When Anxiety Tries to Take you Down, Look Up.
I’ve struggled with anxiety since about the 5th grade. At that time I wasn’t sure what my feelings were, I couldn’t explain them to anyone else and I just suffered in silence. This anxiety quickly turned to depression around middle school and I flirted with suicidal thoughts until my mid-20s.
Anxiety had won for so long.
My anxiety took me down a path of self-hate and blaming. My life had turned into one bad choice after another and I turned to food and alcohol to cope. I wound up eating and drinking myself into obesity.
It wasn’t until I was 29 years old and was found the Lord that I finally was able to start to come to grips with my anxiety. When I finally turned to God and prayer to get me through the tough moments, I started to love myself more and am able to live day to day with a more positive outlook.
See my anxiety wasn’t always panic attacks, though they happened. It was a full mind, constant blame and worry, and the fear that if I wasn’t good enough the people in my life would leave me. And while I still struggle with anxiety, the episodes have become so far and few in between that I can confidently say that anxiety does not run my life anymore.
How I Cope with My Anxiety
I lean on God more and more each day. For someone who didn’t have a personal relationship with Jesus until my late 20s, I feel like he is my best friend. We talk all day, I am constantly asking for help, strength, wisdom or simply just saying ‘thanks’.
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