Anxiety is the state of being in which you feel apprehensive and nervous. It is associated with a feeling of fight or flight that keeps you on edge as if you are constantly anticipating something bad about to happen. It can produce panic attacks, phobias, obsessions, and compulsions.

Chronic anxiety manifests as excessive worry with irrational fears. Here are some common misbeliefs anxious people hold with the truth written in italics:

• What I worry about will probably happen, and it will be terrible. Most of what people worry about does not happen. And if it does, the fear of what it will be like is often worse than when it actually happens.
• If what I worry about comes true, I won’t be able to handle it. Even though some life events are painful and difficult, people usually manage to get through them. When and if it happens, people are able to do what it takes to deal with it.
• If I worry about it, I will keep it from happening. In reality, worrying doesn’t do anything to prevent things from happening. The only thing that can affect them is taking productive action on the things one has control of.
• If I avoid what I am afraid of, the fear will go away. In reality, it gets worse. The more a person avoids something, the more anxious they become about the possibility of encountering it. The only way to decrease the anxiety is to face it.
• I can get over this on my own. That is true if the anxiety isn’t severe, but if it interferes with someone’s daily life, they need professional counseling and/or medication.
• It is sinful to be anxious. I just need to trust God more. Anxiety is triggered by neurochemicals in the brain. Thought patterns become habitual and hard to control. It is always healthy to admit what one is struggling with and take proactive steps to deal with it rather than simply shaming oneself for not being a strong Christian.

By Karla Downing
 

Relationship Devotional Prayer

 
God,

Help me to recognize if anxiety has a foothold in my life. Help me to change any misbeliefs I have. Give me wisdom to know if I need professional help.
 

Relationship Devotional Challenge

• Do you hold any of the misbeliefs about anxiety? If you do, work on changing them.
• If you are struggling with chronic anxiety, consider whether or not you need to take proactive steps to deal with it, including professional help

Scripture Meditation

 
Proverbs 12:25

“Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up” (NIV).

Ecclesiastes 2:22-23

“What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest” (NIV).