Tips to help you overcome anxiety …

The number of people worldwide saying they are experiencing some level of anxiety has skyrocketed since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The actual root cause for anxiety can be different for each person, which means a specific treatment will differ among people as well. But there are some effective tips that are generally helpful for most people battling anxiety which are provided below, broken down into four areas:

SPIRITUALLY
We are first spiritual creatures, and all that we do in life should start with God. God is concerned about the impact of anxiety on our lives and in various places in scripture we are encouraged to work at eliminating our anxieties and to include God in that process …

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you,” 1 Peter 5:7 (NIV).

Here are some things we can do in our spiritual life to help defeat anxiety:

• • Talk to God. Prayer is simply talking to God and is a specific “biblical prescription” to help us ward off anxiety, as the Apostle Paul reveals: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus,” Philippians 4:6-7.
  • Listen to God. God most reveals Himself to us through the Bible and He has much to say and divine wisdom to offer that can help us defeat our anxieties and find peace and rest in Him. But accomplishing that requires us to open our Bibles and “listen” to God.
  • Lean on the Holy Spirit. As Christians, the Holy Spirit actually lives in us! When it seems like anxiety is overwhelming, the power of the Holy Spirit is greater than any of our trials. Learn to lean on the power of the Holy Spirit in your life. You may want to speak with your pastor or spend time with a mature Christian to help you learn how to nurture your relationship with the Holy Spirit so that you can better yield to His leading in your life. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline,” 2 Timothy 1:7.
  • Trust God. Anxiety often leads people to panic and hopelessness. But by talking to God, listening to God, and relying on the power of the Holy Spirit, you can learn to trust God in all things, and with all things, including your anxieties.
  • Fellowship with other Christians. Talking with someone about your anxieties can be helpful as you gain their support, encouragement, and insight. The Bible teaches us to “Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ,” Galatians 6:2. Your brothers and sisters in Christ are there to help you bear your burdens and be able to defeat your anxieties.
  • Serve others. So often when we become anxious we become lost in our worries. Making time to serve the needs of others can help you not be consumed with anxiety as you turn your attention instead to the needs of others.
  • Practice gratitude. Anxiety can cause us to think we have the worst possible situation in life. By daily practicing expressing gratitude to God (and others who are helping you), you see afresh the good things that are part of your life. No matter how bad your situation, there’s usually someone somewhere who is worse off. There’s always something in our lives we can be grateful for, and expressing that every day helps to lift us from the “funk” of anxiety.

MENTALLY
Dealing with your thought life is critical in overcoming anxiety, The reason is because our thoughts create our emotions, and the combination of our thoughts and emotions create our behavior. Ruminating on negative or irrational thoughts can pull us into a downward spiral of anxiety and depression. So mentally:

• • Reframe your thinking. When we’re engulfed in anxiety, we’re often thinking more irrationally than rationally, and may even develop a habit of cognitive distortions. At such times, we need to redirect our thinking to more rational thoughts and patterns and learn to challenge automatic negative thoughts. You can learn more about how to do that in other blog posts by clicking here, here, here, and here.
  • Challenge negative core beliefs. Some people develop negative core beliefs, which then become a source of fueling their minds with negative, and sometimes harmful thoughts. When a person has developed negative core beliefs, they need to be disputed just like disputing irrational thoughts and cognitive distortions. The same techniques can be used.
  • Strengthen your support system. We do this by nurturing relationships. Experiencing anxiety can feel overwhelming taken on alone, we need the support, encouragement, insights, and even the challenges of others who have our best interest at heart. Such relationships provide someone to talk to and someone to help you challenge your thinking and help you to reframe your thoughts.
  • Laugh! Laughter benefits us emotionally as well as physically. It lifts our spirits by moving our minds off everything we allow to worry and panic us, and it physically loosens up our bodies that often tense up from our stress which makes us less able to relax when we try to sleep. You can learn more by clicking here.
  • Schedule a visit with a therapist. A skilled Cognitive-Behavioral therapist can help you identify the issues and problems in your thought life and teach you how to change your thinking to more rational and healthy patterns and habits. Many say time spent with a skilled Cognitive-Behavioral therapist has been life-changing for them.

PHYSICALLY
While our own thought life can be a source of anxiety, another source is physical. So:

• • Schedule a visit with a physician. Anxiety is linked to many medical conditions, so it’s always a good idea to visit with your doctor about it. If you’re concerned about your feelings of anxiety, that’s reason enough to talk with your doctor — there’s no need to wait.
  • Exercise. Over and over again I encourage people suffering from stress, anxiety, and depression to develop a regular exercise regimen. That’s because multiple studies have revealed that physical exercise is often as or more effective in treating anxiety than taking medication. It’s always wise to first consult a physician before starting any exercise program, but taking exercise seriously by making it a lifestyle is one of the best things you can do to battle stress and anxiety.
  • Move more. Exercising a couple hours a week doesn’t cut it, and if we’re honest, most of us know that. Adopting a sedentary lifestyle can be harmful to both your physical and mental health. We need to learn to move more – whether it’s by exercising, or enjoying recreational activities, taking up a hobby, getting outside for lawn work or gardening, or being active in some way around the house, moving more helps us be more fit, both physically and mentally.
  • Make good nutrition a lifestyle. How you fuel your body (the food you choose to eat) directly and dramatically impacts your physical and mental health. Making eating healthy foods a permanent choice can help you battle against physical and mental illness.
  • Adequate sleep and healthy sleep patterns. Not sleeping enough, and not having a healthy pattern of sleep, directly contributes to poor physical and mental health. For tips on improving the quality of your sleep, click here.
  • Improve your breathing pattern. The more anxious we become, the more we tend to take more shallow breaths which do not adequately oxygenate our bodies. Learning to take deeper, slower breaths can dramatically improve feelings of anxiety for many people. Biofeedback is a highly effective mind-body technique used to help people develop a healthy breathing pattern – to learn more, click here.

MISCELLANEOUS
A few final tips:

• • Ditch the rush. Trying to live life constantly rushing from one place or responsibility to the next is a prescription FOR anxiety. You may need to sit down and look at your schedule, re-examine your priorities, and adopt a more sustainable rhythm for living.
  • Get rid of the clutter. Constantly battling physical clutter can, itself, be a source of anxiety. Clean out the clutter and organize yourself.
  • Make self-discipline a habit. Maybe it’s time you finally surrendered to the reality that self-discipline is an important key to healthy living – in our spiritual lives, and for our mental and physical well-being. If you refuse to practice an appropriate level of self-discipline, then expect anxiety as a consequence.

Scotty