God is Here

Written by Heather Thornburg, MA (Clinician)

“The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Philippians 4:5b-6 ESV (italics added)

I could tell you that I love this verse, but I would be lying.  Mostly, I find this verse confusing – how in the world do I “not be anxious about anything?” Especially right now?  In 2021…that followed 2020?

Life in a fallen, broken world can easily produce anxiety, and this past year has really hit many of us hard.  Almost every single client that I see is experiencing anxiety symptoms to one degree or another.  And in truth, it impacts me as well.  Anxiety symptoms appear in different ways.  Physically, we can have muscle tension, nausea, hot or cold sweats, headaches, shortness of breath or tightness in our chest.  Emotionally, we can become easily irritated, easily startled, tearful, impatient.  Mentally, we can have difficulty focusing, become spacey, or have intrusive or racing thoughts.  This is not an exhaustive list, but whatever symptoms we experience can be difficult to live with.  So, what can we do?

Believe or not, managing anxiety can begin with some relatively simple steps.

1.      Breathe – Seems too simple, right?  But anxiety can cause us to hold our breath or breathe shallowly and rapidly, and this can make our symptoms worse.  Instead, take five minutes to do some deep breathing.  Breathe slowly in through your nose for a count of 4-6, hold your breath for a count of 4-6, then breathe slowly out through your mouth for a count of 6-8.  Repeat.  Deep breathing reverses the anxiety response and signals your brain to begin calming the body (from TherapistAid.com).

2.      Ground – Do you find yourself worrying about things that haven’t happened yet?  If your thoughts have a repeated refrain of “what if…” then you are.  The future hasn’t happened yet; it doesn’t exist.  The present moment is real, and grounding yourself in it will help you step back from the tyranny of your thoughts.  Look around you - what do you see?  What do you hear?  What do you smell, taste, feel?  Take it in slowly and deeply.  Describe your surroundings to yourself; notice your feelings.  Pause, and let yourself be present in the moment.  Breathe a thank you to God for something in your surroundings.  By the time you’ve done all this, the “what ifs” shouting in your brain will have quieted down and given you the space and the strength to choose your next thoughts, to speak the truth about who holds your future.

3.      Prayer – Do you ever get caught in a thought loop about things that worry you?  Racing thoughts or thinking about the same things over and over are frequent responses to anxiety.  These thoughts can also be some of the most difficult anxiety symptoms to address.  When you experience this, immediately turn your thoughts to prayer. Don’t necessarily try to change the content, just begin directing your thoughts to Jesus.  It looks something like this.  I think, “I have this blog to write, and it’s my first one.  What if people don’t like it and think it sounds dumb?  What if my colleagues don’t like it?  Will it be professional enough?  Is my writing up to par?” …and we’re off to the races.  Now switch to prayer.  “Jesus, I have this blog to write and it’s my first one.  God, what if people don’t like it and think it sounds dumb?”  …etc., etc.  In the first example, my thoughts are spinning inside of myself with nowhere to go, and I don’t have the power to do anything about them.  In the second example, I have directed my thoughts up and outside of myself to one who loves me and created me.  To one who has the power to encourage and direct me, and provide some objectivity. 

To return to our verse, yes, Paul tells us “do not be anxious about anything”, but before he does so, he reminds us that “the Lord is at hand.” God, himself, is the reason we have hope to overcome our anxiety. When you feel a tension headache coming on, rest your hand on your chest and remind yourself, “God is here.” When you’re lying in bed and can’t stop thinking, rest your hand on your chest and remind yourself “God is here.” When your irritated and don’t know why, rest your hand on your chest and remind yourself, “God is here.” Whether you feel him or not, God is here!

Anxiety and Faith

Written by Day Marshall, LMHC (Senior Clinician)

Anxiety is one of the most common reasons people enter a therapeutic setting. The symptoms of anxiety can be as varied as the individuals it affects, but generally, it shows up as jumbled, racing thoughts of worry and negativity about self or others, resulting in an impaired ability to focus, process options, problem solve, or make decisions. Anxiety often manifests physically as sweaty palms, increased heart rate, lightheadedness, and either lack of purposeful motion or excessive activity.

At times, Christians who come to counseling with a hope to resolve anxiety can express a sense of failure or disappointment in their walk with God. There is a belief that their anxious thoughts and feelings are somehow related to a lack of faith or ability to rest in God’s goodness. And though resting in God plays a part in the management of anxiety, it is often relieving for clients to recognize that anxiety is very often closely related to values, beliefs and coping strategies established in early childhood, usually long before a comprehensive understanding of God is formed. This means that learning how to apply faith and God’s truths to anxiety responses can take some coaching and skills building: learning proper application of God’s healing balm, if you will.

Since many neurological pathways are solidly established for anxious responses early in life, it is helpful to have the capacity to apply critical thinking and reason to practical skills building in order to carve new pathways for responding to stressors. Faith and God’s truth can be powerful components in establishing these new responses. For example, applying Scripture and God’s promises during grounding and self-soothing techniques can often be very effective at mitigating the impacts of anxiety. One possible application of this is the practice of breathing in deeply while thinking, “He is my refuge” or “Rest for the weary”, and then visualizing breathing out worry and fear.

Rather than experiencing guilt or a sense of failure, those with anxiety can be encouraged that peace and rest for the anxious mind is closely related to learning how to apply the healing balm of God to those affected areas.