Dr. A'Shellarien Addison uses the biblical story of a man who waited 38 years for healing to explore what it means to be stuck in life. She names grief beyond death, anxiety, and depression as barriers to recovery, and offers concrete help: reach out to trusted people or call 988, the mental-health crisis line.
Chapters
Welcome to A Healing Moment with Dr. A'Shellarien Addison Addison. This is that part of the day where you say, you know what, I need a little pick-me-up. You know what, I need a word of encouragement. I need to know that it's okay not to be okay. Today's topic is being stuck. So I hear you saying, what do you mean being stuck? I mean, you know you need to be healed, You know you need to talk about what's going on. You know you need to stop trying to deal with this thing on your own. Something in you is making you resistant to asking for help. So today we're going to talk about being stuck. There's a story in the Bible of a young man— older man, he'd been at the Pool of Bethesda for 38 years. So the Pool of Bethesda was a place in the Bible where lame people would go, people who needed to be healed, and every year the angel would come and stir the water, and whoever got in first would be healed. Well, there was a man there for 38 years, and when Jesus came by, he said, hey, you want to be healed? And the man said, every time I try and get in the water, somebody gets in front of me. Now here's the thing: if you're already moving towards the water to be healed, why do you keep going back to the beginning and wait for another year? And some of us, we get towards our healing process and then something happens, we get discouraged and we go back to square one. So that's what I mean when I say you're stuck. Healing is waiting on you. The things that have happened in your life, the pain that's happened in your life, the sadness, the grief— I mean, think about all the things you've been through, all the people who have died, all the losses that you've had. Grieving is not just about death, it's about loss. So if you lost the job, if you lost the friendship, if you lost the relationship, if you lost who you thought you would be, all of that can lead to some grieving. And you would just might be stuck. You might say, you know what, I'm accustomed to feeling alone, I'm accustomed to doing this thing by myself, I'm accustomed to being in a loveless marriage, I'm accustomed to not getting what I want. Now imagine how life would be different if you took the time, you took the opportunity to talk to somebody about the things in your life that might be hurting you. I hear you saying, why do I want to talk about it? I don't want to remember that. Maybe there's some things in your life you don't want to remember. Remember this: a hurt that has not been dealt with has no time frame for healing. None whatsoever. People say, oh, just pray about it, just slap some oil on it, you know, let God handle it. You know what else the Bible say? Faith without works is dead. So when we say it's okay not to be okay, that means we understand that there's anxiety, there's depression, there's suicidal ideation, there's harmful behaviors. If you're driving 100 miles an hour sometimes on the highway That's a harmful behavior, and all of that comes from being stuck. I know there's a stigma out there. You don't want to ask for help. You don't want people to know your business. We all came up with that saying, what happens in this house stays in this house. I'm here to let you know that it's okay not to be okay. So in this moment of a healing moment with Dr. A'Shellarien Addison Addison, we want to get unstuck. So how do we get unstuck? We get unstuck by saying something to people we trust. You know, there's a new, uh, resource out there. It's called 988. 911 is for emergencies, 988 is for mental health emergencies. So if you want to talk to somebody, if you just want to talk to somebody who doesn't know you, call 988. It's open 24/7, 365. Don't be stuck. Don't be like the man at the pool of Bethesda and be stuck on the porch, and you're there 38 years and you're waiting for somebody to help you. I'm telling you, help is available. If you don't want to call 988, send me a message. I will happily, happily talk with you. So thank you for joining me for a healing moment with Dr. A'Shellarien Addison Addison Addison. Until next time, be kind to yourself.
