Re-prioritize?
Simplify?
Get a grip?
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This is a big topic. I've decided I'm going to do this in parts. Here is Part I.
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What is ANXIETY?
If you've experienced "acute anxiety", you understand what I'm talking about. If you haven't experienced it, you might not understand how debilitating it can be. It's not just "being nervous". It includes panic attacks, and can also be Panic Disorder.
MedicineNet.com has a good description of symptoms, if you'd like to read it.
In his book "Overcoming Panic Attacks" Ray Comfort presents this scenario:
You are in bed, when you are awaken by a creak on the floor. You see a huge man, with a stocking over his face. He is holding a gun. Your heart races with fear. Your mouth is dry. Fear paralyzes you. Your racing heart is taking too much blood to your brain, causing your mind to go blank. The inability to respond makes you panic, causing your breathing to be irregular. This causes a cold sweat in your legs, hands and face. Adrenaline is pumping through your body. The stranger smiles an evil smile, and cocks the gun. You know you are going to die.
THAT is what an attack of irrational fear feels like. But there is no gun, no stranger, no threat of death. Yet, those are the same nightmarish feelings.
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You might think that since I included the "clinical" descriptions of anxiety, or because I use the medical terms, that I'm just chalking it up to a physical condition. It is physical - but it can also be emotional and/or spiritual. I will talk about all these areas.
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I've had anxiety and/or panic attacks in the past. But this October, it was different.
In retrospect, I can look back and see that I should have seen it coming. I had had small spurts of anxiety - kinda like I felt it creeping up. I felt too busy and overwhelmed by always being on the go. I felt soooooo tired of always having to be someplace else. I was feeling exhausted and at the end of my rope. But I thought I'd been shaking it off pretty efficiently.
At one point before it all happened, I had felt the urge to fast. Quite out of the blue, I had the thought that I should fast and pray to combat anxiety. I thought it was a great idea. But I never did it. I wonder if God had spoken to me, and I didn't heed the warning
I hesitated writing about it. I didn't think it was worth rehashing it. But it culminated with learning to hang on to God with all my might. So I will write about it in order to a) help others that might be feeling the same things (you are not alone!) and b) remind myself what God has done (I am not alone!).
Stay tuned for...What I Experienced - Part II
