Growing Our Faith Through AnxietyEsimerkki

The Thrills and Threats

I asked our counseling department to give us a definition on anxiety. Anxiety is a psychological and physiological state of arousal caused by the brain’s interpretation of a stimulus as a threat. 

Life is a combination of thrills and threats. How many times are we thrilled about something and immediately it turns into a threat? Women, you get invited to a fancy schmancy party, and what do you think about next? What am I going to wear? Men, your favorite baseball team makes it to the world series and your next thought is, “Will they win the world series?” A thrill turns into anxiety. 

Anxiety is psychological which can mean constant stressful and fearful thoughts, but it’s also physiological which affects your body. A stiff neck, overly tired, even acid reflux can be due to anxiety. However, it’s not only of the mind and body, but it is spiritual as well. Anxiety is rooted in unbelief. 

There are three different forms of anxiety. The first one is chemical. Chemical anxiety means the neurons are out of balance. It could be puberty or menopause. It’s an anxiety out of your control. 

The second is reactive. Reactive anxiety is when you have been on a constant amount of stress that now your brain does not know when to stop or turn off. You have been going and going for so long that it no longer turns off. You have a hard time sleeping or wake up at 2:00 a.m. stressed about a current situation. Even if you’re on vacation, you are stressed about something because your mind is always on the go. The pedal is all the way down, always on gear. Anxiety is your norm.

The last form of anxiety is Traumatic anxiety. It is when a tragic event has occurred in your life, and it has become your coping mechanism. Everyone will experience this form of anxiety at some point. 

As crazy as it can sound, being anxious also is an opportunity for spiritual growth. We have our mind, body, and soul feeling threatened, yet God is telling us to trust in Him. This is your opportunity. Trust in God should not only be through the good times. Why are we not believing God? Or how can we trust Him deeper for this moment?