Looking at my social media profile during that time, you wouldn’t have had a clue.
To the rest of the world, my life looked great. But inside, I was crumbling.
I faced a secret battle. I was in the thick of postpartum depression, and my days were filled with tears, anxiety and feelings of being overwhelmed with life and all that it entailed. Life felt so dark, and I felt so alone.
The Dangers of Social Media
Scrolling through other people’s social media pages furthered my depression as I wondered: Why is everyone happy but me? What is wrong with me? Why can’t I get it together?
My sweet husband gently held me and said something that stuck: “Everyone is going through something, but no one posts pictures of their tears.”
We live in a world where everyone presents their “picture-perfect” self on social media. As you scroll through, you’ll find what appear to be flawless families in our happiest moments.
We are out to show the world the best in us, even when it’s not always reality.
I’m afraid we’ve become so accustomed to showing our “best” that we’ve lost the ability to open up, even with the people we trust, about what’s going on behind the scenes.
To Love, Honor and Confess
Marriage is an invitation to share our brokenness.
It’s an opportunity to shed our facade and get real with who we are and with our struggles. It’s a chance to share our burden with the built-in helper God has given us. God knew we needed this when He proclaimed it is not good for man to be alone. (Genesis 2:18) Marriage is our time to declare that although we will struggle, we will no longer struggle alone.
We don’t often talk about the importance of confession within marriage.
In a survey I did of over 1,000 married people, nearly 50 percent of them reported that confessing their sins and struggles is what they discuss least in their marriage. It’s an important discipline that seems to have been lost in our world. But more concerning to me is that it’s been lost in our marriages.
As a professional counselor, I believe confession is an important part of building trust and achieving authenticity and freedom in a marriage relationship….
[Read the rest of this article at Proverbs 31]
The above article is an excerpt from my new book, Choosing Marriage. To read the rest of this post,, head over to Proverbs 31 Ministries today where it’s the featured article! I’m so grateful for the chance to share this message of hope and healing away from the “perfection” of social media with women across the world.
Debra Fileta is a Professional Counselor, national speaker, relationship expert, and author of True Love Dates: Your Indispensable Guide to Finding the Love of Your Life, and Choosing Marriage: Why It Has To Start With We > Me where she writes candidly about love, sex, dating, relationships, and marriage. You may also recognize her voice from her 200+ articles at Relevant Magazine, Crosswalk.com, and all over the web! She’s the creator of this True Love Dates Blog, reaching millions of people with the message that healthy people make healthy relationships! Connect with her on Facebook or Twitter or book a session with her today!
