In a world where stress is endemic and various therapies have arisen to help people combat it, do you ever wonder how a professional from that field views the place of Christian faith in dealing with anxiety? Ryan Rivera from the Calm Clinic offered to write for this blog with his perspective. I’d be delighted to know what you think of his piece, which follows:
Certain situations and daily life in general can make people constantly anxious about the way their life can play out. You might find yourself in a moment where a sudden rush of negative and bothersome thoughts floods your mind, leaving you worried and shaken. Sometimes, this kind of thinking can cause you to turn away from good and wallow in all your woes. What you might not know is turning to God for anxiety help can uplift you and allow you to power through your negativity with renewed strength and willpower.
You are blessed and you don’t have to fear. Whatever it is that you are worried about, leave it up to God. He is always with you, to guide you and bless you. Don’t sulk and just turn to God, and you will get your strength back.
Why worry?
Worrying might be a reason for you to lose your connection with God. When you dwell on your anxiousness and shut out any possible form of comfort from Him, you will never be at peace. Don’t let your fear get the best of you. Never forget that God is always with you, and whatever it is that is causing you to think ill thoughts can be overcome if you keep the faith. Seek God for comfort and listen to His word so that you may be enlightened.
Keep your spirituality strong and you will not have to let the negativity bother you. Always pray, attend service, keep up with worship. Strengthen your faith. These little things can slowly help you combat anxiousness and pessimism. Every little thing you do as a spiritual being will contribute to your positivity because you will never forget that you are not alone.
To remind you that you are blessed, one way to get anxiety help is to read up on encouraging scriptures. Think of Psalm 29:11 for strength: “The Lord gives his people strength. The Lord blesses them with peace.” Turn to the Bible for verses that you might find applicable to your current situation. These can help remind you of God’s unconditional love for you, so take this chance to be a blessing to others who might be needing God’s grace as well.
Praying for inner peace
Communicate with God whenever you feel like you are bogged down by worries and misgivings. Address your problems to Him, and keep in mind that he will always lead you to the right path. Ask Him to keep guiding you, that you may be able to share his love to more people. Remember that with God, you would never have to worry.
When seeking anxiety help, remember to pray for inner peace. Keep 2 Timothy 1:7 in mind: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” Prayer will keep you on track and will keep you grounded while you carry out God’s plan for you. Being anxious and panicky will do you no good. With God on your side, you should never fear.
Be thankful
Worrying might make you forget how truly blessed you are. With God’s love and grace, you should be forever grateful. Keep this in mind and use it as a form of anxiety help. Count your blessings and ask yourself how you can be a blessing to others. God wants you to be happy and could only wish the best for you. He will stay beside you to make sure you never forget.
If you can’t help but worry, remember Philippians 4:6-7: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
Without faith, you will not be able to overcome the negativity. Believe. You will never be forsaken if you turn to God for anxiety help. Make your bond with God your driving force in powering through your worries, and you will reap great rewards from keeping the faith.
Big Circumstance 
Great post.
I’m a retired mental health nurse and when appropriate I would share Philippians 4:6,7 with patients. It has been a source of strength to me over the years.
Also thankfulness. I blogged on this some time ago – a post which was an adaptation of a newspaper article I wrote some years ago. http://delemares.wordpress.com/2012/04/12/forgiveness-and-thankfulness-2-keys-to-mental-health-10-2/
Thankfulness was a key to my turning point moment – I wrote about it in the series of posts ‘my story’. http://delemares.wordpress.com/2012/10/10/my-story-7-why-why-did-god-come-when-he-did/
I’m planning on writing a little booklet on how the bible can help our mental health.
Thanks for this Ryan and Dave.
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Reblogged this on MMM… Meditation, Mental health, Mindful crochet and commented:
This is an excellent post showing how prayer and bible meditation can help overcome worry and anxiety.
Jesus told us not to worry – all the worry in the world changes nothing.
Ryan reminds us that God is the source of our strength in troubled times.
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Thank you Sandra just the right thing to say.Also it is nice to be talk to someone which we found is not easy to do.We need true Christian Friends.I ended up going to Counselling to put the Past behind me.Hoping to make even more Friends at our New Church
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Forgot to say about our Friend who lives with us He has a Mental illness and we keep telling him not to Worry .He gets so anxious about everything.Not a Christian,we just keep Praying for him
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I think this article is less than helpful. The message is “just pray more and you’ll be fine”. This isn’t true, and it’s counterproductive.
The words “stress” and “anxiety” in general usage mean things which we all get. But clinical stress, clinical anxiety are a different matter. These happen where a man or woman has overdone it so badly that the adrenaline is starting to hurt their nervous system, to oversensitise the nerves, which causes them to start behaving erratically. Your nerves, remember, are how you communicate with your body, how you tell if you are hot, cold, well, ill, etc. Once the nerves start sending the equivalent of crackle, of line noise, all sorts of bad things happen. A panic attack happens when the brain receives this rubbish and knows that something very bad is happening. It shrieks at its host, STOP! STOP!
None of this is a mental illness; it’s a physical injury to your body caused by over-use of adrenaline.
The answer is to stop, consciously relax, avoid adrenaline like the plague, and learn to live a more healthy life.
Those suffering must load shed, detune, get rid of the stressors, and change their lives. Until they do, they will experience appalling pain.
Prayer is wonderful, and God honours it. But we mustn’t try to pray away the equivalent of a broken leg. Get the leg seen to; and pray for help while it heals, rather.
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Thanks for your post. I’m in the process of being forced to learn to manage stress better. I’ve overused adrenaline for too long and am having to relearn a healthier way. While prayer isn’t the only thing we can/should do (as a previous commenter pointed out), it certainly must be a foundational piece!
I’ve been blogging a *little* (so far) about my experience on my blog, for anyone who’s interested!
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Dave, your blog email was the very first email in my in box that I clicked in to after making a first contact with someone that I have been asked to be a spiritual mentor to. The particular person has many personal issues to deal with currently folowing a painful divorce. This person has lost his their belief in God and doubts that God wants to help them deal with their issues
It is amazing how God sends timely signs/encouragement that we are on the right path, and useful tools to help us, when we are embarking on His work. God has given me some fantastic material in your blog Dave that is so relevant to my mentee’s situation.
I am confident now that God’s presence is in my contact with my mentee (my first such contact) God’s timing is perfect!
If anyone reading my post would like to pray for my meeting(s) with my menteee, that would be great
God Bless
MIKE
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