Coping With Anxiety and Overcoming

ANXIETY THE EPIDEMIC

Please Read Philippians 4:6-7

 Over the years, I have been amazed how many people, Christ Followers included -- myself included -- who are struggling with anxiety or have struggled with anxiety. Sometimes the anxiety morphs into full blown panic attacks, and people begin to struggle even more because they believe the lie that, "a good Christian should not feel this way;" yet, even Jesus himself exhibited a somatic response to intense overwhelming anxiety, in the Garden of Gethsemane, by sweating blood. Certainly Jesus is the epitome of human perfection, and He never sinned; therefore, experiencing being emotionally distraught cannot mean a person is lesser of a person for being like our Lord. This begs the question: What can be done? Well, the scope of this web log cannot begin to fully answer such a thing; however, I do think I can offer you a thumbnail sketch, or overview, of how to be able to begin to "fear not."

Five Considerations:

Please consider, when addressing this issue, five considerations:  First there is the Spiritual Consideration. Then there is the Emotional Consideration. Next there is the Relational Consideration. Still to there are Financial Considerations, and last, but certainly NOT least, there is the Physical Consideration.

                                                               Spiritual Consideration

Up to about an hundred, to hundred and fifty years ago, this was the primary way Counselors and Spiritual Directors, or Holy Men and Women, approached the healing of intense overwhelming anxiety. Now, it is not given anywhere near the thought that it once did. As a matter of fact, even Clergy tend to move toward the second consideration, and bypass this one entirely. I think that, while psychotherapy is a valid approach to helping with this malady, it is the "Scandal of Psychotherapy" for Clergy to abdicate their role as healers using the  Word of God, the power of God and of His Spirit, and it is scandalous that many fail to use the powerful work of the Blood of Christ, and His Cross in helping people be well. Not to mention other spiritual graces that are thousands of years old, and that worked for these millenia. 

I have used these quite often first. Why would I use the spiritual first? I tell you why. I am a Man of God, and if I identify the issue as spiritual, that is where I need to begin. If the root problem is spiritual, then using any of the other means of healing is like using a screwdriver to hammer a nail. Using the wrong "tool" will NOT work. The opposite is also true. If I try to use spiritual when the issue is from another arena, this will also fail miserable. Discovering the spiritual history of a person, and addressing this is vital in helping them grow free in Christ.

Emotional Consideration

The next consideration is related to our emotions: How people are taught about emotions, how to process them, or how to bury them, is important to know. Just one example will suffice. If a person is going through a whole bunch of turmoil in their lives, and normal feelings occur, but they are told "Don't feel that way!" Or they are told to "Man Up" and "Deal With It" from  when they were a child, they are taught that emotions are something you don't actually "deal" with, and they are taught to regularly "stuff it."  A steady flow of suppressing and repressing -- or stuffing emotions -- will lead to an emotional spring that eventually is ready to push those feeling out into a sudden explosion that may cause physical sickness, anxiety, fear, depression, guilt and shame, and this too will be stuffed. 

Learning how to identify feelings, process them, not see them as bad or good, but using them as a means of understanding thinking, can make a huge difference is helping a person find emotional balance and even a sense of peace. Emotions are neither bad nor are they good. They just are. What makes them bad or good is related to what you do with them. 

Relational Consideration

Let's think about relationships: Each one of us are in relationship. We are in relationship with God... whether we know God or not. We are in relationship with our parents, even after they have died. How they reared us to relate to them, to our siblings or anyone we meet, greatly influences how we will feel. How people treated us in those relationships, how we perceive they treated us, and how we responded, really can impact on how we feel toward our spouse, our children, our grandchildren an others. Growing up on an abusive home really does some serious damage to how we feel, and how anxious we may become. Surprisingly many think abusive relating is "normal."

However, if we grow up in a truly godly home, where love mercy and grace are all taught, and how the "Golden Rule" is taught as a golden way to interact, all of these, do something to us that will help us be foundationally whole and emotionally balanced. If we are given loving discipline, and if we are related to in a relatively sound way, I'm fairly certain we will have less anxiety. If we are pushed to never make a mistake and driven to be perfect in all we do, and have rules everywhere, weighing us down, anxiety and other painful emotions might just have a field day in our hearts and lives. Even going to college can be impactive here.

Keep in mind, when I say "Parent" I also mean "Parent Types." Coaches, Teachers, Pastors,Priests adult neighbors or other authority figures, are "Parent Types." I cannot tell you how influential these people are to our emotional well being. The coach, on the field, who forces children to choose sides, and lets the more athletic kids do the choosing, really can do a number on a kid who is far from athletic, for example.

Financial Consideration

Much can be said about how finances make a difference, for good or ill, in our emotional well being. If money is plentiful, but has a god like state where you never have enough, this can train a person they never have enough, even if they become millionaires, and they certainly do not find peace in things. On the other had, if poverty rules in a home, and people don't know where the money is coming from for the next meal, all in the family are trained to be on guard and fearful; however, put faith in God in the mix and the whole dynamic changes for the better.  Discovering how our lives were impacted in these matters, and how we view them today, will inform our emotions well.

Physical Considerations

Physical Considerations also need to be explored. One not so obvious one has to do with prescription medications. Most have some kind of side effects. This is also true of psychrotrophic drugs. Some actually do produce anxiety just by taking them. Water is also a consideration. Fill your body up with sodas, or gallons of caffeine, will move a person more toward anxiety than many can imagine. Drink a glass of water before, and after each meal, will hydrate the brain, which is mostly water, and the brain can function better. Hormones are also important. Women, for example, coming off birth control, may have hormonal reactions that are not pleasant, emotionally or otherwise. Men also have hormonal issues guys. Just overload yourself with testosterone and you will see what it can do to your emotions. Genetics plays a role as well, but don't let anyone tell you that that leaves you with NO choices to be well and balanced. Millions have been helped with this using spiritual principles. 

Prolonged illness may really cause some very real emotional distress.

What Is The Point?

So, what's the point of all this? My point, for Christ Followers, is that God does want us to be at peace, and He wants us to experience this peace as He tells us to "fear not." However, we are complicated creations, and since the fall of humanity, because of sin, our emotions can get out of balance.  Nevertheless, you are NOT a bad Christ Follower for having to struggle. As a human, you have spiritual, emotional, relational, financial and physical things that can rob you of what God wants for you. And if you, with your loving Creators help, address these key five issues in a godly/healthy way, you can be an overcomer. You can lead a victorious Christ centered life.  Just because you struggle does not mean your Heavenly Father does not love you. Just because you struggle does not mean Jesus is NOT your Lord ... because HE IS! Just because you struggle does not mean you don't have the Holy Spirit living powerfully within you.

Always remember, God is with you always, even to the end of the age. He will NEVER leave you nor forsake you.

As you begin this New Year, and end the old one, go with God, for God is going with you.

SoJourner