Latest / Your Hope-Filled Perspective with Dr. Michelle Bengtson podcast / Tools for Managing Chronic Stress and Mental Fatigue

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Tools for Managing Chronic Stress and Mental Fatigue · Your Hope-Filled Perspective with Dr. Michelle Bengtson podcast

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  Speaker 1: Life Audio.
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  Speaker 2: Today we are diving into a topic that affects millions
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  Speaker 2: of people who feel stretched, too thin, and overwhelmed by life.
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  Speaker 2: We are talking about tools for managing chronic stress and
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  Speaker 2: mental fatigue so you can regain clarity, rebuild your strength,
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  Speaker 2: and restore your hope. Chronic stress is not simply an inconvenience.
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  Speaker 2: It quietly infiltrates every area of life and disrupts sleep, relationships,
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  Speaker 2: thought patterns, mood, and even our sense of spiritual connection.
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  Speaker 2: Our goal today is to equip you with proven strategies
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  Speaker 2: that help you move from exhaustion to renewal so you
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  Speaker 2: can thrive again when mental fatigue sets in and stress
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  Speaker 2: feels unending. Many people assume that feeling overwhelmed is their
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  Speaker 2: new normal, but God offers a better way. You can
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  Speaker 2: experience renewed strength, restored clarity, and a calm mind even
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  Speaker 2: in the middle of challenging seasons. If you long for
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  Speaker 2: sustainable emotional wellness, Christ centered stress management tools and practical
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  Speaker 2: ways to quiet your mind, this episode just for you.
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  Speaker 2: We want to help you step out of survival mode
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  Speaker 2: and experience the peace that God promises.
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  Speaker 1: That's why today we are.
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  Speaker 2: Going to talk about tools for managing chronic stress and
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  Speaker 2: mental fatigue.
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  Speaker 1: We'll dive into that right.
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  Speaker 2: After this brief word from our sponsor. Welcome to your
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  Speaker 2: hope filled perspective with doctor Michelle Banks and where it's
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  Speaker 2: always our goal to restore hope, renew minds, and empower
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  Speaker 2: listeners to live in your God given identity. Thank you
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  Speaker 2: so much for devoting a few minutes of your week
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  Speaker 2: with us. Today we're going to be talking about tools
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  Speaker 2: for managing chronic stress and mental fatigue. Whether stress comes
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  Speaker 2: from ongoing caregiving responsibilities, work pressure, family demands, unresolved trauma,
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  Speaker 2: or long term illness, or something else. You are not
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  Speaker 2: alone and you don't have to live with emotional exhaustion
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  Speaker 2: or mental overload. There are biblically based, neuropsychologically informed strategies
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  Speaker 2: that can help you reset your body, renew your mind,
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  Speaker 2: and restore your emotional balance. We want to help you
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  Speaker 2: discover practical steps that support your mental health and deepen
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  Speaker 2: your connection with God, who invites you to find rest
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  Speaker 2: in Him. Today we are talking about empowering tools that
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  Speaker 2: can help you overcome chronic stress and mental fatigue. Enjoining
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  Speaker 2: me in this conversation is Jessica van Roekel, Welcome back
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  Speaker 2: to the program, Jess.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you. I'm so glad to be here.
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  Speaker 2: Scripture reminds us that God is a safe refuge during
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  Speaker 2: seasons of chronic stress. So I want to start this
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  Speaker 2: episode by remembering Nahem one verse seven. The Lord God
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  Speaker 2: is good, a refuge in times of trouble, and he
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  Speaker 2: cares for those who trust in him. Jess, this is
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  Speaker 2: a topic nearly every listener can relate to at some
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  Speaker 2: point because chronic stress has really become a common experience.
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  Speaker 2: People feel mentally worren down, overwhelmed, and often unable to regroup.
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  Speaker 2: So before we dive into practical tools and strategies, would
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  Speaker 2: you share what you are noticing most in the people
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  Speaker 2: you ministered to who are dealing with long term stress
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  Speaker 2: and mental fatigue.
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  Speaker 1: Oh?
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely, Michelle. One of the most common things I see
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  Speaker 3: is that people feel like their minds never turn off,
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  Speaker 3: their thoughts keep racing, their bodies feel tense, and their
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  Speaker 3: emotional capacity feels limited. Many describe feelings spiritually disconnected or
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  Speaker 3: too tired to pray or read scripture even though they
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  Speaker 3: desperately want to. Chronic stress affects the whole person. It
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  Speaker 3: impacts the body mind, emotions, and even our sense of
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  Speaker 3: spiritual grounding.
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  Speaker 2: Right there, that's a reason that we should be addressing
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  Speaker 2: these tools because it does affect.
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  Speaker 1: Our whole being.
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  Speaker 2: And how have you personally experienced the effects of chronic stress.
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  Speaker 3: Well, I would probably have to say that relationally, I
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  Speaker 3: get really crabby, I get really irritable. Spiritually, it's almost
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  Speaker 3: like I get these sound proofing headphones on and I
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  Speaker 3: can't hear God's voice. It's like that chronic stress just
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  Speaker 3: gets louder and louder, and God's voice seems softer and
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  Speaker 3: softer and softer, and as if this huge barrier is
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  Speaker 3: between me and God. And the thing though with the
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  Speaker 3: chronic stress too, is that there are seasons in my
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  Speaker 3: life where I'm like, oh, maybe next week it will
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  Speaker 3: be better, but next week never comes, and so then
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  Speaker 3: I add this layer to it, as like is this
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  Speaker 3: my life? Is this the rest of my life? And
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  Speaker 3: I start feeling really hopeless. Now, Michelle, you're no stranger
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  Speaker 3: to stress. How has it impacted you personally.
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  Speaker 1: In so many ways?
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  Speaker 2: In terms of my body, emotionally and spiritually. It impacts
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  Speaker 2: all spears and I've noticed it most in terms of
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  Speaker 2: decreased strength or stamina or energy. When I go go go,
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  Speaker 2: we dip into what reserves we have, and the more
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  Speaker 2: we do that, the more.
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  Speaker 1: There are reserves to carry us through.
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  Speaker 2: But even emotionally, I've experienced it in terms of decreased
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  Speaker 2: empathy and compassion.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's a big one.
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  Speaker 2: When when I don't I'm normally a very compassionate and
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  Speaker 2: encouraging and hope filled person. And when people share their
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  Speaker 2: needs or they share their situation, and I recognize I
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  Speaker 2: might have thoughts like you think that's bad, or I
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  Speaker 2: don't even feel like I have the energy sometimes to
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  Speaker 2: ask other people genuinely how they are, that's an indication
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  Speaker 2: to me. I've been dealing with some stress and not dealing.
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  Speaker 1: With it well. But like you, I also.
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  Speaker 2: Tend to experience increased irritability because when that stress first hits,
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  Speaker 2: I typically go into the doing mode, Go go go,
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  Speaker 2: doo dooo doo, and I don't often deal with it
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  Speaker 2: in the moment, and then I get irritable with people
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  Speaker 2: who don't deserve my irritability. Oh yeah, And physically, I'm
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  Speaker 2: more likely to experience a decreased immune system and a
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  Speaker 2: slower rebound from illness. And I've started to notice when
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  Speaker 2: I allow stress to accumulate, even my skull feels so
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  Speaker 2: tight and wound up like a stretched rubber band. It
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  Speaker 2: just feels like it could snap. We ever experience anything similar.
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  Speaker 3: Just yes, I would have to say that the irritability,
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  Speaker 3: of course, but in the lack of compassion. I remember
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  Speaker 3: in my early twenties, I took a spiritual gifts assessment
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  Speaker 3: and I was super low in mercy. And God has
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  Speaker 3: done a mighty work and He's really grown that gifting
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  Speaker 3: in me. But when I am under chronic stress, it's
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  Speaker 3: like mercy flies out the window, and I'm kind of like, Okay.
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  Speaker 3: Then we start this comparison or one upmann shp, oh
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  Speaker 3: you're under stressed.
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  Speaker 4: Well look at this.
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  Speaker 3: Oh well that's well, that's nothing, look at this. And
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  Speaker 3: so then this becomes this competitive like who can be
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  Speaker 3: the most stressed out? And I don't think that that
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  Speaker 3: serves anybody well from a relational perspective, and certainly not
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  Speaker 3: from a spiritual perspective. But as we talk, as we
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  Speaker 3: reference these perspectives, what have you noticed from a clinical perspective?
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  Speaker 2: So, as a neuropsychologist, I see how the stress response
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  Speaker 2: system affects the brain. When people experience stress for long
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  Speaker 2: periods of time, the brain becomes overactivated. And when that happens,
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  Speaker 2: our ability to focus and pay attention and concentration decreases.
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  Speaker 2: And with that, our memory becomes foggy and our emotional
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  Speaker 2: regulation becomes harder to manage. We feel more reactive and
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  Speaker 2: less resilient. But just there is good news, and that
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  Speaker 2: is that the brain is both adaptable and changeable. So
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  Speaker 2: with consistent tools, we can in fact retrain the brain
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  Speaker 2: and restore mental clarity and decrease our stress levels.
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  Speaker 3: This is so encouraging, and it is a critical to
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  Speaker 3: remember that God did not design our bodies to live
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  Speaker 3: in chronic stress. Scripture repeatedly invites us to rest and
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  Speaker 3: to cast our cares on Him, but when we ignore
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  Speaker 3: the signals of ongoing stress, we end up running on empty.
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  Speaker 3: That is why practical tools and healthy rhythms matter so much.
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  Speaker 3: Before we dive into understanding chronic stress and mental fatigue,
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  Speaker 3: let's take a brief break for a word from our sponsor.
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  Speaker 3: Welcome back to your hope filled perspective. Today we're talking
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  Speaker 3: about tools for managing chronic stress and mental fatigue. Michelle,
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  Speaker 3: how would you define chronic stress and mental fatigue.
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  Speaker 2: In simple time, chronic stress is basicly the type of
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  Speaker 2: ongoing stress that does not resolve quickly. It's not like
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  Speaker 2: when we get stuck in traffic and we feel stressed
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  Speaker 2: because we're late for a meeting, but then traffic starts
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  Speaker 2: to go again. It comes from those situations that continue
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  Speaker 2: to require both emotional or physical energy but without any
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  Speaker 2: recovery time. And simply, mental fatigue is what happens when
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  Speaker 2: our brain becomes overloaded, feels a little bit like brain fog,
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  Speaker 2: like we like we're trying to think through life through
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  Speaker 2: a foggy window. It can lead to concerning forgetfulness, difficulty
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  Speaker 2: making decisions, irritability, and even mental heaviness.
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  Speaker 3: And those symptoms describe what many people feel on a
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  Speaker 3: daily basis.
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  Speaker 1: And this is the tricky part.
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  Speaker 3: So often we blame ourselves instead of recognizing that our
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  Speaker 3: bodies are signaling for any for rest. Now, how do
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  Speaker 3: you help people recognize when stress has moved from temporary
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  Speaker 3: to chronic.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, that's such an important distinction, But there are a
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  Speaker 2: few indicators that include things like persistent exhaustion even after sleeping,
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  Speaker 2: maybe feeling overwhelmed by generally simple tasks, that ongoing irritability.
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  Speaker 1: That you and I talked about, like, yeah.
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  Speaker 2: It doesn't end. We end up snapping it everybody, from
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  Speaker 2: our spouse to the grocery store clerk to the person
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  Speaker 2: sitting in front of us at the traffic light. But
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  Speaker 2: we can also notice it in terms of increased anxiety,
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  Speaker 2: withdrawal from relationships people that were close to, and even
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  Speaker 2: a sense of mental heaviness that doesn't go away. When
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  Speaker 2: stress loses its off switch, that's when it becomes chronic.
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  Speaker 2: And I experienced this many years ago when I was
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  Speaker 2: running a very busy, thriving private practice. I was responsible
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  Speaker 2: for the livelihood of my employees, which was stressful in
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  Speaker 2: and of itself. My husband was diagnosed with cancer, my
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  Speaker 2: mother was diagnosed with cancer. I was raising two young boys,
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  Speaker 2: and I didn't even recognize the stress for what it
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  Speaker 2: was because I never slowed down long enough to think
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  Speaker 2: about it. I was just in doom mode. And then
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  Speaker 2: my health plummeted. It was almost as if my body said, look,
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  Speaker 2: if you were not going to take care of yourself,
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  Speaker 2: we are going to force you to take a rest,
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  Speaker 2: to take a break so that you can recover because
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  Speaker 2: you've been in a state of chronic stress.
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  Speaker 3: Wow, that sounds like your brain and your body just
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  Speaker 3: said stop. If you're not going to stop, I'm going
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  Speaker 3: to stop for you. That sounds that sounds like a
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  Speaker 3: lot of chronic stress. I can remember one fall I
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  Speaker 3: helped school my kids and I spent a lot of
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  Speaker 3: time selecting curriculum, and six weeks in I was trying
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  Speaker 3: to figure out why we were having such a slow
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  Speaker 3: fall to really adjust to the new schedule, and I
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  Speaker 3: didn't want to admit that the curriculum that I selected
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  Speaker 3: from one of my kids was totally not a good fit.
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  Speaker 3: And it just the stress just piled up, piled up,
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  Speaker 3: and I finally had to throw out my hands. I
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  Speaker 3: just felt like I was defeated and I go back
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  Speaker 3: to square one. And it did impact that year for teaching.
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  Speaker 3: It impacted my relationship with my kids. But now that
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  Speaker 3: we understand how chronic stress and mental fatigue presents, let's
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  Speaker 3: turn our attention to tools from managing it.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, this is where we get good and practical too.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: Number one that I want to share with you is
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  Speaker 2: what I call the reset pause. Basically, a reset pause
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  Speaker 2: is a deliberate, intentional moment where you stop. You breathe slowly,
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  Speaker 2: You let your shoulders drop, and you give your nervous
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  Speaker 2: system time to recalibrate. Because deep breathing lowers corterisol it
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  Speaker 2: slows our heart rate, and it signals to the brain
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  Speaker 2: that it's safe to relax. I had to do this
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  Speaker 2: before we hopped on to record this episode for you.
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  Speaker 2: It's been a very busy few days and I was
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  Speaker 2: feeling the effects of stress, and so as we hopped
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  Speaker 2: on to record this, I was like, breathe, yeah, put
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  Speaker 2: your shoulders down, yeah, just take a reset pause.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah. And the beauty of the reset pause is at simplicity.
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  Speaker 3: As you were describing what to do, I found myself
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  Speaker 3: doing it as well. And it's something that anyone can
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  Speaker 3: do it anywhere, at any time. In the car, dealing
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  Speaker 3: with traffic and interaction with your kids that aren't.
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  Speaker 1: Going very well.
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  Speaker 3: Sometimes at our workplace, the day just blows up and
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  Speaker 3: we're like, I need, I want to do over and
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  Speaker 3: I can't. But by golly, I can do a reset pause.
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  Speaker 3: And there's something incredibly grounding about giving ourselves permission to pause.
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  Speaker 3: Even a few slow breaths can interrupt the cycle of
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  Speaker 3: mental overload, and it is also an intentional moment to
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  Speaker 3: invite God into the stress we are feeling.
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  Speaker 1: And that is key, that word intentional.
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  Speaker 2: Nobody's going to take that reset pause for you. You've
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  Speaker 2: got to be intentional about doing any of these tips. Now,
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  Speaker 2: a reset pause becomes even more powerful when you pair
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  Speaker 2: it with truth, and that can be something as simple
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  Speaker 2: as breathing in while praying for you or my strength
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  Speaker 2: and holding it for a second and breathing out while praying,
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  Speaker 2: so I release my burdens to you.
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  Speaker 3: Now, that is so practical and it's something we can
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  Speaker 3: do as often as we need. Now, another tool that
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  Speaker 3: helps us is sensory grounding, which uses the five senses
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  Speaker 3: to interrupt mental fatigue. When the brain feels overwhelmed, grounding
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  Speaker 3: helps bring attention back to the present moment. This can
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  Speaker 3: include noticing the feel of your feet on the floor,
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  Speaker 3: focusing on a comforting scent, drinking a warm beverage, or
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  Speaker 3: stepping outside for fresh air. Now, what does that do
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  Speaker 3: to or for our brain? And what's a simple exercise
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  Speaker 3: to engage in sensory grounding?
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  Speaker 2: So the beauty of sensory grounding is that it shifts
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  Speaker 2: the brain out of our rumination mode. Rumination is a
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  Speaker 2: fancy word for the thoughts that we just keep thinking
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  Speaker 2: over and over again, and.
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  Speaker 1: That's the habit. It's a habit.
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  Speaker 2: When we mentally go over the same thoughts repeatedly and
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  Speaker 2: we don't interrupt them. So sensory grounding also activates regions
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  Speaker 2: of the brain that are involved in calm focus. It's simple,
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  Speaker 2: yet it scientifically supported for emotional regulation. So a simple
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  Speaker 2: exercise that I teach my patients is the five four
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  Speaker 2: three two one grounding exercise. When stress rises and mental
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  Speaker 2: fatigue sets in, your thoughts can start spinning out of
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  Speaker 2: control and your body can feel tense or disconnected. That
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  Speaker 2: tension is like what I described when I said my
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  Speaker 2: scalp felt like it was gonna saw well. The beauty
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  Speaker 2: of this five four three two one grounding exercise is
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  Speaker 2: that it helps gently bring your mind back into the
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  Speaker 2: present moment because it engages your senses, so it interrupts
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  Speaker 2: those racing thoughts. It steadies your breathing, and it anchors
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  Speaker 2: your attention to what is real and what is safe
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  Speaker 2: right here and now. So you begin by taking a slow,
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  Speaker 2: deep breath in and letting it out gently, then move
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  Speaker 2: through each step at a calm, steady pace. The first
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  Speaker 2: step is that you notice five things you can see.
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  Speaker 2: Look around you and gently identify five different objects or details.
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  Speaker 2: It could be the pattern on a pillow, the light
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  Speaker 2: coming through a window, the color of the wall, plant
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  Speaker 2: in the corner, or even your own hands resting in
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  Speaker 2: your lap, and you pause long enough to truly notice
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  Speaker 2: each one. The next thing you do have to find
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  Speaker 2: those things you can see is identify four things you
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  Speaker 2: can hear, so you kind of tune into the layers
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  Speaker 2: of around around you. And just as a worship leader,
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  Speaker 2: I know that you can relate to this because as
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  Speaker 2: a worship leader you're listening to multiple things at once. Well,
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  Speaker 2: we do that too, but we have to be intentional.
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  Speaker 2: So you might hear the hum of an appliance, the
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  Speaker 2: rustle of your clothing, traffic.
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  Speaker 1: In the distance.
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  Speaker 2: You might hear a bird outside, or even the sound
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  Speaker 2: of your own breathing, and just allow yourself to notice
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  Speaker 2: each sound without any judgment, without any real thought about
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  Speaker 2: what that means.
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  Speaker 1: Just notice.
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  Speaker 2: Then, third, become aware of three things you can feel.
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  Speaker 2: You bring your attention to your physical sensation. You might
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  Speaker 2: feel the chair beneath you, or the texture of your clothing.
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  Speaker 2: You might notice the temperature of the air or the
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  Speaker 2: grounding of your feet on the floor. Just take a
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  Speaker 2: moment and gently acknowledge how each sensation feels in your body. Then,
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  Speaker 2: after that, identify two things you can smell. If you
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  Speaker 2: cannot immediately detect a scent, you can choose something nearby
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  Speaker 2: to smell, like a candle or a cup of coffee
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  Speaker 2: or lotion, or simply notice the neutral smell of the room.
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  Speaker 2: And then finally you become aware of one thing you
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  Speaker 2: can taste. And this could be the lingering taste of
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  Speaker 2: what you last ate or drank. And if nothing is noticeable,
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  Speaker 2: you can take a sip of water or a mint,
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  Speaker 2: or simply focus on the natural taste present in your mouth.
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  Speaker 2: Now taste, take one more slow, deep breath, and let
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  Speaker 2: it out. As your senses settle, your nervous system begins
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  Speaker 2: to shift from tension mode to calm mode. This simple
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  Speaker 2: exercise helps your mind reorient to the present moment and
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  Speaker 2: a love that God gave us our senses. By paying
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  Speaker 2: attention to your senses, it can help to reduce emotional
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  Speaker 2: overwhelm and provide just a gentle pause for your heart
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  Speaker 2: to connect with God's peace.
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  Speaker 3: Friends. We are going to take a short break for
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  Speaker 3: a word from our sponsor, but stick with us to
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  Speaker 3: hear a few more tools to help you manage chronic
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  Speaker 3: stress and mental fatigue.
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  Speaker 1: Welcome back.
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  Speaker 2: Before the break, we were talking about two tools to
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  Speaker 2: manage chronic stress and mental fatigue, including what I call
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  Speaker 2: the rest, reset, pause, and sensory grounding. A third essential
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  Speaker 2: tool is establishing rhythms of rest. Oh, my goodness, just
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  Speaker 2: it's taken me years to really appreciate that rest is
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  Speaker 2: not laziness. You and I constantly encourage each other to
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  Speaker 2: take moments of rest. Yeah, because rest is a Biblical
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  Speaker 2: command and it's.
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  Speaker 1: A biological necessity.
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  Speaker 2: Chronic stress thrives when we never stop moving or thinking
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  Speaker 2: or constantly carrying emotional weight.
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  Speaker 3: God modeled rest from the beginning. You did, Jesus stepped
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  Speaker 3: away from the crowds to pray and recharge. When we
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  Speaker 3: neglect rest, we neglect a spiritual practice that God himself
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  Speaker 3: designed for our good. Healthy rhythms of rest might include
• 20:14
  Speaker 3: a quiet evening routine, setting limits on technology, building in
• 20:18
  Speaker 3: small moments of silence, or following a consistent sleep schedule.
• 20:23
  Speaker 2: And rest is most restorative when we fill our minds
• 20:28
  Speaker 2: with truth. Jess, you and I talk about the importance
• 20:31
  Speaker 2: of truth all the time. Reading a psalm before bed,
• 20:35
  Speaker 2: listening to worship music, or meditating on a verse about
• 20:40
  Speaker 2: God's peace can help calm both the mind and the spirit.
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: Ah, so so good.
• 20:46
  Speaker 3: I'm a big psalms fan.
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: It's taught me so much.
• 20:49
  Speaker 3: The fourth tool that we want to share with you
• 20:51
  Speaker 3: is cognitive renewal. Now, cognitive renewal is also a powerful tool.
• 20:56
  Speaker 3: This means intentionally replacing negative or overwhelmed thoughts with truth
• 21:01
  Speaker 3: filled thoughts. When mental fatigue sets in, thought patterns often
• 21:06
  Speaker 3: lean toward discouragement or fear. Scripture calls us to renew
• 21:11
  Speaker 3: our minds with truth.
• 21:13
  Speaker 2: Oh, Jess, you are touching on something so critical. Our
• 21:16
  Speaker 2: thoughts fuel our stress response, and if our inner narrative
• 21:21
  Speaker 2: is heavy, our bodies will follow. So practicing truth based
• 21:26
  Speaker 2: thinking actually strengthens our resilience. It's simple. It's something like this,
• 21:31
  Speaker 2: replacing the thought I can't do that with the truth
• 21:35
  Speaker 2: from God's word that God will supply what I need
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: for this moment. By doing that, it brings emotional relief
• 21:41
  Speaker 2: and spiritual grounding based in the truth of God's.
• 21:45
  Speaker 3: Word, and we've said it before, how God's word truly
• 21:49
  Speaker 3: does transform us and how our brains will get rewired
• 21:54
  Speaker 3: when we do things like that. Which who doesn't need
• 21:57
  Speaker 3: that when we're mentally fatigued to get off at that
• 22:00
  Speaker 3: fatigue cycle. So I love that. I love that so much.
• 22:04
  Speaker 3: What a great example. Now, another tool we cannot overlook
• 22:07
  Speaker 3: is community. So our tool number five is community and support.
• 22:12
  Speaker 3: Chronic stress isolates. Yeah, mental fatigue convinces us that we
• 22:18
  Speaker 3: are alone. God designed us to live in connection. Talking
• 22:23
  Speaker 3: to a trusted friend, joining a support group, or reaching
• 22:26
  Speaker 3: out to a counselor can reduce the weight of stress.
• 22:30
  Speaker 2: That's so important to mention community because just when we
• 22:33
  Speaker 2: get stressed, we have a tendency.
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: To withdraw, or at least I do.
• 22:38
  Speaker 2: In fact, I've had to admit to friends at times
• 22:40
  Speaker 2: I didn't reach out because I was so stressed and
• 22:43
  Speaker 2: I didn't want to just bent on you. I didn't
• 22:46
  Speaker 2: want to just dump. But what's important to remember about
• 22:49
  Speaker 2: that is that the enemy would love us to stay
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: in isolation, in a place where others can't speak truth
• 22:57
  Speaker 2: back to us and help us stay ground it in
• 23:00
  Speaker 2: a truth biblically based hopefield perspective if you will. But
• 23:04
  Speaker 2: community brings encouragement, accountability, and emotional support, and it really
• 23:09
  Speaker 2: helps us gain perspective. Sometimes simply saying something out loud
• 23:15
  Speaker 2: can bring a modicum of relief. As we wrap up
• 23:18
  Speaker 2: this episode today, we want to remind you that chronic
• 23:21
  Speaker 2: stress and mental fatigue are not signs of weakness. They're
• 23:24
  Speaker 2: actually signs that your body and mind need care. With
• 23:28
  Speaker 2: intentional tools, in God's help, your mind can heal, your
• 23:32
  Speaker 2: body can recover, and your spirit can strengthen. Jesse. If
• 23:37
  Speaker 2: a listener or viewer is resonating with our conversation today,
• 23:41
  Speaker 2: what hopefield perspective would you leave them with?
• 23:44
  Speaker 3: I would want to leave them with a scripture Psalm
• 23:47
  Speaker 3: sixty two, verse eight, which says, to pour out your
• 23:50
  Speaker 3: heart to him. The enemy truly does want to isolate you,
• 23:54
  Speaker 3: because if he can isolate you, he can come in
• 23:56
  Speaker 3: for the kill.
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 23:58
  Speaker 3: God has come to bring us life, and his word
• 24:01
  Speaker 3: has everything we need for life. But we have to
• 24:04
  Speaker 3: be willing to go to him, to pour it all
• 24:08
  Speaker 3: out at his feet and come to him in our
• 24:11
  Speaker 3: weakness so that he can then strengthen us.
• 24:15
  Speaker 2: I would add to that that You're not alone. When
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: we get stressed, it's easy to feel like we're alone.
• 24:21
  Speaker 2: But God offers peace and wisdom and rest. Healing happens
• 24:27
  Speaker 2: one small faithful step at a time. Jess and I
• 24:30
  Speaker 2: are not saying you need to do all five of
• 24:32
  Speaker 2: these tips at once. Just start, maybe with the reset pause.
• 24:36
  Speaker 2: See how that goes. Just take one small faithful step
• 24:40
  Speaker 2: towards your emotional, physical, and spiritual wellness. Friends, thank you
• 24:45
  Speaker 2: for joining us today. We pray that these tools help
• 24:48
  Speaker 2: you release emotional pressure, quiet your mind, and reconnect with
• 24:52
  Speaker 2: the God who loves you and restores you. And if
• 24:55
  Speaker 2: there was something in today's episode that resonated with you,
• 24:58
  Speaker 2: or if you know someone who struggles under the burden
• 25:01
  Speaker 2: of chronic stress or mental fatigue, please consider sharing this
• 25:04
  Speaker 2: episode with them so they'll have a biblically based hope
• 25:07
  Speaker 2: filled perspective. Jess, thank you for joining me on this episode.
• 25:11
  Speaker 2: I'm looking forward to our next time together. And in
• 25:14
  Speaker 2: the meantime, Friends, you know, it's not a prayer for
• 25:17
  Speaker 2: you that you have a hope filled week.
• 25:21
  Speaker 4: Depression is now our greatest epidemic worldwide, greater than heart disease,
• 25:27
  Speaker 4: cancer and aids all put together. If you have looked
• 25:31
  Speaker 4: for help with depression, you have found that there's a
• 25:34
  Speaker 4: scarcity of biblically based resources that identifies the spiritual component
• 25:39
  Speaker 4: that will actually help with the depression and also will
• 25:42
  Speaker 4: help the loved ones who are trying to support the
• 25:45
  Speaker 4: ones who are depressed. Over her thirty year career, doctor
• 25:49
  Speaker 4: Benson has treated thousands of individuals with depression and has
• 25:52
  Speaker 4: even suffered from it herself. Because of her suffering, she
• 25:56
  Speaker 4: understands the need to address the spiritual dimension of depression
• 25:59
  Speaker 4: along with the physiological and emotional components. Doctor Bankson has
• 26:03
  Speaker 4: written an award winning book, Hope Prevails, Insights from a
• 26:07
  Speaker 4: doctor's personal journey through Depression. For she shares with us
• 26:11
  Speaker 4: her own experiences, and she combines decades of professional expertise
• 26:15
  Speaker 4: and mental health with her personal insights so she can
• 26:18
  Speaker 4: help us overcome depression. Script Jennifer Strickland, author of Beautiful Lies,
• 26:24
  Speaker 4: had this to say about Hope Prevails. Hope Prevails as
• 26:27
  Speaker 4: a treasure trove of scripture, music, and medicine for the soul.
• 26:31
  Speaker 4: This book shares truth upon truth for anyone encountering the
• 26:36
  Speaker 4: obscurity of depression. Is a very important work that should
• 26:40
  Speaker 4: be held in the highest regard in any family library.
• 26:43
  Speaker 4: Most of all is honest. Michelle genuinely opens up a
• 26:48
  Speaker 4: window of her heart, shamelessly revealing her own darkest hours
• 26:52
  Speaker 4: in order to shine at light of hope for you
• 26:54
  Speaker 4: and me. If you or anyone you love touch even
• 26:58
  Speaker 4: the fringe of depression, highly recommend this work as a
• 27:01
  Speaker 4: key doorway to your journey towards joy, peace in the
• 27:05
  Speaker 4: full life we can have in Christ. Hope Prevails is
• 27:09
  Speaker 4: available from Amazon dot com and other fine online retailers,
• 27:14
  Speaker 4: or you your website at doctor michelbe dot com. You
• 27:18
  Speaker 4: can obtain your copy today and begin your healing journey
• 27:21
  Speaker 4: from depression. Thank you for joining doctor bankson to your
• 27:29
  Speaker 4: hope build perspective. We hope you are encouraged by her authenticity, vulnerability,
• 27:35
  Speaker 4: and biblical truths.
• 27:37
  Speaker 5: If you enjoy today's conversation, When you take a moment
• 27:40
  Speaker 5: right now, open up your podcast app and look for
• 27:43
  Speaker 5: the subscribe button right next to our podcast profile image.
• 27:47
  Speaker 5: We think this podcast is best enjoyed with friends, so
• 27:49
  Speaker 5: tell a friend and click share and in your podcast
• 27:52
  Speaker 5: app and send a friend our link to share Hope
• 27:55
  Speaker 5: with them. If you have a comment, question, or suggest
• 27:58
  Speaker 5: a topic for a future show. Reach out to our
• 28:00
  Speaker 5: staff at info at Hope Prevails dot org for additional resources.
• 28:05
  Speaker 5: Information about doctor Bankson's books where free downloads. For to
• 28:09
  Speaker 5: contact her to speak at your next event, please visit
• 28:13
  Speaker 5: doctor Mishelbe dot com. Until next time, May you have
• 28:17
  Speaker 5: a hope filledweek.
• 28:21
  Speaker 2: I'd like to take just a second to thank the
• 28:24
  Speaker 2: team at Life Audio for their partnership with us on
• 28:27
  Speaker 2: this podcast. If you go to lifeaudio dot com, you'll
• 28:30
  Speaker 2: find dozens of other faith centered podcasts in their network.
• 28:34
  Speaker 2: They've got shows about prayer, Bible study, parenting, and more.