Life is full of curveballs.
You may be coasting along through a smooth part of your life when suddenly, in the space of one to two seconds, a curveball is thrown right at you.
Whether it’s a news story that brings dismay or a conflict-ridden problem in your personal life, you can try to dodge the curveball. But, if you’re like me, you still get struck with a whopping hit of anxiety.
This has happened to me quite a bit recently, and the experience has led me to have to confront my problem with anxiety in practical ways. I know my anxiety stems from a lack of faith in God, the fact that I don’t really trust Him one hundred percent. But even knowing the root cause doesn’t always fix the problem and make the anxiety go away.
Anxiety is fabricated in the mind because of our false beliefs and lack of faith, but anxiety doesn’t stay in our heads. As soon as I start becoming anxious, I feel it in my stomach, too. Then it spreads, quickly overtaking my whole body. If anxiety is allowed to remain for an extended period, it makes me feel physically ill and gives me many symptoms of sickness.
I know I’m not alone in this. Anxiety and related stress have been proven to affect our mental and physical health.
So to reduce and even beat anxiety (yes, it is possible! God says so!), we need to attack the spiritual root of the problem, but then also combat our physical symptoms, as well.
6 TIPS TO CONQUER ANXIETY GOD’S WAY
1. PRAY
Ask God for peace.
2. BREATHE
Especially focus on letting go of tension throughout your body every time you let out a long breath. I recommend doing this sitting or lying down for maximum relaxation potential.
3. TAKE CONTROL
Recite a Scripture verse you’ve memorized that helps you refocus your mind on God’s mindset (or memorize a verse like that now, if you haven’t already). Repeat the verse over and over again until you’re no longer thinking about what is causing your anxiety. My favorite verse for disciplining my thoughts is:
Finally, brothers, 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. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. – Philippians 4:8-9
4. PRAY
Ask God to help you feel His peace and His presence.
5. BREATHE
Yep, do it again as you focus your mind on grasping God’s peace. You should be able to start breathing more normally now (which we don’t do when we’re anxious), but if you aren’t yet, don’t worry! Rest in God to calm you now.
6. TAKE CONTROL
When we have extreme anxiety, opening our Bible and concentrating enough to read it can be nearly impossible. Instead, listen to Scripture being read aloud. This tip has been an emotional lifesaver for me, especially at nighttime when I can’t get to sleep because of anxiety.
BibleGateway.com (yes, there’s also a phone app for that) has free audio recordings of Max McLean reading Scripture. I just hit play and listen until I’m falling asleep under the blanket of peace of hearing my Father’s Words.
You may need to tweak these six tips to tailor them to what works for you. And you may need to repeat these steps over and over or do them in a different order.
Experiment and practice until it works for you. But DO NOT give up or tolerate anxiety in your life. God has a plan for your life, and He wants you to live it out, anxiety-free!
Do you struggle with anxiety? Have you found ways to reduce or beat your anxiety? Please share!
Comments 3
I also love listening to Max McLean read scripture on BibleGateway! Another anti-anxiety technique I’ve found helpful is to recite scripture from memory as I’m going to sleep. It helps me to not only hear it, but to say it, whether aloud or in my mind.
Love that you mentioned breathing. Twice. Not only does this sound refreshing/relaxing it does alter the biochemistry of what’s going on in the brain. Great post.
Author
Great point, Mary! I’ve found breathing to be something I surprisingly forget to do when I’m anxious, and it’s so helpful to focus on breathing to reduce that stress and relax the whole body. Thanks for joining the conversation!