You’re invited to a wedding or a party and the date is fast approaching. You don’t know what to wear – despite the theme or colours being on the invitation card. You may have attended many traditional weddings and you still have clothing that fits, but you want to wear something different, something to impress the others (even though it’s neither your wedding nor your party). You spend hours, money, emotion and pain agonising. Does this resonate with you?
Depression and anxiety have become buzz words in terms of people’s diagnoses. Anxiety can be defined as fear of something that may happen in the future. This is not an academic topic. I fear live birds and dogs; so I resonate with people who have phobias and other anxiety disorders. I cannot explain what I fear in a live bird. Something about the feathers, the sound it makes when it tries to fly away and the possibility of bird flu are among my fears. Many people’s anxieties cannot be put into words. They’re just scared of crowds, the dark, public speaking, closed spaces or dirt. For those who don’t suffer from these conditions, it seems almost childish and simple to “just do it”. But it’s not that easy. For someone who has anxieties about their appearance or how they are perceived; it’s like they are preparing to walk across a 1km catwalk watched (and harshly judged) by the entire world.
Psychotherapy is the mainstay of treatment for anxiety disorders. That treatment modality is long lasting and goes to the root of the problem. It’s unfortunately time consuming and needs effort from us sufferers. Medication may also be effective if used in conjunction with therapy. Fast acting medication like benzodiazepines aren’t sustainable or effective in the long-term. Unfortunately, anxiety disorders are long-term and serious. Alcohol use has been covered in a previous article. Alcohol use as a coping mechanism is also not a good idea outside of the issues listed in the positional statement. Avoidance is the worst solution, and sadly one of the safest and easiest routes that anxious people resort to.
Paul exhorts the church in Phillipi to “not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God”. The desired outcome of that statement is that “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”. There is a spiritual component to anxiety. We fight spiritual battles on our knees. We pray for healing from the fear of (insert your fear here), but more importantly, we pray for peace to guard our hearts and minds.