Have you ever taken your stress out on a person that really has nothing to do with why you are stressed out? We often do not feel we can stand up for ourselves or defend ourselves to those in authority over us. It may be our parents, bosses or even friends that are vomiting their anxiety onto us. What often happens? We also pick a weaker target to get the stress off of our backs. These are not the most honorable moments for human beings.
Something else can happen when the stresses of the world bear upon us. We can eat that stress. Instead of letting it go or even placing it on others, we can just hold it in. We can give it a home to grow into a bigger and bigger monster until it seems it takes over who we are. We cannot see clearly. We cannot think clearly. We just move on from day to day trying to avoid what we have given a home.
So, how do we get rid of the anxiety that we live with? How do we let go without hurting others? That's something I struggle with daily. There are lots of calming techniques and prayers that can be prayed when you feel anxious, but how do we "be anxious for nothing"? How do we "cast our cares upon him (Jesus)"? How do we do this immediately?
I think that if we have allowed and even invited anxiety into our lives since childhood, it is very difficult to break the pattern. I find myself purposely having to push thoughts out of my mind, give myself positive self talk and rehearse the truth. Some days things just get to us more than others, and those are the days that prayer and constant divine intervention is needed.
I think the root of anxiety is low self-confidence. It could be not feeling confident in relationships, in our profession, but mostly in who we are. If we constantly doubt ourselves, we will always be anxious. We will always wonder if we can really do life. If we have had significant loss or fear it, we can also tend to feel anxious about losing what we do have.
I think repeating the truths of God Word is imperative to changing destructive patterns and forming new ways of thinking and feeling. We need to see ourselves and others the way God does. We need to believe in our hearts that he takes care of us and those we love. We need to realize that we are all human, and we will never be perfect. We need to be concerned about what God thinks, not so much about the opinion of others. They are not living our lives. It's easy to say these things and nod our heads in agreement, but for many of us, it takes back breaking work to live it.
Something else can happen when the stresses of the world bear upon us. We can eat that stress. Instead of letting it go or even placing it on others, we can just hold it in. We can give it a home to grow into a bigger and bigger monster until it seems it takes over who we are. We cannot see clearly. We cannot think clearly. We just move on from day to day trying to avoid what we have given a home.
So, how do we get rid of the anxiety that we live with? How do we let go without hurting others? That's something I struggle with daily. There are lots of calming techniques and prayers that can be prayed when you feel anxious, but how do we "be anxious for nothing"? How do we "cast our cares upon him (Jesus)"? How do we do this immediately?
I think that if we have allowed and even invited anxiety into our lives since childhood, it is very difficult to break the pattern. I find myself purposely having to push thoughts out of my mind, give myself positive self talk and rehearse the truth. Some days things just get to us more than others, and those are the days that prayer and constant divine intervention is needed.
I think the root of anxiety is low self-confidence. It could be not feeling confident in relationships, in our profession, but mostly in who we are. If we constantly doubt ourselves, we will always be anxious. We will always wonder if we can really do life. If we have had significant loss or fear it, we can also tend to feel anxious about losing what we do have.
I think repeating the truths of God Word is imperative to changing destructive patterns and forming new ways of thinking and feeling. We need to see ourselves and others the way God does. We need to believe in our hearts that he takes care of us and those we love. We need to realize that we are all human, and we will never be perfect. We need to be concerned about what God thinks, not so much about the opinion of others. They are not living our lives. It's easy to say these things and nod our heads in agreement, but for many of us, it takes back breaking work to live it.
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