How Do I Deal with Anxiety?
In the past few months I have heard the word anxiety or “I feel anxious” more times than I can
Encouragement, Inspiration, and Wisdom from Professional Christian Counselors
In the past few months I have heard the word anxiety or “I feel anxious” more times than I can
In ways, fear and anxiety are like wanting to know the 10-day forecast so that you can make plans well in advance and know what to expect. The thing about 10-day forecasts, though, is that they are rarely right. The voice of fear tells us that if we can plan out and answer all of the questions rolling around in our minds we will feel like we are in control and the stress will go away. But control is elusive – especially in light of a pandemic.
The mental health impacts of COVID-19 remain to be seen, and I anticipate there will be some significant fallout. This list is not meant to be an exhaustive approach to boosting your mental health as there are a lot of ways to improve your mental well-being, but as I think about spending more time at home than I might be used to, these were strategies that came to mind that I will be intentional to practice over the next several weeks. We are in this pandemic together. Let’s be intentional about encouraging one another to take care of ourselves physically AND emotionally.
Coronavirus. COVID-19. Pandemic. Shelter-in-place. These have been the hot topic words over the past week and a half and understandably so.
There has been a lot of talk about how to keep families and kids physically safe and healthy during this COVID-19 pandemic, but from my perspective, health also includes emotional well-being. So what are parents to do?
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Begin with recognizing your strong emotions and the thoughts and instincts that partner with them. Be still and notice them. Allow yourself to even be curious about them. Notice without reacting what this inner intensity produces in your thoughts without taking these thoughts too literally. As you quiet your reactions to them, you can pray for wisdom about what to do or think about them.
God graciously included instructions for His people to look at the birds of the air (and the lilies of the field if you continue reading in Matthew 6) as a tangible reminder of his provision and care. I don’t have to scan the sky for long before I notice a bird flying overhead. How often have I read the words “Do not worry” and mindlessly filled in the rest of the sentence—“look at the birds of the air” without actually stopping to consider the birds of the air or what this verse is trying to teach? What if each time I saw a bird, I reminded myself of God’s care for me.