Anodynes for Anxiety

Anxiety
Photo: Pedro Lima on Unsplash

Feeling anxious is normal. It is an emotion like many others, and as with them, it deserves to be treated with respect, which is also a way of treating ourselves with respect. It is natural for anxiety to increase during uncertain times, such as these. Let us acknowledge these truths and take comfort in their universality. I share here the primary ways I have learned to deal with anxiety because I have found them quite effective, and I hope they help others.

The first thing is to reach out when you need help. This could be to friends or family, to a place of worship, another community to which you do or might want to belong, or to a counselor or a therapist. There is no shame at all in needing assistance. It is a sign of self-knowledge and strength to ask for it. This step involves building a support network and community to which you (will when ready) give and receive help.

The next step involves taking more control of what you can control. I have found that lists are quite helpful in this regard. Ask yourself: what can I do to ameliorate my situation? Make a daily list and work on it methodically, only doing what you can each day. If you do not get through the whole list, that is fine.

Start on it again tomorrow. The list will help you stay organized and focused, and the goal is that, regardless of the outcome, you can look back and feel reassured that you did what you could. That is really all one can do. This step is about being as productive and positive as you can and minimizing any potential for regret or self-recrimination.

This last step is not necessarily the easiest, but it is the best. It is about letting go. It is about prayer, trust and surrender. It is about delivering to God this gift that is who you are, as you are, where you are, and saying to him, this is everything I have to offer you and the world. This is my best, and the rest is in your hands.

Trust that God will take you to where you need to go next, and whatever his will might be for you, you can and will rise to the challenge. Our lives are journeys that we do not walk alone. We walk them with and for the people we love, mankind, the planet and God. This last step is about hope, love and faith. A life lived in hope, love and faith is guaranteed to be well-lived.

>>https://longinglogos.com/beauty-and-the-state-of-the-self/<<