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If you've landed on this page, there is hope for you and your circumstances, and if you don't believe that now, I am believing for you, because that is exactly what my therapist did on my behalf, and it changed my entire life!
Toward the end of my twenty year tenure as a full-time youth pastor, I began to realize that I had been trapped in an abyss of darkness for two decades. Physically, I was finally rockin' it! I was the skinniest I had ever been in my adult life, and was working out every day. Additionally, I was going through leadership and personal growth training #beachbody #bodi #fitrevival that challenged me to no longer accept the status quo and stop pretending everything was "all good" in my life. It helped me to set goals and stop waiting for "my life to start." I needed to live and take advantage of each day, unfortunately, I had flat lined and my "going-through-the motions" lifestyle, both personally, spiritually and professionally, was agonizing and not fruitful.
When CRUSHED we often bury our emotions, our feelings, our actions and our voices. It's okay for our emotions, feelings and actions to be there in our soul, however, as I have learned, it is not okay for them to stay there. It's going to take work and you need a support system to walk along side of you as you go through your ups and downs. I did it the hard way....alone.
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As a first-step on your health and healing journey I want to encourage you to begin counseling, as soon as possible. Do NOT succumb to the stigma. Seek help from a professional now. As you may have already discovered, getting set up with a counselor and even further getting set up with the right counselor can be difficult. After a long stretch of intensive therapy, my counselor suggested that I see a local therapist. I received a referral from my family doctor and their answer was, "we can get you an appointment in nine months. Does that work?"
"Nine months? Are you freaking kidding me?"
So, I took matters into my own hands and signed up for counseling through BETTER HELP. I am indebted to Better Help for creating a virtual opportunity to see a counselor, and I had an appointment scheduled within two days. All I did was take a quiz, which helped match me with the perfect counselor. You can choose a male or female counselor, whether or not you need someone to simply listen or if you'd like weekly assignments. Additionally you can choose the style of therapy you would like the therapist to use. This concept is brilliant!
If you are ready to to take that next step toward healing, click the green "Sign Up Here" box on this page and it will take you directly to the Better Help page to get you started.
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Secondly, if you or someone you know identifies as LGBTQIA and you are thinking about harming yourself you can get immediate support from The Trevor Project by connecting to a crisis counselor 24/7, 365 days a year, from anywhere in the U.S. It is 100% confidential, and 100% free. Call 1-866-488-7386 or Text 678-678 or click the rainbow "LGBTQIA" box on this page.
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"We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies." 2 Corinthians 4:8-10.
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