I look back on my life’s darkest days, the days I walked in the valley of depression and was convinced I had seen a glimpse of hell; the days I cared for my husband and my mother during their cancer journeys; the days as a teenager after losing my father prematurely to a massive fatal heart attack, and I felt isolated, misunderstood, and unaccepted.
Maybe you’ve been there too.
Our circumstances may be different, but what I know is that in the depths of life’s hard trials, we all long to know that we aren’t alone, we are understood, we are still deemed accepted and acceptable, and we are loved.
As a teenager, just having lost my father, I would have given anything for someone to understand my pain. I longed to hear, “Me too.” It would have helped to have heard, and to have known someone could really relate when I took on the role as caregiver for my husband and mother while they suffered with cancer. And what a difference it would have made if I had felt I didn’t have to hide my depression and the shame that ensued because others were willing to admit that they suffered too.
Friend, that’s in large part why I wrote, “Hope Prevails: Insights from a Doctor’s Personal Journey Through Depression.” Let me be the one to stand up and say, “Me too.” But let’s not just stop there. Let me offer you the help and hope that I found that took me to the other side, so that I can offer you the comfort that I was given…the very comfort that lets me say with confidence, #HopePrevails!
I get many emails but this one made an impression on me. It said, “This… this…, my gosh, all of this, this for 25 years has been me. You’re describing me in your book!” She was referring to my book, “Hope Prevails: Insights from a Doctor’s Personal Journey Through Depression.”
But what she was really explaining is that we all need to know that someone understands. That someone understands us in our brokenness and in our pain and in our hurt. We all need to know that we are not alone.
But, you know the enemy of our soul would like us to think we’re all alone. And that we can’t share our pain because if we do, someone might reject us or abandon us at a time when we need each other the most.
The problem with depression and anxiety is that we feel so alone. We’re afraid to share our hurt and our pain because the stigma in society makes it so hard to tell people, because we are afraid of that potential rejection and abandonment.
The enemy of our soul lies to us but the Word of God tells us that there’s a limit to which the enemy can interfere in our lives: 1) Neither depression nor the enemy of our soul can dictate our worth. Jesus already determined our worth when He decided that we were worth dying for. 2) Neither depression nor the enemy of our soul can dictate our destiny. If you are a Christ follower, your destiny is secure. 3) And neither depression nor the enemy of our soul can separate you from the love of God.
When we are depressed, we’ve got to stop listening to the lies of that stupid enemy. And instead stand on God’s truth. It’s that truth that will get us through those dark, dark days. It’s that truth, that very truth that says, He will never leave us and never forsake us. That truth that reminds us that when we feel most alone, we’re not, because even when there’s no one else around, He’s with us always.
It’s those kinds of truths that I bring us back to in my book, “Hope Prevails: Insights From a Doctor’s Personal Journey Through Depression.” I invite you to pick it up, read through the pages and, find out that because of Him, there is help, there is hope, and there is healing for you.
You’re not alone and neither was that reader. Be blessed. Because of Him, Hope Prevails!
A short brief about Hope Prevails.
Hope Prevails
Insights from a Doctor’s Personal Journey through Depression
Dr. Michelle Bengtson
Speaking from personal and professional experience, a neuropsychologist unpacks what depression is, shows how it affects us spiritually, and offers hope for living the abundant life.
Neuropsychologist Offers Hope to Those Struggling with Depression
-By 2020, depression will be our greatest epidemic worldwide
- An estimated 350 million people worldwide suffer from some form of depression
- As with the bestselling My Stroke of Insight, the author experienced the same condition she treats
- Helpful features include personal stories, biblical truths, prayers, and music recommendations
In Hope Prevails, Dr. Bengtson writes with deep compassion and empathy, blending her extensive training and faith, to offer readers a hope that is grounded in God’s love and grace. She helps readers understand what depression is, how it affects them spiritually, and what, by God’s grace, it cannot do. The result is a treatment plan that addresses the whole person—not just chemical imbalances in the brain.
For those who struggle with depression and those that want to help them, Hope Prevails offers real hope for the future.
Hope Prevails is available now wherever books are sold. To find out more, see: https://drmichellebengtson.com/hope-prevails-book/.
Dear Dr. Michelle, Words will never be able to express how much your book has helped me. Stepping forward each day out of isolation needing to stand on God’s truth your book brought so much light into my world. The enemy of my soul has lied to me so long, Thanks for all of the truth you have given in the book, the scripture to learn and quote back in times of trouble.and that joy scares the enemy away. Blessings Diana
So much good feedback from my review of your inspiring book. It sounds as if Hope Prevails will be bringing hope to many in the future!
Thank you for writing this book. It is bringing help to so many.
Thanks for the reminder that even though we struggle with depression, it doesn’t determine our worth.
Such important truth to be shared. Nothing can separate us from the love of God, not even depression.
it’s always good to be vulnerable because Jesus came for a broken world, not a fixed one. blessings as you continue giving out your heart and compassion and lessons learned. sue
I sent the book to my daughter as soon as it came out–and it helped her through the first difficult weeks at home with a newborn and the trauma of a C-section and our grandson’s spending two nights in NICU.
Your book is definitely on my “want to read” list. I’ve always been touched by your posts and the hope you give others through your writing.
So very thankful for this message and for your book “Hope Prevails”. I have read it and was so encouraged even though I am not in depression now, I did go through a season of depression many years ago and then also fear and anxiety for many years. I have friends and loved ones who are in the middle of their journey with depression. I visited with one today who just needed a word of encouragement as the enemy was lying to her and trying to take her focus off Jesus. She is reading your book now and the Lord is helping her gain freedom from the depression and anxiety. Thank you for sharing your story, your expertise with mental illness and your compassion with all of us so that we have a resource to share and also a resource to read for our own healing and restoration. Love and appreciate you so much!!