning feeling sad, angry, and alone for reasons they can’t figure out is because of the bacteria growing inside of them. I want them to know that it is not their fault, and there are ways to get better without taking all those medications that do nothing but add onto the stress.

After repeated encouragement, I have decided to put the research I have done and the personal stories I have seen, into the form of a book. I am extremely excited about this adventure and cannot wait to share it with you. I will gladly accept any information that you may have to share, but most importantly I ask that you pray that I will be able to compose the right words and that God will be glorified through all of it. Also pray for everyone who might read this book that it will work in their lives in just the way that they need it. Thank you to everyone who is already supporting my efforts and dreams. I love you guys so much!

Blessings,

Sarah