00:00:02 My name is Steing Dott.
00:00:04 I was born in 1988 in Darwin, Northern Territory.
00:00:08 When I was eight years old,
00:00:11 I realized that life was getting very difficult for me.
00:00:16 I was diagnosed with ADHD,
00:00:18 obsessive-compulsive disorder, Tourette syndrome.
00:00:22 And on top of all of that, I was diagnosed with severe anxiety as well.
00:00:25 My mum said this affected the entire family
00:00:29 because I would repeatedly yell out “Good night!”
00:00:32 to each individual person in the family.
00:00:36 And on top of that, I used to constantly go
00:00:39 around the house, checking the locks and the windows.
00:00:43 My school life was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to deal with.
00:00:49 My school was approximately
500 meters from my home.
00:00:53 It would take me at least two hours to get to school
00:00:56 because one of my obsessions was that if there were cracks on the footpath
00:01:00 and if I stepped on one,
00:01:03 I’d have to go all the way back home and start again.
00:01:08 Well, I found life to be a constant struggle,
00:01:11 and as I got older, it only got worse.
00:01:13 Even at ten years old, I decided that I wanted to end my life
00:01:19 so that it would make everyone in the family’s life a lot easier.
00:01:22 But then we decided to use some medication,
00:01:26 which eased my problems a little bit.
00:01:29 Despite having medication,
00:01:31 life was still completely unbearable for me.
00:01:35 I had a constant struggle every day within myself.
00:01:38 I used to wash my hands hundreds of times a day.
00:01:41 I couldn’t leave the home;
00:01:43 I couldn’t get a driver’s license; I couldn’t even get a job.
00:01:47 A major turning point in my life
00:01:50 was my mum’s unwavering faith in Jehovah.
00:01:53 She used to iron my clothes for the meeting
00:01:56 and hang them on the doorknob,
00:01:58 even though I wasn’t ready to attend the meeting.
00:02:00 But what she didn’t know was that when my mum
00:02:02 went to the meeting with my sister, I’d get a Bible,
00:02:05 and I’d try and start to read it.
00:02:08 I also began to pray to Jehovah.
00:02:11 And then one day, I thought, ‘I’m going to give this a shot.’
00:02:15 So I put my suit on, I got ready,
00:02:18 and I went to the meeting.
00:02:19 When I went to the Kingdom Hall, I was absolutely terrified.
00:02:23 I was so nervous.
00:02:25 But when I got there, I saw an elder
00:02:28 who used to come and visit me, and he made me feel very relaxed.
00:02:32 And then the amazing welcome by the brothers and sisters
00:02:36 —it made me feel like I was part of Jehovah’s organization again.
00:02:40 The scripture that really helped me
00:02:43 was 1 Peter 5:7 because it says:
00:02:47 “While you throw all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.”
00:02:51 So this made me feel like I had a very powerful Friend,
00:02:55 and Jehovah wanted me to throw my anxieties on him because he loved me.
00:03:00 On September 4, 2010,
00:03:03 it was my most important day of my life.
00:03:07 I got baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses
00:03:09 at Adelaide Entertainment Centre.
00:03:12 I now serve as a ministerial servant.
00:03:15 I’ve had the privilege of giving public talks,
00:03:17 which is something I never thought I’d ever be able to do.
00:03:21 I completed pioneer school after three attempts
00:03:25 because the pioneer school environment made me feel
00:03:28 like I was back at school and made me have anxiety again.
00:03:32 So the third time I completed it.
00:03:34 And none of this would ever have been possible without Jehovah’s help.
00:03:39 On the 6th of August 2016,
00:03:43 I married my beautiful wife, Laura,
00:03:45 who helps me serve Jehovah,
00:03:47 and we can serve Jehovah every day together.
00:03:50 I, like the apostle Paul,
00:03:52 still feel like I have a war inside me sometimes.
00:03:55 But definitely, Jehovah has never let me down.
00:03:59 Never give up on serving Jehovah
00:04:02 because Jehovah will never give up on you.
