One Lamb: Anxiety
“Perfect Love Casts out fear.” John 4:18
“Anxiety is a feeling of dread, agitation, or foreboding associated with a danger that does not exist in the present moment. It can also be defined as a general and pervasive sense of dis-ease without an identified source. Anxiety, while often experienced in the body, is a head state that keeps its prisoners trapped in the realm of unproductive and fear-based thinking. Anxiety keeps you on high alert, and at its core, lives the belief that you’re not okay, that you’ll never be ok, and that you’re not safe physically, emotionally, and/or spiritually. Anxiety and trust are mutually exclusive.’ Sheryl Paul, THE WSDOM OF ANXIETY
If you struggle with feelings of anxiety, you are not alone.
The National Institute of Mental Health reports that in 2021, 19% of adults in the U.S. were diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. 23.4% of women. 14% of men. Among adolescents ages 13-18, 31.9% were diagnosed, 38% of females and 26% of males.
Of course, the numbers reflect those who are diagnosed with anxiety disorders. Countless others suffer in silence without seeking mental health care. In the DSM-IV, the diagnostic “Bible” of psychiatry, 11 specific anxiety disorders categorize the various types of symptom clusters that anxiety presents.
If you struggle with anxiety, you are not alone.
As with most mental health issues, the difference between discomfort and disorder is a matter of degree. We all feel anxiety. It a natural and valuable part of human life. While it is usually uncomfortable, when it becomes intense, pervasive and impacts our functioning in work, play, and relationship, it becomes a disorder.
Anxiety is an important aspect of our normal human life. It is an internal alarm system hardwired into our nervous systems which alerts us to potential threats and signals our need to respond. When triggered, the anxiety response fuels our bodies with chemical messengers that propel us to respond to emergencies and challenges. Anxiety is our friend when it motivates us to take care of the responsibilities of our lives, sharpens our thinking and response patterns, and heightens our awareness and sensitivity to the world around us.
When we heed anxiety’s nudges, we prosper.
When the messages run rampant and overwhelm us, we are inching into the disordered territory of this natural, human warning signal. If we ignore the signals, anxiety will get worse over time.
Signals include:
- Difficulty controlling worry
- Restlessness
- Difficulty concentrating, mind going blank
- Muscle tension
- Sleep disturbance
- Pounding heart
- Excessive fear
When we heed the signals, not only can we mitigate the disabling feelings, we can tend to the deeper meaning and growth potential anxiety brings. Sheryl Paul teaches us that; “Anxiety is a doorway into a self that longs for wholeness. Anxiety is evidence of our sensitive heart, our imaginative mind, and our soul’s desire to grow toward wholeness.”
May the articles, videos, and book reviews that follow support you in your heeding the call to move through this doorway into healing and growth.
Contact Info
The One Lamb Initiative is a ministry under Peachtree Road United Methodist Church.
Peachtree Road UMC
3180 Peachtree Road
Atlanta, GA 30305
404-266-2373
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