Dealing With Anxiety - Part 4

 

Looking at the causes, symptoms and solutions for worry and anxiety.

~~ Watch the Video ~~

Outline:

• Introduction
• Traits of Wholeness
• What is Anxiety?
• Anxiety Is not a disease
• Causes of Anxiety
• Symptoms of Anxiety
• Anxiety Disorders
• Solutions from the Sermon on the Mount
• Memory Verses
• How to Stop Worrying
• Prayer
• Grounding Techniques
• Lifestyle Changes
• Change Your Thinking
• 12 Habits to Renew Your Mind

Scriptures:

• Matthew 6:31-34
• Matthew 6:24-34
• Psalms 56:3-4
• Isaiah 26:3-4
• Psalms 42:11
• Philippians 4:12-13
• Isaiah 40:31
• Philippians 4:6 - 7
• John 16:33
• Proverbs 3:5-6

Introduction

The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time

  -- Abraham Lincoln

Matthew 6:31-34

 31 Do not worry then, saying, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear for clothing?’ 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you.

34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

• Don’t worry about worldly/fleshly things
• the future
• Clothes
• Money
• tomorrow

What is worry?

How can we stop worrying?

Traits of Wholeness

We are in our series called Seeking Wholeness

 healthy

• spiritually
• emotionally
• mentally

Dealing with life’s current stresses and also being healed from past experiences/wounds

We’re not just supposed to get eternal life

• We’re supposed to have: joy, peace, patience, and self control here on earth

Traits of Wholeness

• Authenticity
• Honesty
• Kindness
• Not seeking external approval / validation
• Living by values and principles
• Setting Boundaries
• Taking ownership of your responsibilities
• Living with purpose and passion
• Optimism
• Confidence
• Healthy relationships with others
• Not losing control of your emotions
• Free from addictions
• Addressing Conflict
• Vulnerability
• Not critical or Judgemental
• Not jealous
• Genuinely applaud the success of others
• Forgive those who have wronged you in the past
• Know that you’re worthy of receiving love
• Not afraid to fail
• Able to manage irrational fear, worry, and anxiety
• Selfless encounters with others
• Not manipulating others trying to control their actions/reactions
• You care about how others feel
• Patient
• Don’t give into peer/social pressure
• Can communicate directly
• Being led by the Spirit

What is Anxiety?

What is anxiety?

Anxiety is an emotion

Apprehensive, uneasiness or nervousness about the future

Natural response to a perceived stressful event

Anxiety tells us that something is important to us

Biological Response

Fight or Flight

prefrontal cortex and amygdala

Our brain isn’t wired to make logical decision when we’re stressed

• We narrow and simplify our options
• all or nothing extremes

releasing the stress hormone cortisol to make the body

• alert and prepared to face the threat
• E.g. Why New parents are tired

When anxiety is high serotonin levels go down which can cause more pain.  

• Serotonin is one of the major pain inhibitors in the body.

Natural Response

• We don’t decide to get anxious

Example: crossing the street and a car comes

• You jump back before you completely realize what’s going on
• Before it has made it to your conscious processing brain
• When you’re on the sidewalk you process it
• Endorphins tell you that it’s time to run or fight because there is danger
• The fear gives us a chance to analyze the situation so that it doesn’t happen again
• We learn to look both ways before crossing the street
• Anxiety is bad when weeks later you are still processing it and saying
• I have a death wish
• How can I be so stupid?
• I’ll never cross the street again

Impact

Anxiety is a major trigger for

• Addiction relapse
• Increased physical pain
• Sleep problems

It can lead to depression.

• Sad
• Lose interest in activities
• Feel helpless and hopeless

Anxiety Is not a disease

Recent medical discoveries

It’s a natural response to trauma

Example: I have “the coughs”

• When I get sick
• When water goes down the wrong pipe
• Sometimes when I smell something bad

“The coughs” is not a disease.  

• It’s just a natural response when I need to clear my lungs.

It’s as if the check engine light comes on and we disable the light.  

Anxiety is just a signal of an underlying cause.  

Long term depression and anxiety are signals of a toxic pattern.  

• That pattern is putting your body under tremendous stress.
• Even to the point that your DNA is affected.  

90% of illness

Many researchers believe that toxic stress is responsible for approximately 90% of illness. Including

• Heart disease
• Cancer
• Diabetes

Only 5 to 10% of disease is said to come from genetic factors alone.  

    -- Cleaning up your mental mess (Caroline Leaf)

Causes of Anxiety

What causes anxiety?

Control

“Uncontrollable” Stress is more toxic than stress that you feel is in your control

--Maler, 2011

The exact same stressor can have little toxic effect if the subject has a sense of control over the situation

Fear

Fear causes us to look into the future and erase the presence of God.

Faith causes us to look into the future and assume the presence of God.

Traumatic Event

Association

• Conscious or unconscious association

Study: Dr. had a pen in his hand and poked person who couldn’t form long-term memories

• Came back in 10 minutes later and tried to shake hands
• They gave explanations of not trusting people with lab coats or his beard etc.

This shows

1. We have unconscious emotional associations to events
2. We might not know consciously the cause of our fears
3. Our stated reasons may not be the real reasons
4. Asking yourself why isn’t always the solution
5. We come up with reasons that are not true

Avoid boredom

Experiment: locked in room with shock button

Pride

Anxiety

“It’s all up to me”

Traditional Medical Explanations

Anxiety disorder is said to be caused by

• Genetics
• Brain chemistry
• Personality
• Life events

Psychosocial factors such as:

• Childhood adversity or stressful events
• Trauma related to brain changes
• Coping skills - learned or not learned
• Trauma issues still needing to be dealt with
• domestic violence, child abuse, bullying, witness death
• Current stressors
• Current availability of social support

It’s your response why one person is anxious and another is not

Triggers for anxiety

Abandonment and rejection

• Low self-esteem

• Seeking validation from others

• Irrational thoughts and cognitive distortions
• Unhealthy social supports and relationships
• Ineffective interpersonal skills

• Relationship turmoil and or social anxiety
• If you can’t

• ask for what you need
• Set boundaries
• Manage conflict

The unknown and loss of control

• Negative self talk and cognitive distortions
• Negative people you associate with
• Sense of powerlessness

Death and loss

• People and pets
• Jobs and promotions
• Safety and security
• Dreams and hopes
• Relationships, children
• Sickness

Fear

• spiders and other phobias

Failure

• Perfectionism
• Negative self talk

Symptoms of Anxiety

What are some of the symptoms of anxiety?

It looks different in everyone

Symptoms include:

• butterflies in your stomach
• racing heart
• you feel out of control
• nightmares
• panic attacks
• painful thoughts or memories that you can’t control
• general feeling of fear and worry
• fear a specific place or event
• rapid breathing
• Restlessness
• Vomiting
• Tremors
• Abdominal cramping
• Chest pain
• Lightheadedness
• Numbness or tingling sensations

Decisions

• Not make logical decisions
• high risk high payoff options

Body

• heightened state of awareness
• faster breathing and heart rates
• elevated blood pressure
• a rise in blood cholesterol
• increase in muscle tension
• Decrease digestion
• Making you feel nauseous
• Giving you diarrhea or constipation
• Loss of appetite (for some)
• Cortisol increases appetite (for others)
• Crave high fat, high sugar food

My Symptoms

• Tense stomach and shoulders muscles
• Not wanting to go to sleep
• Snooze button
• Indecision
• People pleasing
• Thinking people are judging
• Overthinking
• Procrastination
• Being unable to say “no” and feeling overcommitted
• Thinking you need to be perfect so people won’t judge you
• Constantly worrying too much about your word choice
• Catastrophizing is focusing on the worst case scenario
• Fear of failure
• Increasing the acid in your stomach
• Emotionally detaching in relationships

Anxiety Disorders

Disordered Anxiety

1. When you feel in danger when you’re actually safe
2. Interferes with your ability to function

Examples

• You stop going to work
• Can’t go outside
• Can’t drive
• Stop doing the things you love

Cycle of Anxiety

Anxiety cycle

1. Interprets situation as dangerous
2. Escape, avoid
3. Relief

1. Your brain thinks that you avoiding was what saved you, so it increases anxiety about it in the future

4. Long term anxiety growth

Escape / Avoidance

E.g. you avoid going places where dogs might be

Every time we avoid a threat and survive

Emotions are meant to motivate us into an action

Avoidance feeds anxiety disorder

• Emotional detachment
• Detach in a relationship
• Get drunk at a party

Solutions

Face the Fear

• Gradual exposure therapy

• Exposure hierarchy

• Allow yourself to be exposed to anxiety

Change Your Thinking

• Change what you think about the dog
• Not during the stressful situation

Solutions from the Sermon on the Mount

What did we learn from the sermon on the mount?

Matthew 6:24-34

24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.  25 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life [soul], as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the sky, that they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather crops into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more important than they? 27 And which of you by worrying can add a single day to his life’s span? 28 And why are you worried about clothing? Notice how the lilies of the field grow; they do not labor nor do they spin thread for cloth, 29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31 Do not worry then, saying, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear for clothing?’ 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you.

34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

• Don’t focus on the flesh; focus on the kingdom
• Don’t worry about tomorrow

You're worrying about the wrong thing

24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.  

Life is “More” Than Material Things

 25 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life [soul], as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Worry is Unproductive

27 And which of you by worrying can add a single day to his life’s span?

A magazine study showed When people worry

• 40% of the things never happen
• 30% have already happened and can’t be changed
• 22% they have no control over
• 8% involve situation over which they have influence

Lesser to Greater

• Birds
• Flowers

You Act Like You Don’t Know God

 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

Worry is Unbearable

34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

• A future driven existence creates anxiety and worry
• The key is to accept whatever state you are in at any given time while welcoming change whenever it comes
• Be flexible with your expectations for yourself

“Be patient with yourself flowers don’t bloom all year“

Need for Faith

These reasons  only work if you have faith

Memory Verses

What situations are each of these good for?

Psalms 56:3-4

3 When I am afraid,

I will put my trust in You.

4 In God, whose word I praise,

In God I have put my trust;

I shall not be afraid.

What can mere mortals do to me?

Isaiah 26:3-4

3 “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace,

Because he trusts in You.

4 “Trust in the LORD forever,

For in GOD the LORD, we have an everlasting Rock.

Psalms 42:11

11 Why are you in despair, my soul?

And why are you restless within me?

Wait for God, for I will again praise Him

For the help of His presence, my God.

Philippians 4:12-13

12 I know how to get along with little, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.

13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Isaiah 40:31

 31 Yet those who wait for the LORD

Will gain new strength;

They will mount up with wings like eagles,

They will run and not get tired,

They will walk and not become weary.

Philippians 4:6 - 7

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

John 16:33

33 “These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

How to Stop Worrying

What are some solutions we’ve discussed so far?

You don’t want to try to suppress the thought or talk it away.  

If you just become aware and you don’t do something about it you can go back to the previous state or become worse.  

Prayer

The biggest miracle of prayer isn’t that he can change our circumstances. It is that he can change us.

• He changes our circumstances

Our circumstances may not change immediately, but our heart changes.

• Our mind is molded to the heart of Jesus.  

We want to ask God what we should pray for because he has categories that we don’t even know exist.  

Grounding Techniques

Things you can do when you are stressed

Grounding and self-regulation activities send messages to your body that what you are experiencing is OK

• Chew gum
• Count backwards from 100
• Go For a 10 Minute Brisk Walk/Run
• Glance at Greenery for 40 Seconds
• “watch grass grow”
• Splash cold water on your face
• Put a cool cloth on your face or wrist
• The elastic band technique
• Wearing elastic band on your wrist and when you feel stress slap it on your wrist gently
• Focus on colors
• Pick a color and look around the room and find all the optics of that color
• What is the most common color in the room?

Lifestyle Changes

• Get Regular Exercise
• Rest
• Nature Walk for Minimum 20 Minutes
• Spend Time with Family/Friends
• Supplements and Teas
• Stress-Busting Foods

Get Regular Exercise

• relieves tension
• stimulates the release of chemicals in your brain called endorphins

Endorphins

• natural pain killers
• improve sleep
• help relieve stress

"It’s one of the best ways to manage stress and maintain healthy digestion," Koch says.

Rest

Don’t Trade Sleep for Productivity

• No aspect of our biology is left unscaved by sleep deprivation
• 7-9 hours per night

The more stress you have the harder you have to rest

Nature Walk for Minimum 20 Minutes

Spend Time with Family/Friends

• Tend and befriend response
• Oxytocin is released when you meet with people

Spend Time with Your Pet

interaction with animals increases oxytocin which decreases stress

Supplements and Teas

• Lavender
• Chamomile
• L-theanine
• Kava Kava
• Valerian Root
• Ashwagandha
• Lemon Balm

Stress-Busting Foods

foods that have been shown to reduce anxiety

• Salmon

• contains omega-3 fatty acids, which are natural mood boosters.

• Almonds

• full of magnesium, a mineral that helps manage cortisol levels.

• oranges and other citrus fruits

• contain vitamin C, which can lower blood pressure

-- January 2017 in the journal Scientific Reports

Avoid

• alcohol
• caffeine
• cigarettes

Change Your Thinking

• Strengthen Your Faith
• Perspective-Taking
• Let go of perfectionism

Strengthen Your Faith

Proverbs 3:5-6

5Trust in the LORD with all your heart,

and lean not on your own understanding;

6in all your ways acknowledge Him,

and He will make your paths straight.

Let go of the belief “I can’t handle it“

Everything that is difficult is not bad

Start to believe… I can do hard things

It’s not all up to you

God can use it all for good

Perspective-Taking

• Will you remember this moment on your deathbed
• Is this problem too big for God?

Having a mantra

• “This too shall pass”
• “I’m giving it to God”

Let go of perfectionism

Replace it with a growth mindset

Let go of comparison as your measure of self-worth

12 Habits to Renew Your Mind

1. Stop Breaking Promises to Yourself
2. Practice of Gratitude
3. Fellowship With Other Believers
4. Memorize Scripture
5. Quiet Time
6. Worship
7. Read Scripture
8. Prayer
9. Fasting
10. Speak Positively
11. Serve Others
12. Think about Eternity

Unchained Disciples : 12 Habits to Renew Your Mind

References

Meditating on God‘s word: scriptures to ease anxiety and fear

Steve Furtick

The Real Science of Stress

Dr. Sahar Yousef and Professor Lucas Miller

The doctor leaf show season two episode four: is prayer scientific with Priscilla Shirer

Increase your self awareness with one simple fix | Ted Talks

Tasha EUrich

Cleaning up your mental mess

Caroline Leaf

Best practices for anxiety treatment

Dr. Dawn Elise Snipes

Rewiring the anxious brain - neuroplasticity and the Anxiety Cycle Part 1 & 2

What is the cycle of anxiety?

Therapist aide