The Balanced Life, Huntsville Alabama

Your Story Isn't Over Yet

Wendy Carlton, LPC

Life can be scary and unpredictable. And if an individual is faced with the challenges of depression, anxiety, or any other mental health issues, it can intensify that fear and shame. In the past couple of years that I have been working as a psychiatric screener, I have encountered several individuals reporting feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, rejection, bullying, suicide, self-injury, addiction, and abuse. While these stories are incredibly sad, they have also provided me with hope and inspiration. I no longer look at these individuals as hopeless. There’s undoubtedly hope for the individuals who are searching for help and guidance, whether it be in an emergency room, counselor’s office, or crisis online forum.

In lieu of the upcoming holidays, I felt compelled to blog about what it means to be thankful and furthermore, how to develop an attitude of gratitude. By now, you have probably heard the countdowns begin: 5 days until Halloween, 30 days until Thanksgiving and 59 days until Christmas. When hearing those numbers, it is easy for us to feel these days approaching quickly and often times, we feel stressed and crunched for time. With the Thanksgiving countdown, we are faced with planning a meal or organizing a family get together, while Christmas involves decorating our house, shopping for gifts, and many other special traditions. Even though these countdowns may prove helpful to some, I have recently found them to be more anxiety provoking, than useful to my life.