Hi again everyone!

I would like to begin by introducing a brief analogy. Depression is like the fog that surrounds those on their journey along the iron rod. It muddles up emotions, physical states, and thinking (just to be brief). I have been diagnosed bipolar and clinically depressed; suspected of being autistic and ADD. I was quite caught off guard with the latter two prognoses as in today's society everyone is divided up into groups. I was raised in this culture under the practice of labeling people. It's just automatic.

Then there are periods where I stop to reflect what is actually going on. One day, I was sitting and thinking to myself. Regardless of the labels given to categorize me I am still Stephanie. I have the same gorgeous, goofy children. I am still a daughter of our Heavenly Father. This is my identity not a label. It's to say that when we are born into this world we don't come with a tag on the back of our necks listing instructions or how to, nor an instruction book on how to care for babies. However nice this sounds, ponder the following. As we assimilate into society under the guise of labels such as bipolar, depression, ADD, ADHD, does that make us less human? Other labels such as to classify races, sexual preferences, or ethnicities, does this make us superior or inferior to each other.

Nay, nay I say. Heavenly Father intended for all of us to be addressed as individuals. We still can have conditions, cultures, dispositions, etc. as part of our lives, but it doesn't make who we are. Heavenly Father does that. The Atonement converts us to be more Christlike. The essence of our identity does not change but the influence from Jesus the Christ and the Holy Ghost break us from the molds that man has made to keep us generalized and take away from individualism, exercising our free agency in the matter of, well if the house is burning, how are we gonna put it out, instead of getting to the heart of the matter and pressing for real change to occur.

As I have these conditions suspected conditions, I have to recognize that it doesn't make or break me. There still is hope. I can still have joy. I can still live in the present moment.

Thank you for allowing me to share. Steffi

Tags: Depression Anxiety Gospel Prophet Apostles Jesus Christ

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