Showing posts with label cutting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cutting. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

How to Break Free of the Chains of Addiction

Hey, Gabriel Girls! Today’s blog post is one you would not ordinarily expect on a Christian blog. After all, Christian girls don’t struggle with addiction, right?

 Wrong!


Addiction comes in many forms, and many Christian teens struggle with it.  Here are a few of the most common among teen girls:

 ---Bulimia (binging then purging)
---Anorexia (starving oneself)
---Drugs
---Alcohol
---Cutting oneself
---Smoking
---Pornography
---Sex

 Rather than say these things should not exist among Christian girls--and they should not--let’s face the reality that they do, and let’s do something about the situation.

 First of all, if you struggle with one of the above addictions--or any other one--know this: There is hope for you in Jesus Christ. Jesus came to set you free from everything evil, including addictions.  And addictions are evil.

 Second, know that you have a part to play in getting set free. That part is surrendering your life totally to Jesus and letting Him set you free. You also will need to do whatever He says, moment by moment, on your journey toward freedom.

 An addiction is a behavior over which you have lost control. Interestingly, you were trying to gain control of your life by adopting the wrong behavior in the first place. 

 It is common knowledge, for example, that anorexics starve themselves because they think that food is the only area of their lives where they can exercise control. Before they know it, however, food--or the lack of it--has control over them.

 So, what can you do to get set free from an addiction?  Here are a few thoughts:

 1) Admit that you have an addiction. If you pretend you don’t have a problem, you will never solve the problem.  Facing the truth about your situation is the first step toward healing.

 2) Go to God with your addiction and give it to Him. Repent of yielding to the addiction, and ask God to deliver you from it.

 3) Seek the help of your parents, your pastor, and, if necessary, a professional who deals in your particular type of addiction.  Help is available to you, but you must go after it. Do not be ashamed. Having a problem is not the problem. Not doing anything about the problem is the problem.

 At the root of every addiction is a lie. Ask Holy Spirit to show you what lie you have believed that led you into the addiction. Then repent of the lie, renounce it, and replace it with the truth.

 Jesus said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). Bottom line, breaking free of the chains of addiction means letting the truth rein in your life. The truth is a Person, and His Name is Jesus Christ (John 14:6).  

 _______________________________________________
Copyright 2015 by Dr. MaryAnn Diorio. All Rights Reserved.

To Become a Gabriel Girl, you need to qualify as follows:
  • You need to be born again. This means that you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and the Lord of your life.If you don't know how to do this, click here.
  • You need to have a desire to tell others about Jesus wherever you go and whenever you can.
  • You need to commit to following Jesus by reading the Bible and praying every day and by obeying Jesus' command to love Him and to love your neighbor.
    ____________________________________________________
You can find me on the following Social Media Venues:
Amazon Author Central: www.amazon.com/author/maryanndiorio

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Tuesday, October 6, 2015

How to Come out of Depression

Depression is one of the biggest complaints among teen girls. If you’re depressed or have ever been depressed, this post is for you.  If you know a teen girl who is depressed, please tell her about this post.

What is depression? Depression is a mood disorder that is characterized by continual sadness and a loss of interest in life. Spiritually speaking, depression is an evil spirit that wants to rob you of your joy and of your destiny.

 Because depression is, at its root, a spiritual issue, it needs first and foremost to be addressed spiritually. Psychology can be helpful in dealing with depression, but if psychology does not take into account the spiritual aspect of depression, then therapy will not be totally effective.

 How do you know if you’re depressed? Here are some signs:

 --You feel hopeless.
--You cry at the drop of a hat.
--You cry a lot.
--You want to be alone more and more.
--You lose interest in activities that used to interest you.
--You feel tired all the time.
--You have trouble concentrating.
--You think about harming yourself (e.g., cutting, food binging or starvation).
--You think about killing yourself to end your suffering.

 While experiencing these symptoms once in a while doesn’t always mean you are depressed, experiencing them frequently could mean you are depressed.

 So, what should you do?

 Scripture gives us the answer:  Put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness (Isaiah 61:3).

 What is the garment of praise? The garment of praise is an attitude of heart which causes you to praise God in the midst of depression.

 I can hear you now. “Dr. MaryAnn, how can I praise God when I’m depressed? I don’t feel one bit happy or joyful when I’m depressed. All I want to do is die.”

 Praising God does not depend on our feelings. It depends on our will.  We can choose to praise God even when we don’t feel like it. In fact, God commands us to praise Him even when we don’t feel like it. Why? Because God knows that praising Him will lift us out of depression and drive it away.

 Remember we said earlier that depression is an evil spirit?  Well, evil spirits can’t stand it when we praise God. They will run away every time.  So, when you praise God in the midst of depression, the evil spirit of depression will flee from you. In its place will come the joy of the Lord.

 This is one reason God commands us to rejoice always (Philippians 4:4).  He knows that by rejoicing in Him, we will drive away depression. God also tells us that His joy is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10).

 So, the next time you’re depressed, stop what you’re doing, stand up, and start praising the LORD with all of your heart, soul, strength, and mind. Do it even if you don’t feel like it. You will be amazed at how depression will flee and you will be filled with the joy of the LORD!

If you enjoyed this post, please tell your teenage girlfriends about the Gabriel Girls. Thanks!

_______________________________________________
Copyright 2015 by Dr. MaryAnn Diorio. All Rights Reserved.

To Become a Gabriel Girl, you need to qualify as follows:
  • You need to be born again. This means that you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and the Lord of your life.If you don't know how to do this, click here.
  • You need to have a desire to tell others about Jesus wherever you go and whenever you can.
  • You need to commit to following Jesus by reading the Bible and praying every day and by obeying Jesus' command to love Him and to love your neighbor.
    ____________________________________________________
You can find me on the following Social Media Venues:
Amazon Author Central: www.amazon.com/author/maryanndiorio

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