How to Deal With Anxiety From a Christian Perspective

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Anybody who has ever experienced anxiety, which I imagine includes us all, I’m certain would say that they hate it. Anxiety is no picnic in the park—far from it. Anxiety is extremely uncomfortable. Not only does it rob us of joy and energy, but it produces sensations of fear. It has the potential to stop us from doing things we actually want to do, and it can literally make us sick.

What’s not to dislike about it? And the truth is, God dislikes it, too. The Bible is full of Scripture that attests to God wanting us to experience peace as opposed to worry, angst, and stress. In fact, the Word even instructs us not to be anxious. Yikes! That seems like a tall order, doesn’t it?

Don’t be anxious.

And yet, if God says it, then we know it’s possible. This article will discuss what anxiety is, how it typically gets expressed, and how to deal with anxiety from a Christian perspective.

What is Anxiety?

According to Dictionary.com, anxiety is: A feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) elaborates a little further, defining it as: The apprehensive anticipation of future danger or misfortune accompanied by a feeling of worry, distress, and/or somatic symptoms of tension. The focus of anticipated danger may be internal or external.

Regardless how precise its definition, the different ways and levels of severity that anxiety manifests can vary radically—anywhere from being a minor nuisance to an all-consuming debilitating force. For example, anxiety can be experienced as a fleeting sensation of butterflies in the tummy or an unshakable sense of fear that prevents you from leaving the house.

Yes, anxiety can fall anywhere on a wide-ranged continuum. When it lands at the far left of that continuum, it can be considered as “normal” anxiety. However, when it reaches a certain level and/or duration beyond what is developmentally appropriate, it crosses over from “normal” anxiety to an actual anxiety disorder.

Physical Symptoms of Anxiety

The following is a list of some of the physical symptoms anxiety can induce:

• Chest pain or discomfort
• Sensations of shortness of breath
• A feeling of dizziness, light-headedness, or faintness
• Paresthesias (numbness or tingling sensations)
• Sweating
• Feelings of choking
• Noticeable symptoms with the heart, such as palpitations, a pounding heart, or an accelerated heart rate
• Chills or heat sensations
• Muscle tension
• Nausea or “butterflies” in the stomach
• Derealization (feelings of unreality)
• Depersonalization (being detached from oneself)

Cognitive Symptoms of Anxiety

As we all can attest from our own experience at one time or another, anxiety encompasses more than just physical symptoms. Anxiety involves our minds and the way we think. The following is a list of some of the cognitive aspects associated with anxiety.

Please note, a person does not need to be experiencing all the items on the following list to be considered as having anxiety.

• Thinking worrisome thoughts over and over again
• The level of worry is out of proportion to the actual risk involved
• When considering the negative consequences of what concerns us, there is an overestimation of what those negative consequences might be
• Thoughts of “going crazy”
• There is an endless cycle of “what ifs” that spin through your mind
• A mindset that we must avoid certain places, things, or people

How Do We Exchange Anxiety for Peace?

In this next section I will share what God says to us in respect to how to deal with anxiety, then I will share how a Christian counselor can assist you in applying what God tells us.

To begin, God tells us in Philippians 4:6-7 (New Living Translation/NLT):

“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.”

First and foremost, God wants us to bring our anxieties to Him. He wants us to sit with Him, tell Him our fears, and dialogue about our concerns. And in the process of our prayers He, the Great Physician, is able to calm our fears and give us clarity of mind.

By praying and spending time in God’s presence, we give Him the opportunity to transform us from the inside out. We give Him the occasion to comfort us.

In fact, Psalm 94:19 (NLT) actually confirms that we have a God who exchanges our doubts for His comfort:

“When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.”

The Bible also states in Matthew 11:28-30: (NLT)

“Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear and the burden I give you is light.’”

Jesus is telling us in that passage that we are not meant to be weary people. Whenever we are experiencing weariness (which includes worry and anxiety), we are carrying loads that God never meant for us to carry. Maybe it’s a load of anxiety about the future economy.

Perhaps it’s a burden of worry about a possible earthquake. Maybe it’s just the daily grind of driving in rush hour traffic that stirs up a load of anxiety. It could be any number of things.

Whatever it is, God tells us to bring it to the foot of the cross, because Jesus died to carry every one of our burdens. When we follow through on God’s instruction and do that, we end up exchanging our anxiety for His peace and rest. A very sweet transaction.

God also tells us to renew our minds. To renew one’s mind is to get rid of faulty thinking that does not line up with God’s truth.

Romans 12:2 from the New American Standard Bible states:

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Why does He tell us that? Because He knows that in this fallen world we will fall prey to believing lies or distortions of the truth which, in turn, leads us to fear, worry, and anxiety.

When we come to God, commune with Him, and read Scripture from His Living Word, He will help us not only identify the lie or distortion that we are believing, but He will help us find the root to it. When that root is pulled up, laid at the foot of the cross, and exchanged for God’s truth…..voila! There is freedom.

How Can a Christian Counselor Help?

Right about now you might be thinking, “So, why go to a therapist if we can go straight to God with our anxiety? Furthermore, if I do go to a therapist, what’s the advantage of seeing a Christian counselor versus a secular counselor?”

Excellent questions! Let’s dive into them below.

To begin, by all means go straight to God. That is of the utmost importance. He should always be the first One we go running to. In fact, if you haven’t already, run straight into His holy throne room as quickly as you can. He, the Great Counselor, is waiting for you there.

A Christian therapist, if you were to see one, should not be in place of meeting with God. It would be in addition to meeting with God. Sometimes there will be anxieties that are more difficult to overcome. It’s not that they are too hard for God to alleviate. It’s just that working with a professional Christian anxiety counselor can give you added direction, guidance, and support.

Having an empathic, skilled person alongside you can be quite beneficial to the healing process. And God uses people as His vessels to work through. Just like God works through physicians to treat various medical conditions, He can work through a professional therapist for mental health conditions. If you are seeking God but anxiety is still impairing your life, seeing a Christian anxiety counselor may be very appropriate.

The second question I want to address is: Why go to a Christian counselor versus a secular therapist? Don’t they possess the same skill set? Aren’t they equally competent?

Answer: Sure. There is no reason to believe that they don’t possess the same skill set or level of competence. But that isn’t the issue. The concern is that although the skills may be there, the most important factors necessary for change and healing won’t be—those factors being God and His absolute truths.

True healing and genuine transformation only comes from the Lord. When we don’t bring Jesus into the work of therapy, it’s analogous to putting a band-aid on a deep laceration that actually requires stitches. There may be some temporary relief. There may even be some visible changes at first. But deep and lasting healing can only come from what Jesus did at the cross. It is His blood that sets us free and His Holy Spirit that makes things new.

So, if we leave the Lord out of our therapy sessions, we are addressing our issues with only a portion of the resources we need for true success. You wouldn’t go out on the football field with just knee pads and wrist guards. No way! You would put on your helmet, mouth guard, and every other resource available for achieving success. You would do all you know possible to do for the situation.

What Might I Expect from a Christian Therapist?

Each Christian therapist will have their own individual style of bringing the Lord into the work, but the most important thing is that the Lord is brought into the work.

Following are some of the ways you might expect Jesus to be brought into the healing process:

• Prayer, either at the beginning of the session, the end of the session, or both may be part of the therapy. By inviting the Lord into the session, asking Him to speak and guide during the therapy hour, we have a heavenly advantage.

2 Corinthians 2:10b states, “For His Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets.” Thus, the Holy Spirit who knows all truth, speaks all truth, and is the Spirit of Truth can direct us to the source of your anxiety.

• Scripture can be brought into the work, also. Your therapist can not only guide you to Scripture, but help you apply Scripture to your situation. Your anxiety counselor can even hold you accountable to reading Scripture between sessions if that is something that you would like to do.

The Word is alive. It’s active, powerful, and sharper than a two-edged sword. When applied to situations, emotional wounds, and false/damaging beliefs, its effect is like nothing else.

• Holding onto resentments and injustices that were done against us can subtly affect the health of our mind, will, and emotions (which makes up our soul). Why is that the case? Because when we harbor resentments and injustices, we are operating in a state of unforgiveness.

And the Bible is very forthright that unforgiveness puts us in bondage. Anxiety is definitely a form of bondage. A Christian therapist can help you identify any areas of unforgiveness in your life and gently help you work through that unforgiveness. This can have more of a cause and effect on your anxiety than you realize.

Anxiety, as we acknowledged in the beginning of this article, is a thief. It robs us of peace, joy, and doing the things we desire to do. In closing, know that there is professional help for tackling that thief. A Christian counselor for anxiety can help you identify the root cause of your anxiety, employ techniques to apply to it, and bring in the spiritual component that is so necessary for true change and healing.