Compassion dissolves the chains of shame and doubt that tie us to unhealthy patterns of behavior!

   

 Sharing my struggles with eating disorders and addiction, I felt like I was doing a live autopsy. However, to be reborn and start living, you must understand why you feel like you are dying, create a plan, and stick to it. So, you can start living. Being trapped with an eating disorder or addiction is like living in hell. Hell is like looking at your life and at who you could’ve been, and realizing you’re not that person. This perspective drove me to research the genetic link to learn more about my family’s mental health history. After studying various psychiatric conditions for more than thirty years, I was saddened to realize that my family rarely discussed their mental health or sought help, which led to a century of depression, unresolved anxiety, eating disorders, and addiction. Reflecting on this, I often wonder whether proper treatment might have changed their experiences, possibly preventing the divorce epidemic of the 1990s, when 4.7 divorces per 1,000 people occurred, compared with 2.4 in 2022. Would earlier intervention have lessened my own suicidal thoughts as a teenager? I can't help but think that previous generations in my family turned to unhealthy coping mechanisms to handle their anxiety and depression because of inadequate or unavailable treatment. But God always knows what we need. When we suffer, He gives us the gift of compassion. Recognizing this and offering one another genuine care can help us break old patterns of feeling unworthy. Compassion allows our hearts to heal authentically, dissolving the chains of shame and doubt that tie us to unhealthy patterns of behavior.