Using Struggles as Fuel: An Uplifting Journey through Mental and Physical Health Battles in Blogging

Struggling with mental and physical health issues can feel like the enemy is using them against us. However, I want you to know that it's possible to flip the script. Instead of hindering us, these obstacles can fuel our blogging journey and amplify our success. Join me as I candidly share my battles with general anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, PTSD, ADHD, migraines, and degenerative discs, aiming to inspire those grappling with similar issues.

Brace yourself to be whisked away on a transformative journey as I reveal how refocusing my thoughts and embracing positivity helped me manage my ADHD and other mental health issues. You'll learn the power of understanding your own limits and the might of positivity in triumphing over any hurdle. Highlighting the story of Wendy from One Exceptional Life, we explore an inspiring tale of resilience and achieving greatness despite physical limitations. Let's remember to view our circumstances not as limitations, but as opportunities that set us apart. Join me in this uplifting journey, where we glorify God, encourage each other, and persevere unwaveringly. Discover how we can use our unique challenges as the launchpad to a blogging journey that is not only successful but deeply fulfilling.

If you are interested in taking your digital discipleship to the next level through blogging, YouTube, social media, and/or online Bible study groups, be sure to join my private FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/kingdombloggers
You can also follow me on YouTube where you will find a variety of helpful tutorials for navigating each of these important platforms: https://www.youtube.com/@KingdomBloggers

Transcript

LeeAnn Fox : 0:02

Welcome to the Kingdom Influencers podcast, where our mission is to get more Jesus online. This podcast will equip and empower ministry leaders as well as regular everyday Christians, to take the message of Jesus Christ throughout the digital realm. I'm your host, LeeAnn Fox, digital Ministry Coach and the creator of the Kingdom Bloggers Ministry, and I am so excited and honored to be a part of this journey with you. Let's get started. Hey everyone, leanne here from Kingdom Bloggers. Today I want to talk about a really important issue that many Christian bloggers face and even if you don't consider yourself a Christian blogger, you're just trying to jump into this blogging stuff in general the issue of physical and mental health, those of you who may struggle with chronic health issues or chronic mental health issues, and your ability to actually succeed in this kind of climate or not climate. But in this world and I see a lot of people like in the different groups that either I manage or that I follow and one of the common things that I hear people talking about is my physical, my chronic health prevents me from, or, you know, because of my mental health, I can't do this or that, and so I just want to share my own struggles and journey with you because I think it's really important one that we are all transparent with our internal struggles, because when we hide them, nothing good comes about, and I learned that a long time ago, also by us sharing our own struggles in these specific areas, that it will also maybe encourage others who are in the place of struggle right now. So just a little background on myself. So many of you may not know this Some of you do because I've talked about it openly but this just never a hey, let's talk about mental health today kind of thing that we do in our groups, right, medically retired from the military, and so just to give you a preface of where I started until now, so I was actually medically retired at 18 years from the military. I have general anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, ptsd, adhd I'm basically an alphabet soup. Many people see me today and they're like yeah, I totally never would have guessed that. And that's kind of the point I never have I've learned now.

LeeAnn Fox : 2:19

At one point I did sort of project my issues right. In other words, like when people met me it was very evident the struggles I was going through. I did not look like living that way, and so it didn't happen overnight, through my faith, getting closer to God and really diving deep into a lot of different things, I learned to kind of reframe my mindset around what I originally perceived as issues and struggles to really calling them obstacles. And I like a challenge, I like to overcome obstacles, and so that's kind of how I am today.

LeeAnn Fox : 2:53

So, yes, through my military time, a lot of things that I'm not going to go into, but just from my even from my childhood, struggling with sexual abuse, alcoholism in my family and just a whole bunch of other Jerry Springer episodes, stuff, and then some of the abuses and things that I had to deal with in the military. You know that led to my major depression. That led to literally me being a social kind of reject. Like social anxiety was huge for me and I know many of you may not believe that because, like now, everyone coming to this group sees me as this, like I just talk, like I just never shut up right, but that wasn't always the case. I fell into a deep depression, recluse myself from everybody and that further into depression, and then also you add the PTSD element to it from my time in the military and it was horrible. I actually have two suicide attempts. Fortunately they were attempts, not successful. I battled drug addiction Not really. I mean, I did recreational drugs pre-military, but prescription, not abuse, but addiction from being prescribed medications and then all of the additional things that came from that and anyone who's been down there knows what I'm talking about. And so you know, 10, 12 years ago I was literally the definition of a hot mess.

LeeAnn Fox : 4:03

Okay, on top of the mental health part of my retirement from the military, my medical retirement, in addition to all the alphabet stuff, I have severe migraines, like four to five a week at the time and they were very debilitating. They impacted my ability to actually get a job after the military and actually the jobs I did get. It resulted in me having to lead those jobs and so a lot of that's what led me to do this online work for myself at my own hours, kind of thing. So migraines, bilitating migraines, not just a headache. So those of you who struggle with migraines, you totally I feel your pain. And then, about a year or so after I got out of the military, I started having a lot of back, lower back issues like really debilitating, and found out I have degenerative discs in my lower back and like it is they're just totally barely even there anymore, and now I'm getting older, so arthritis and just all the things right.

LeeAnn Fox : 4:56

So all I have to say is I can totally relate to chronic illness physical chronic illness, as well as chronic mental health and so I wanted to share some of the things that I've found and how to cope with them, I guess, and how to utilize some of that to make your vlogging journeys more successful, like use it as a tool here and so, number one for Christian vloggers specifically, just know that the enemy is definitely gonna use you. What you deem a weakness, right, any weaknesses that we have, whether real or perceived. The enemy is gonna hone in on them and use them to the best of his ability, and our physical and mental health is definitely one of those, because, aside from the pain and the crazy train I can totally say crazy train because I've ridden it, and so you know, those of you who've never ridden it don't get to use that word, it is what it is and then just the pain and like I can't, I can't, I can't, and that became my montage for a while I just can't because my migraines, I can't because of my back, and just to put my back in perspective, I could barely even go to the grocery store at one point and go down one aisle in the grocery store to buy groceries without basically just dying, right, I would literally be riding my basket. And then, when I go to the checkout aisle, if there was like anybody in front of me, I would just sit in the install on the floor with my basket and then sort of do the butt scrunch in line until it was my turn, because I just could not stand Without time. I'm like I don't even care what people think, I'm in pain, and so I did get some physical relief from the pain with some injections and some other things that I do.

LeeAnn Fox : 6:33

Back to my point. See, the ADHD is really all I get off on tangent. Sometimes. My focus was my pain, my focus. At that time I kept my eyes on the struggle. I kept my eyes on what I perceived I can't do, because I focused on the can't. That like where your focus flows, energy goes right. I think that's how it said. Where you put your focus, that is where you were going to see fruit or not, right? And if you're focusing on that, I can't do something because of then you're not what we like. You speak it and it is right. And so when you speak that negativity right out the door, then the result of that is negativity. It's nothing right, it's not what you're wanting for.

LeeAnn Fox : 7:13

And so eventually I got to the point of I have learned to manage. So nobody's ever healed of mental health, any of the alphabets, nobody is ever healed from it. But you learned to cope, you learned to manage the symptoms and triggers and things like that. And so I'm in a place now that I've really gotten good at doing that and so. But the one thing that has kept me going forward is taken two little symbols off of that word can't the apostrophe and the T to I can. And so anything before that is like I can't do this because I refocused it to. I might not be able to do it that way, but I can do it this way. And look, y'all, I know that's easier for me to say it. And then it is for you to implement it, because it took me several years to actually retrain my brain's way of thinking and processing things, and so my, my brains have kind of got under control.

LeeAnn Fox : 8:02

I'm not going to go into the details of how just the certain trigger words on here could make YouTube mad and I don't want to risk impacting my channel. I'd be happy to talk with you offline about it, if you want to know. I still get them, but I've learned to manage them and so I've also learned to work within my boundaries. Things that I don't want to say, things I can't do, but things that are more of a struggle, I figure out it different way to do it and maybe that's doing less of something, maybe it's doing it a different way or whatever. But the number one thing is you have to learn to manage yourself. Like, even if you become the I can kind of person, you have to also know what your limits are, because the limits, when you exceed the limits, when you exceed your boundaries that you've said, that's when the overwhelm starts triggering all those other things again If you have physical disabilities. So y'all may know Wendy from one exceptional life.

LeeAnn Fox : 8:52

Like I challenge anybody with a physical limitation. In your mind I don't see limitations, just not a word I normally use, but it's a word everyone recognizes, so that's why I'm using it here. Anyone with physical limitations or perceived physical limitations go follow Wendy. Wendy got flesh and bacteria. She has no hands and she was amputated both hands and below the knee, I believe. So she's got her full amputee and she's a blogger, like literally, she is killing it and she's doing different things. She got creative. She might not be able to do all the things that I can do, so she figured out how to do them within her ability and she's doing amazing.

LeeAnn Fox : 9:27

And so that's a very good example of the physical limitations and I know everyone's limitations, again, perceived, I don't even like the word disability in your mind is what's limiting you. You see the thing, and the thing is not like everybody else, and so, because it's not like everyone else, you assume you can't do what everyone else does. Well, number one, when I was supposed to be like everyone else, we're supposed to be ourselves and be unique and be unique in our own abilities, and so, yeah, there's kind of that. We are basing our ability off a model of someone else that is simply not built the way we are. And so when we get out of that mindset and just start focusing on what you can do, you can do amazing, because God put a calling on your heart, a calling to share the gospel and the online realm. He didn't say he had to do it like me. He didn't say he had to do it like Wendy. He didn't say you had to do it like any of the other people that you may know. And so if you're again struggling with any of these things we've talked about and you feel you can't do it, because, figure out, I can't do it this way, but I can do it that, and so that is just what I want to encourage you with, and I'll be honest y'all. It's not like I make this stuff look easy, but I've trained my brain that right.

LeeAnn Fox : 10:33

It took many years, because I was a kind of Debbie Downer for a few years and when I was at just the lowest point I was like I probably wouldn't believe that now because I'm just like losing with happiness and positivity. I wasn't always like that. There was a very dark time in my life and I wore to myself I would never go back. I don't want to say I put on this fake persona because it's not. I truly am content with things, but I also know when to recognize my limits and my boundaries and when they're about to be exceeded or triggered or however you want to say it. And so I focus every ounce of energy I have into positive things, into looking at every obstacle as a challenge that I will overcome. However, that look, I never look at anything with a negative kind of thought, like I'm never going to do this. I just I never do that right. I never say never. I look at everything as a challenge and I am a person who likes to be challenged, and so there is no mountain too high for me, because I know God's on my side.

LeeAnn Fox : 11:30

And what I was saying before is, if you're watching this, this particular video you ended up on my channel, in my Facebook group it's because God has called you to something bigger in this virtual online world, and so if he put that calling on your heart, especially if you are someone who struggles with any of these things, it's because he wants you to own that thing and use it for His glory and also to encourage others who struggle with those things, like me here talking about all these things today. I don't talk about them with a I. You know I don't do that ever because I I like parties, I don't like pity parties, and so and I don't mean to disrespect anyone who's in a low point, because I was there myself, but that was a party I could not wait to get out of and and literally never return to, and so I don't say it in a mocking kind of way, but I'm saying a pity party for your situation. Your circumstance is never going to be fruitful, and if God called you to do something, your obedience is expected, and that obedience is to do what you have to do to be able to fulfill the calling that he has given you. And so, whether it's mental health, whether it's physical ailment you know chronic illness, whatever it is, I just want you to dig deep and figure out what you can do, because we can all do something, and chances are that something's not going to look like what everyone else is doing. And that's the point, because doing what everybody else is doing is overrated. You have to get creative and use all the resources God has given you and come up with other ways. Right, because we need more ways to share the gospel. There are so many things are just changing all the time, and so your creativity and your desire to be obedient to God's calling is what's going to set you apart. And so, anyway, I just really I don't know.

LeeAnn Fox : 13:09

I had a message on one of my YouTube videos this morning, and then I've had, just in this past week, seeing, seeing different comments in different groups and it related to, you know, illness and mental and physical. You know, limitations, disabilities, and I just I don't use those words in my normal description of myself. I have had mental health struggles, had right, but I'm not living in the present of a limitation, because limitations in the word it's limiting and I don't like to be limited Because I know God has great things planned for me and he has great things planned for you. So again, just again, I don't want to minimize anything that you're going through, but I've been through a lot myself and so this is the mindset it's all up here guys the mindset of how you approach everything that is going to determine your success, that is going to determine your ability to overcome, like and I don't even like the word survivor Survivor means to me victim, and I don't like that. I'm an overcomer, right, I've overcome, I have dominated, I have, you know, those are the words I like like a challenge that I willingly go into and accept and win. That. That's where a survivor to me, as someone who was like really struggling and they came out, but just barely, I don't like that mindset, and so that's just what. I'm okay. Now I'm feeling like I'm talking in a circle. Sorry, this is really passionate topic for me because of everything I've been through in my life. I just want to encourage you with that Stop saying can't and start saying can, and you will be amazed at the things that God has planned for your future.

LeeAnn Fox : 14:36

All right, everyone. Thanks so much for joining us this week. Be sure to come again for our next episode, where we continue diving into all things digital discipleship. If you haven't already, be sure to follow us here on the podcast and leave a review. Let us know what you think. Share it with a friend. Our goal here is to build digital disciples everywhere. Remember, if you are not using the internet to influence others towards Jesus, the enemy will surely use it to influence them away from him. All right, everyone. God bless and have a great week. Bye-bye.