When something is going on with your life, which is your usual response: “It will be fine” or “this always happens to me, it’s not fair”?
With the two responses, which has the tendency to experience more anxiety?
Mental health, specifically anxiety attacks, became a serious global threat during COVID pandemic more than any other time in the world. Nothing of its social, economical and political ripple effects can be compared to other situations that happened to almost all parts of the world.
Undeniably, it practically triggered anxiety disorders to many. Recent US survey showed that anxiety climbed up by 35.9 percent during the pandemic compared with the 6.1 percent recorded before COVID-19.
Anxiety compared to a common fear, is a moderate to severe kind of dread of an uncertain outcome that is triggered by a present threat. “It is both a mental and physical state for a negative situation,” as Psychology Today stated.
When we are anxious we feel worried and disturbed in a more distressing way. When it becomes severe and prolonged it can lead to hyperacidity, panic and asthma attacks and sleepless nights. If not attended professionally, anxiety can disrupt your normal life.
Being locked down during pandemic post challenges to many especially to those who have more tendencies to be anxious. Different contributing factors are the culprits. Some of these are: Limited opportunity to work for living, fear for self and loved ones to be inflicted with Coronavirus, lack of savings for emergencies and lack of physical outlet for domestic stress due to prolonged home quarantine. All these situations are breeding grounds for anxious thoughts that can handicapped a person’s social and financial stability.
How can we cope with this dreading fear that is persistently troubling our serenity?
When we study the Bible, there is a lot of wisdom that can give direction in figuring out how to respond to crises in life like anxiety.
You may ask, is coping solely dependent on our capacity to cope or to outside agents that can cause us to cope? In this dilemma I hold to the idea of both. There are situations that are within our control to take over because God has given us the means to cope. God created us with intellect, emotions and will to decide. For He doesn’t intend to freeze these potentials in us. These are the essence of God’s image in us. We reflect God’s power when we know how to use His given abilities in us for our welfare.
On the other side, there are situations that are beyond our control. Death of a loved one, accident, natural catastrophes are some of the examples. And when things like these happen, it points us to the higher level of exercise…the exercise of humility before God.
From the Bible in I Peter 5:7 it says. “Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you”
This verse from the Bible is a principle of dependence to God or humility. We humble ourselves by casting our anxieties on God. “Casting means to throw upon thus to deposit” as author Grant Richison said.
It means to roll upon our worries on him where he is the target of our anxiety. When we humble ourselves to God and his overall plan, we tend to release negative thoughts and our attempts to control even if the things we worry are not yet at hand.
Depositing our dependence on God is believing that His ways are the best in the end.
Anxiety is an issue of fear of uncertainties in the future. An appropriate dosage of anxiety is acceptable to plan ahead since we have the capacity to think. But when anxiety extends and balloons, it would swallow our mental and physical wellness too. Simple action has a long term positive effect and can relieve our future anxieties. However ,when you
know that things are not for you to control, exercise humility and leave the anxiety to God who knows the present and holds our future.
