Anxiety

While I was in Philadelphia, a certain bible verse popped up 2 or 3 times within a 24 hour period.  It was Philippians 4: 6-7, which says "Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

Raise your hand if you've ever heard or read this verse. I have come across this verse many times in my lifetime. In all honesty, I find it one of the more difficult verses to live out because I have issues with anxiety. I've never been diagnosed, but having majored in psychology I am pretty sure that I have generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and panic attacks. So anxiety is pretty much a part of my daily life. Some of the anxieties I have on a daily basis are getting in a car accident at any given moment, getting food poisoning from the previous meal, and not being able to do nursing. These are pretty easy to control just by constantly reminding myself of the rules and regulations that are there so things like car accidents and food poisoning don't happen. Bigger things such as an interview or other such major events can lead to an anxiety attack. Most recently, I had an anxiety attack the night we left for Philadelphia because it was my first time flying in almost a year. I also mentioned panic attacks. These happen less often than an anxiety attack and when they do happen, it is typically during mass while we are saying the Our Father.

Side note time. There is a difference between an anxiety attack and a panic attack. The similarity lies in the fact that they both trigger a flight-or-flight response. The difference is the length and some symptoms. In my experience, anxiety attacks last for hours whereas panic attacks subside in about 15-20 minutes. With anxiety attacks, I have an overwhelming sense of something-bad-is-going-to-happen, restlessness, nausea, shaking, and shallow breathing. Panic attacks consist of increased heart rate, feeling faint, shaking, shallow breathing and feeling panicky after the faint feeling subsides.

Anxiety is not a pleasant thing to deal with. I have found ways to help lessen the intensity or duration of an anxiety/panic attack. One thing that I have found that helps the anxiety is to have a mantra. Since coming back from Philadelphia, the verse from Philippians has become one of my mantras, in particular the "Have no anxiety at all" part. My other mantra is "Come, Holy Spirit." I have found that these mantras help me feel safe and the repetition of either really does have an calming effect on me.

I hope this post was helpful to anyone who is dealing with anxiety problems. You are not alone and it is possible to regain control of your mind even if it feels like your mind is controlling you.