Anxiety could be described as a deep and sometimes distressing concern for something or someone, to the point of irregular physical, mental, and/or emotional health. We can all experience feelings of worry or tension in life, but when they become debilitating, it can be very difficult.
According to epidemiological surveys, one third of the population is affected by anxiety during their lifetime
If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath. — Amit Ray
“No amount of anxiety can change the future. No amount of regret can change the past”
Entangled in the trance of unworthiness, we grow accustomed to caging ourselves in with self-judgment and anxiety, with restlessness and dissatisfaction.
Tara Brach
Who’s not sat tense before his own heart’s curtain.
Rainer Maria Rilke
Don’t let your mind bully your body into believing it must carry the burden of its worries.
Astrid Alauda
Anxiety is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.
Arthur Somers Roche
I promise you nothing is as chaotic as it seems. Nothing is worth your health. Nothing is worth poisoning yourself into stress, anxiety, and fear.
Steve Maraboli
Nothing is permanent in this wicked world — not even our troubles.
Charlie Chaplin
The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.
William James
Sacred Text
When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.
Psalm 94:19 (NIV)
Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
Mathew 6:27
Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things?
Luke: 12: 25 -26
Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But a good word makes it glad.
Proverbs 12:25
Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD.
He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
Jeremiah 17: 17- 8
Poem
This poem is about my experience with anxiety and how I am still trying to breathe and work through the hard times. I know there are people out there with experiences like mine, and I hope this poem will help people know they are not alone. By Tiffaney L. Ganci entitled Breathe
Panic, worry, darkness closing in around me.
These are some of the words I could use to describe my anxiety,
but nothing I can say could speak of its entirety,
as I cry internally thinking I've lost my sanity.
Doctors, counselors, saying there's something wrong with me.
My parents telling me to calm down and stop being so crazy.
But how can I calm down when the world around me
is spinning out of control and I can barely see?
Breathe. You will get through this.
You will get through the sleepless nights,
all the internal fights,
and the days that seem right
when the world hits you with all its might.
Breathe. You will get through this.
I know you think I'm overreacting about the silliest little things,
but to me those silly little things seem like the doom the world could bring.
Can't you see, a spilled glass of milk to you can seems like an earthquake to me.
I know it might be hard to understand my anxiety,
but I hope today I have given you some clarity.
So the next time someone is scared and feels like they can't breathe,
shaking and crying, unable to see,
don't tell them they're overreacting; don't call them crazy.
Help them realize there is more to life than this misery,
and no matter the doubt inside, they will be who they are meant to be.
Breathe. I will get through this.
Because I know I am more than just my anxiety,
and one day I hope to be free of it entirely.
But until then, I will keep telling myself, quietly,
I am stronger than this. I am stronger than my anxiety.
Story
When U.S. Marine Corp Officer Jake D.’s vehicle drove over an explosive device in Afghanistan, he looked down to see his legs almost completely severed below the knee. At that moment, he remembered a breathing exercise he had learned in a book for young officers. Thanks to that exercise, he was able to stay calm enough to check on his men, give orders to call for help, tourniquet his own legs, and remember to prop them up before falling unconscious. Later, he was told that had he not done so, he would have bled to death.
If a simple breathing exercise could help Jake under such extreme duress, similar techniques can certainly help the rest of us with our more common workplace stresses. The combination of the Covid-19 pandemic and battles for social justice have only exacerbated the anxiety that many of us feel every day, and studies show that this stress is interfering with our ability to do our best work. But with the right breathing exercises, you can learn to handle your stress and manage negative emotions.
In two recently published studies, we explored several different techniques and found that a breathing exercise was most effective for both immediate and long-term stress reduction.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6–7 (NIV)
Recently I received an e-mail with a radiology report of an X-ray, and there was an unexpected finding with scary-sounding medical jargon. I told myself that if it was anything serious my doctor would call...but I kept wondering about the abnormality and what it meant.
Since it was the weekend, I couldn’t make a quick call to the clinic to ask my doctor about the results. My husband suggested I ask his brother, a doctor, about it, but I didn’t want to pester him and was also afraid of sounding silly. Instead I searched for information online, which only ratcheted up my anxiety. Finally, I called my brother-in-law.
He quickly reassured me that it was a harmless quirk and a common finding. Relief flooded me. A hundred terrible outcomes—invented by my wild imagination—all dissolved. The experience made me realize how many times anxiety coils around me, subtly squeezing tighter and tighter. What if readers don’t like my next book? What if a friend finds me annoying?
What if my children wander from faith? What if my husband is in a car accident? What if society crumbles? Like subtle signs on an X-ray, I can see there are problems, but I don’t fully know what they mean. In my ignorance I imagine the worst. Until I remember there is someone I can call on. Jesus understands the truth and reassures me all will be well. Even better, He has the power to bring change to the situation, or change to my heart so I can bear it with more grace until His answer unfolds.
Science of Mind Reading
Rumination
You sit here for days saying, this is a strange business. You're the strange business. You have the energy of the sun in you, but you keep knotting it up at the base of your spine.
Rumi
Black History Month
ARTHUR WHARTON
"Arthur Wharton is widely considered to be the first black professional footballer in the world. Wharton was born in Jamestown, Gold Coast (now Accra, Ghana). His father Henry Wharton was Grenadian, while his mother, Annie Florence Egyriba was a member of the Fante Ghanaian royalty. Wharton moved to England in 1882 at age 19, to train as a Methodist missionary, but soon abandoned this in favour of becoming a full-time athlete. He was an all-round sportsman – in 1886, he equalled the amateur world record of 10 seconds for the 100-yard sprint in the AAA championship. He was also a keen cyclist and cricketer, playing for local teams in Yorkshire and Lancashire. However, Wharton is best remembered for his exploits as a footballer; while he was not the first mixed-heritage footballer in the United Kingdom — leading amateurs Robert Walker and Scotland international Andrew Watson predate him, however Wharton was the first mixed-heritage footballer to turn professional. "
Benediction
May The Mind of God always guide us.
May we always remember The Life of God that flows through us.
May we always align with The Power of God that abides in us.
May The Joy of God always ever uplift us.
May we always allow The Strength of God to renew us.
May The Beauty of God always inspire us.
May we deepen into the deeper things of God.
And May we always know Wherever we are, God is & that all is well!
Song: Trust in You by Antoine Bradford