This morning, we welcome Diane Bucknell, who blogs at Theology For Girls, to Out of the Ordinary. Anxiety and depression are issues that affect many women, and the issues can be difficult if one is a Christian. I asked Diane to share her insights with us.
You keep
him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in
you. ~ Jeremiah 26:3
As I was
preparing this I typed “anxiety” into the book search bar at Amazon and pulled
up 13,865 results, so we’re obviously talking about a very common problem!
First,
I’m one who firmly believes that some forms of anxiety have a biological
origin, therefore we’ll be considering two different subjects; namely ordinary
anxiety or worry as spoken of in Scripture, and anxiety that has a biological cause. These two anxiety
states can easily feed on each other, and trying to separate them can be a bit
like a surgeon separating conjoined twins. So, let’s take a brief look at each
one.
Ordinary
Anxiety or Worry
This is
defined as worry, fear, fretting, and allowing our thoughts to run wild with
the cares of the world. It’s the kind of anxiety that keeps us lying awake at
night ruminating on all the “what ifs?” of our situation. This is the anxiety
our lovely Lord Jesus exhorts us not to do because He orders all of the events
in our lives and cares for us as a loving Father. When we worry and fret we
fail to trust in Him and we think somehow if we worry enough about the
situation we can come up with a solution. The Lord knows how prone we are to
prideful unbelief so He gently encourages us:
Therefore
I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you
will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than
food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they
neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds
them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious
can add a single hour to his span of life? ~ Matthew 6:25-27
Diagnosing
this kind of anxiety is not rocket science and it doesn't take a doctor,
psychiatrist, or prolonged Biblical counseling sessions to deal with it because
the cause is obvious. We worry about money, our health, family,
relationships, and this or that. In other words, we can easily put our
finger right on the problem. This kind of worry can become so excessive that it
can even lead to panic attacks.
A
plethora of books are available on the subject, but we have in our possession
something so much better to combat our worries and fears! We have the living
and active Word of God which is the only Counseling Book containing
supernatural ability to change our thinking habits as we apply it through the
power of the Holy Spirit!
"For the
word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to
the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the
thoughts and intentions of the heart "~ Hebrews 4:12
One of
the problems with psychology that can also happen in Biblical counseling is
that people often run to the professionals before they flee to Christ and His
Word, hoping the counselor might be able to gaze into their soul, figure them out,
and then perform the corrective surgery. Now, please don’t misunderstand me
because I’m not saying that we shouldn’t seek Biblical counsel, because God has
richly blessed the church with people who are gifted to help others in this
way. But we must realize that we already have a “Wonderful Counselor” (Isaiah
9:6) who says “I will counsel you with my eye upon you” (Ps 32:8.). Our heart
is so utterly deceived by our own sin that no one can truly understand it but
the Lord. At the end of the day, (or session) it will only be Christ who can
fix our broken minds and hearts and deliver us from our angst.
"The heart
is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? I
the LORD search the heart and test the mind" ~ Jeremiah 17:9
Biologically Based Anxiety
This kind
of anxiety can hit us like a ton of bricks coming virtually out of nowhere,
even in our sleep! It can strike when things are going well for us spiritually
and we’re prayed up, confessed up, Scriptured up,and trying our best to walk
with Christ. In spite of this we can become sidelined with relentless
panic attacks, anxiety that won’t let up over time and sometimes dark
depression. Like David we cry out to the Lord “Search me, O God, and know
my heart! Try me and know my anxious thoughts!” (Ps.139:23 ) and still we
come up empty handed and miserable. Friends, if this were the kind of
anxiety that resulted from sinful unbelief and worry; we would know it
because our God does not play hide-and-go-seek games with us concerning
our sin when we desire holiness!
It is
believed that most people will experience at least one panic attack in their
lifetime but this is something
way beyond the norm. This type of anxiety interferes with a person’s life and
well being and can even become disabling. If you find yourself in this place
you need not condemn yourself, or ALLOW others make you feel that you’re a
spiritual failure, rather you should consider making an appointment with
our doctor.
The
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) of the American
Psychiatric Association, although controversial among Christians, establishes
specific criteria for coding and determining whether a mental disorder is due
to a general medical condition or a psychiatric one:
'There is evidence from the history, physical examination, or laboratory findingsthat the disturbance is the direct physiological consequence of a general medical condition’ (1) When a mental disorder is due to a general medical condition, one does not diagnose the primary psychiatric disorder with the same symptom, but rather codes the symptom secondary to the general medical condition. Thus,with anxiety one would not code 300.02, generalized anxiety disorder, but rather 293.89, anxiety disorder due to a general medical condition.(2)
Anxieties
triggered by medical conditions are well documented by the National Institutes
of Health and all major teaching institutions. Some of the most common causes
of anxiety (and depression) are endocrine disorders, autoimmune diseases
such as hypothyroidism (Hashimoto’s), hyperthyroidism (Graves Disease), heart
and lung conditions, gastrointestinal problems and other illnesses such as Chronic
Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and Fibromyalgia. Additionally, chronic long term
stress, such as being the caregiver for a sick loved one can also upset our
chemistry. And then there are those pesky hormonal fluctuations that can
trigger panic attacks and depression in women going through peri-and menopause.
If you
and your doctor decide medication would be best for you, please understand that
it is no more sinful or shameful to take medication for anxiety than it is to
take it for diabetes or high blood pressure!
And in
the case of hormone or thyroid imbalances, it’s often just a matter of getting
those things leveled out with hormone replacement medication. Most of us
are already aware that drugs can be doled out too freely, but we’re not talking
about that issue here. More often than not medication will only be needed
temporarily unless there is a chronic illness.
The
believer who desires to live abundantly in Christ will find the struggle with
biologically based anxiety to be a very real and serious affliction which can
be compounded by the fact that our minds are always engaged with our bodies. In
other words, we can easily slip into a perpetual pattern of sinful worry and
obsession during medically induced anxiety and panic episodes. This can become
a vicious cycle that we must strive to break free from, but nothing is too
difficult to sort out for the Lord who made us!
We can benefit
greatly from simple things like breathing and relaxation techniques, mentally
holding up a big red “Stop Sign” when we feel ourselves slipping into panic
mode, and taking a warm bath with a cup of hot tea. Above all we need to pray
and use our Bibles to talk to ourselves. Self-talk is very therapeutic! Here’s
an example of how the Psalmist did this:
"Why are
you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God;
for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God." ~ Psalm
43:5
Regardless
of the source of our anxiety it would serve us well to write down comforting
Scriptures and meditate on them daily. Post them by your bed or on your fridge.
Remind yourself of all the wonderful promises of God. He knows our frame
because He created us and we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” – even with
our imperfections.
Casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you. ~ I Peter 5:7
(1) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Fourth Edition, Washington DC, American Psychiatric Press, 1994, 7
(2)
"Anxiety and Endocrine Disease" by Dr. Richard C Hall: University of Florida, Gainesville
Suggested Resources:
The Peace that Passes Understanding, by Ed Welch
Christians Get Depressed Too, by Dr. David Murray
The Anxiety Cure, by Dr. Archibald Hart
TableTalk Magazine, Anxiety, January 2010
Medical Conditions That Cause Anxiety
