Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Today's episode talks about what you can do when you are feeling anxious, fearful, or worried. It gives practical techniques that you can practice when you are not in a panic attack so that when you are in a panic attack, you will know what to do. The reason I say practice is because the more you practice in the calm times, the more likely you will be to use it when it is not calm. It is always good to plan what to do ahead of time. I pray there is something in today's episode that will help you. Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
What To Do About Anxiety, Fear & Worry
Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
I think it is kind of interesting that this is the verse of the day today. I was searching for good scripture verses for anxiety. I woke up this morning to a Facebook message from a friend asking for prayers because her anxiety was really bad, and she couldn’t sleep. This, unfortunately, happens to more people than we know. While looking for a verse, my phone buzzed with the verse of the day. I think it is interesting because this was the verse for my small group at the retreat. We have a group chat with all of us in that group, and it is called the Peacemakers. So, when I saw the verse, I knew that was the one I was supposed to use.
Then the Lord showed me that peace is exactly what those with anxiety need. Anxiety, worry, and fear are happening more and more these days. There are so many young people suffering from it, and yet it is affecting the older population as well. It seems no one is above the grasp of worry, anxiety, and fear. I imagine one thing that makes it so hard is that you don’t always know what you are anxious about. If you knew what it was, if it was a specific thing you were worried about, you could talk yourself out of it. You might be able to reason with yourself. However, when you have these feelings, but they aren’t about something specific, you aren’t sure what to tell yourself.
In my book on Anxiety, I have a chapter on what to do at the moment when you are having an anxiety attack. I am not a counselor, so what I am sharing with you are things I have learned by researching anxiety as I have a lot of friends and family who suffer from it, and I have tried to help them over the years. If you are struggling with anxiety, you may want to talk to a counselor about it. I have talked to a counselor for years for various reasons, and I find them so helpful!
I have heard when you are having anxiety, you should try to get back to the present moment. Anxiety is usually when we are thinking about the past or the future. However, in the present moment, there isn’t anything to worry about because it just is. Trying to get yourself back to the present moment when you are anxious can be just the trick you need. However, how do you do that? There are several different activities that you can quickly do when you are noticing that you are starting to worry. Actually, even if you are in a full-blown panic attack, you may be able to do these activities to calm yourself down. I will go over two of them
1.) The first and probably easiest to explain is to count numbers out of order or backward. When you do this, you are shifting focus from one part of your brain to another, and it is harder to be anxious when you are using this other part of your brain. Let's all practice this now. Everyone counts down backwards from 10. Awesome, nice job! You can also count numbers out of order. For instance, 3, 10, 15, 4, 8, 22, 17. Again, this forces your focus to start using another part of your brain.
2.) The next one is to enlist the help of your senses to pull you back into the present moment. The Mayo Clinic calls it the 5-4-3-2-1 Countdown to make anxiety blasts off. Here is how you would do it. You take a moment and look around at your surroundings. Now you would list:
5 things you can see: Your arm, a pen, your computer, the rug, the window.
4 things you can physically feel: Your face, the ground, your hair, your shoe
3 things you can hear: The rain outside, a car passing by, your fridge buzzing
2 things you can smell: your feet, a plant
1 thing you can taste: your chapstick, your drink, gum. These will obviously be different for everyone. It depends on the room you are in or the place where this occurs. It depends on what you are doing and what your surroundings are. However, this is something you can practice and get good at when you are not in the middle of an attack. You could silently do it in various familiar surroundings. For instance, when you are in your car on the way to work, or anyway, you could quickly run through this exercise. When you are making breakfast, lunch, or dinner, you could run through it. The more you practice it when you are not in the middle of a panic attack, the more likely you are to think of it when you are.
Counting backward or out of order is something I think you could easily practice when you are not in the middle of an attack. Just maybe try once or twice a day to count backward or to count out of order. If you have anxious thoughts a lot, but they aren’t to the level of a panic attack, then try to implement this technique right when you realize you’re thinking about something that is making you anxious. This doesn’t have to be something you do out loud. It doesn’t have to be something that anyone else is aware that you are doing. If you can get in the habit of recognizing the thoughts that are causing you anxiety, that would be the first step. Then, try counting backward or out of order to distract yourself from those thoughts.
The third one is extreme sensations. For instance, eating a fireball or a lemon head. This shock to the senses might be just enough to bring you back to the present moment. Also, the sensation of touching ice. This would be one that I am not sure you could practice when you are not in the moment. However, it would be one that you would need to prepare for. If you have tried the other two techniques and you have not found the relief at the moment that you are looking for, you may want to try this one. In order to try this one, you would have to have something on hand. If you are at your house, you likely have access to ice. If you are thinking that you would like to try one of the other things, you would have to buy those ahead of time so that you have them on hand when you need them.
This is another way we can help ourselves in the moment. We can be prepared for them when they come. If we know we are prone to panic attacks, what can we do to be prepared? What if it happens when we are out with others? What can we do in that situation? How would we want to handle it if we could plan in advance? What about if it happens when we are alone? What will our plan be? What if our kids are around? There are many different circumstances where panic attacks can come about. Is it possible to come up with a plan for the different circumstances? Is it possible to run through these scenarios in your mind ahead of time so if you find yourself in one of these situations, it won’t be the first time? Almost like you are doing a dress rehearsal in your brain so that you can practice the best way to respond.
I have been told that our brains believe what we tell them and that the reason visualization works so well is that our brains can’t tell the difference between what we are visualizing we are doing and what we are really doing. For instance, the best athletes run over their plays or their movements in their heads, even when they are not at practice. A golfer will visualize holding the golf club. They will visualize swinging it, hitting the ball, and then the ball going into the hole. They do this over and over again in their mind, and even though they are not actually doing it, when it comes time to do it on the course, their mind thinks they have been here before. Their mind feels like it has done this tons of times before, and it acts as if it has.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could train your mind to react to these anxious thoughts in a more productive way? Wouldn’t it be great if your mind automatically started one of these techniques when you felt a panic attack coming on? Wouldn’t it be great if you were prepared for these attacks before they came? I believe these things are possible. It won’t be easy, and it will take work, but it can happen. You can gain some control in the midst of these attacks if you do the work to prepare ahead of time. If you are struggling with anxiety, know that there are things you can do. Don’t just accept that you are someone with anxiety. Pray to God and ask Him to take it from you. Practice some of these techniques so that when the anxiety comes on, you are prepared. You can do this! The evil one is not more powerful than the Lord is, and He is the one protecting you!
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, we ask that you help those who are listening and who struggle with fear, worry, or anxiety. Please let something I said here help ease their anxiety. Please put on their hearts what would work for them. Help anyone struggling with anxiety to know that they can count on you to fill them with peace any time they ask. Help them to know they can turn to you and that there are things they can do. Help them in the moment, Lord, to see that you are there with them. Help them to feel your presence. Help them to know deep in their heart and minds that the darkness will not overtake them and that you would never let that happen. Be with them, Lord! We love you, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen!
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I put a link in the show notes an article titled 20 Prayers for Anxiousness to Trade Your Worries and Fears for God's Peace. Click Here I just want to remind you that this is the last week to sign up for the retreat. If you have been thinking about it and just haven’t signed up yet, please do so, as I have to turn the numbers in to the retreat center very soon. CLICK HERE for retreat info. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!