Sheree Braswell

I haven't wrote poetry in a while so I felt led to write a piece for all the mental illness survivors (someone who chose not to quit or die) out there and for those that are in the struggle with their mental illness. Keep being encouraged knowing that you are not alone and that your story isn't over! So here it goes :) When You'e Had Enough Illness, mental illness, Yes, that was what I was diagnosed, and all the years it took to accept and cope, I finally come to an understanding that in this illness, where I felt pain and shame, Christ was there to bring me out my darkness and  I don't need to feel there is anyone to blame for the stigma is what I wrestle with daily from turning on the news to hearing someone committing suicide, ending their life, Yes, if I could I could press rewind, I would tell the person that, "honey, you don't have to do this, because at the end of this tunnel, there is light" Your feelings of helplessne

     First, before I blog on telling you about what to do to help your loved one take their medications, I want to encourage you by sharing my journey with me not taking my medications:      In January 2017, it will be 8 years since I was diagnosed and hospitalized for the very first time with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. For 6 years, I took my medications on and off and had mental breakdowns, episodes, and 4 hospitalizations. I've tried everything, from making changes in my diet while on the meds to see if it would work,  I would fast and pray doing water only for a few days at a time to get me off my meds and altogether taking myself off my medications without my Doctor's consent. No any shape or form am I saying fasting is wrong but a water only fast is dangerous while on medications, you need food with it. Diet changes are good but you need to be taking your medication with it. And taking yourself  off your medication without your Doctor's consent is not the wis

     This past Sunday, I taught at my church, God's House of Deliverance Church about loving each other deeply coming from 1 Corinthians 13:4-13. The audience was moved and so was I because I was eating from the same meal that I was feeding them. The Lord really convicted me in this area about love because if you look at the scripture and replace where there is love and use your name and ask yourself if you are and do those things; you would find that it is quite challenging! 1 Corinthians 13:4-13 New King James Version (NKJV) 4  Love suffers long  and  is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;  5  does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;  6  does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;  7  bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8  Love never fails. But whether  there are  prophecies, they will fail; whether  there are  tongues, they will cease; whet

     Have you ever found yourself bitter towards God? Bitter means angry, hurt, or resentful because of one's bad experiences or a sense of unjust treatment.  Maybe you are feeling the way you are towards GOD because you might have been molested or rape, you lost a dear loved one, finances are running low, you were struck with an illness, your house is going through foreclosure, whatever the case may be, God wanted me to tell you that despite how you feel about Him; He still loves you and wants you! These emotions and feelings that you  have are temporary compared to eternity when you accept  Jesus as your only Lord and Savior! God has a big plan for your life and despite of all the unfair happenings that happened to you and how you may feel like you live in misfortune; GOD wants you to see otherwise. He wants you to know that He can heal your broken heart, that He can turn your worst situation around and make it work out for your good. He wants you stop buying into the lies of

Photo Cred: MHconsumer.com   I know from personal experience that sometimes people don't know exactly how to communicate to someone with a mental illness especially when you are experiencing an episode or depression. I wrote this as a status but decided to share in a blog post on a few things I've noticed what is NOT the best to say to a person with a mental illness. There are tons of stuff that you shouldn't say but I'm just sharing a few. Here it goes: Things NOT to say to a person with a mental illness 1. Snap out of it. 2. It's your mind. ( well of course it is, it's a mental illness) 3. You're crazy. 4. You're just being dramatic. 5. You're always like this, I just don't understand why you can't get over it. The list could go on. Please understand the battles of a person with a mental illness are real. They are really trying. Whether be spiritual, biological or chemical...be sensitive and pray and love them. Listen to them,

Photo cred: articles.philly.com      The LORD laid on my heart to really minister to people on what to do for their loved one that may be in a mental facility. Since my diagnosis I have been hospitalized four times, and there are some things that I wish were done for me; likewise there were some things that were done that were very effective during my time in the facility that I'd like to share both. If you are a loved one of someone that has been hospitalized for the first time, it can be a  very critical and difficult time for you and your loved one. How you communicate and what you say is very important to the person who is hospitalized. Sometimes the conversation can be uneasy depending on the temperament of your loved one; your loved one may feel uneasy, agitated or scared that they are being hospitalized. But today I am going to give you some tips on what to do for your loved one in a mental hospital. 1. Visit them and bring them food.  I know from experience that s

Photo Cred: Youth Connect     This post is for the singles because The Lord put on my heart on how this is a special season of your life. A time where you can fully focus on Him without distractions. However, the distractions still come. For the past year, since I received a detailed prophecy about my husband, it has truly been a time of testing relationship wise, especially since prophetically I know about my future husband as far as how he looks and personality. Lately, my mind has been consumed with thoughts, "when and where will I meet him?" "Will he understand my health background of having a mental illness?" and so much more. Amidst my thoughts, The Lord reminded of me of the book by Dr. Lindsay Marsh Warren called,  The Best Sex of My Life Confessions of a Sexual Purity Revolution,  founder of the Worth the Wait Revolution. In the book ,  she talked about resting in  God and that real relationships doesn't require stalking social media networks a

    The Lord laid on my heart to share why I shared my story and why I am choosing to live stigma free. Here are some reasons why: 1. There is nothing to be ashamed of! It took me a while to realize this and to accept the fact that an illness is an illness; whether it's mental or physical, it should be viewed as the same, however, with a mental illness you cannot see it. You realize it by a person's behavior in which people are judged so harshly by others. You would never make fun of a person who is battling cancer, why would you do that to a person whose battling a mental illness? Much like a person struck with a visible physical illness, the person did not ask for their mental illness. If someone would have told me that I would be diagnosed with a mental illness at the age of 16, have episodes and relapses and be on medication, I would think they were trying to curse me. But this is my reality and I've learn to take my "curse" and turn it into a blessing

       First, I want to thank all those who read My Story:Living With a Mental Illness. I am blown away by all the positive feedback, support, encouragement and messages I received on Facebook and Instagram. That blog post received over 350 hits; that may not seem like a lot to some but for a topic that is rarely talked about it means a ton for those who are affected by mental illness to read as well as those who are not. So for the past week the Lord laid on my heart to share with my readers on how to support someone with a mental illness. I know that without Christ and my amazing support system I would not be here today. Jesus alone and my support system brings more meaning to my life. So today, I'm going to give you some tips on how you can support someone with a mental illness! 1. Show them unconditional love.  1 Corinthians 13:7   ESV " Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." The scripture tells us that love b

 Hello lovelies!! Am I the only one that didn't find out that May is mental health awareness month until towards the end?! When I saw it posted on a girl page, I immediately thought I have to blog my story and tell my readers that I've battled living with a mental illness. Since I found out maybe a couple of weeks ago about it being mental health awareness month, I was so full of different emotions, for this is still a sensitive area for me. Disclaimer: I am not an expert, I do not have all the answers concerning mental illness; I always advise doing your own research. However, I will share my experiences and what it was like living with a mental illness and being a Christian. Any negative comments will be deleted. There is someone out there looking for a story of hope and your remarks can make a person feel rejected and want to be isolated. I'm an aspiring mental health advocate and my hope is to bring people to Jesus.  Few facts from National Alliance on Mental