Anxiety is a natural sympathetic “fight or flight” response to danger or threat. It is not bad, it is purposeful and needed. But when it is excessive or persistent, it can greatly interfere with daily life and health. When experiencing chronic anxiety, the nervous system has become "stuck" in a heightened state of arousal.
You may feel jumpy, jittery, on edge, or buzzy. Your heart and breathing may be faster. You may feel restless, need to stay busy, or feel your mind is spinning/overthinking. You may find that you have a hard time focusing, remembering things, relaxing and settling down. This can be experienced as go-go-go mode, too much to do and no time to relax or connect with others.
What’s under the surface of anxiety? Fears, negative beliefs, unprocessed past events, repressed emotions – essentially, stored survival stress in the body.
A reason it’s so hard for many to pause, be with and ease up is because there is resistance/fear to facing what’s happening in the body. Instead of trying to get rid of, fix it or fight against it, we want to listening to it, turn towards it and work with the body in an intentional way.
There is no way around beginning to slow down, pause and become present, in small doses, to what’s happening in the body. We want to take tolerable steps, build capacity to be with the body and learn tools to safely release what’s stored without causing overwhelm. This is an attunement process that happens over time, it’s not a quick fix.
Our greatest refuge, support and safety in exploring the roots of anxiety is the Lord. He is our secure attachment. God cares deeply for His people, and we are not alone in our struggles.
We are encouraged to give our worries and anxieties to God because He genuinely cares about our well-being and is able to help us. Through prayer, we can give our anxieties to God and receive His peace.
At the heart of anxiety often lies a lack of trust in God’s sovereignty and goodness, fear of not being in control or uncertainty about the future. Believers are encouraged to trust in God's sovereignty, that He is in control of all things, even when circumstances are difficult or unclear. God is working for the ultimate good of His people, even if we cannot always see how or when.
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