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The Best Practical Advice for a Christian with Anxiety
As a Christian with anxiety, anxiety has a way of creeping in when we least expect it. One moment, you’re going about your day—dropping the kids off at school, checking your work emails, running errands—and the next, it feels like everything is unraveling. Your heart races, your mind won’t stop spinning, and suddenly, that to-do list that felt manageable an hour ago now feels like a mountain you’ll never be able to climb. Your thoughts bounce between worst-case scenarios, and the weight of it all presses down until it’s hard to breathe. Maybe you’ve been there too. When anxiety takes over, it feels like you’re stuck in a constant loop of worry. You pray about it, you ask God to help, but that unsettled feeling lingers. And then you come across verses like Philippians 4:6—“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” It’s a beautiful promise, but let’s be honest—how can we possibly follow that when we feel so anxious? How do we not feel anxious about anything when everything around us feels overwhelming? When there are bills to pay, health concerns, family issues, or just the…
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5 Tested Coping Strategies to Help Reduce Your Anxiety
Anxiety is a common response to stressful situations, such as starting a new job, meeting new people, and taking tests. Some level of anxiety can be helpful as it can motivate you, prepare you for challenging situations, and keep you safe from harm. However, anxiety becomes a problem when it persists for a long time or when you experience it without any threat present. If you are dealing with situational or persistent anxiety, there are some strategies that you can use to reduce your symptoms. It is estimated that around 19.1% of adults have experienced an anxiety disorder within the past year. In teenagers aged 13 to 18, anxiety disorders affect one out of three individuals, according to the National Institute of Health. Various factors can increase anxiety, such as social pressure, the pressure to succeed, change, increased use of social media, and constant exposure to negative news. Symptoms of anxiety include restlessness, persistent worrying, difficulty concentrating, irritability, fatigue, muscle tension, trouble sleeping, nausea, diarrhea, rapid/shallow breathing, and fast heart rate. If you are struggling with significant anxiety, it is recommended that you seek help from a mental health professional. They can help you understand what is triggering your anxiety…