This is part two of last week’s post, so if you missed, “When you feel anxious,” find it HERE.
Today—four more tips to help us with anxious
feelings. As I wrote last week, I am not a therapist, but these are some of the things I found
helpful when I dealt with this challenge.
1. Diet and exercise. First, and I’m sure this is obvious—watch the caffeine. If we’re
already feeling jittery, pumping ourselves with coffee is not a good idea. This
would be the season to back off anything with high amounts of coffee and sugar
which can put us in a crash mode.
Also, regular exercise
is great for working off excess energy and we can get those endorphins going.
2. Avoid sentences that begin with “What if . .
. “This is the express train ticket to accelerate anxiety because we’re
borrowing all that imagined trouble from tomorrow. This quote attributed to Winston
Churchill is helpful, “When I look back on all these worries, I remember the
story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble
in his life, most of which had never happened.” We have enough trouble without
suffering the things that never happen. Sometimes, we don’t even know we’re doing
the “what if” thing until we stop and pay attention to what we’re thinking. Notice
the times you think or say, ‘what if’ and try the next tip instead.
3. “Think on these things . . . “One of my
favorite verses in the Bible is, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is
true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is
lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is
excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8). When I
was trying to stop the “what if” thinking, sometimes I would break
this verse down and began listing either in my mind or on paper what is true, then
move on to noble, right, etc. Meditating on scripture and putting it into
action is powerful and helps us refocus our thoughts and attention.
4. Prayer Spending time with the Lord in
prayer is life-giving. The old Gospel song said, “I must tell Jesus all of my
troubles, I cannot bear my burden alone.” None of us can bear our burdens
alone. Pouring out our hearts to the Lord is such a privilege. As we do, we’ll
find we want to spend more time listening to what He might say to us as we sit
before him, and as we read His word.
If you are suffering from anxiety, you are not alone. Many
are going through the same thing, but God has a way for you. Seek the Lord. Find a therapist who can journey with you. I pray you would find the healing you so earnestly
seek, friends. Blessings.
Over on my Etsy store BeverlyVarnadoArt, you'll find a little book called Gifts of Hope. It's a forty-seven day devotional that I originally wrote for Lent during the time I dealt with PTSD. Perhaps, you will find it helpful.