When my mind begins it’s trek towards anxiety, it often starts as a slow and steady march of “what-ifs” and soon gains speed until it becomes a runaway train. My thoughts race wildly out of my control, and it feels like there is no way to stop it. The train roars loudly and drowns out everything else and I am mentally paralyzed.
The therapist that I had seen for years, sympathized with this metaphor. She urged me to “let the train pass through the station”. Remember those old Bugs Bunny cartoons where you would see the train race past a house or the station and everything will blow around in a whirlwind? I can picture my thoughts doing the same thing. My mind becoming whirlwind of dirt, debris, and decoration. But, the train passes, I can clean up the mess and move on. Part of my coping mechanism was not trying to STOP the thoughts, but to deal with the aftermath with a level of grace. This was so incredibly helpful because what would add to the anxious thoughts was the stress that I was WRONG for experiencing anxiety. It took a load off.
But lately, I have been thinking about how to take this a step further. How can I at least slow down the train, so the aftermath isn’t so destructive? Like one of those hand breaks that you can pull to slow everything down a bit. Maybe I can’t always make it stop, but I can ease the train into a slower and gentler pace?
Here are some of the maneuvers I can make.
Be Present – Corrie Ten Boom said “Worrying is carrying tomorrow's load with today's strength- carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.”
How much of our anxiety is about the future? I know a lot of mine can be. Very rarely is it about my current surroundings or situations. It is about what might happen tomorrow, next week or even next year. It is boundless, how far I can travel by worrying into the future. In Matthew 6:34 Jesus taught, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.” This tells me that I don’t need to hand over my energy to worrying about tomorrow, because it will bring issues that will require the strength that I can muster for the day. If I am living day to day borrowing strength and patience from the day before, that is unsustainable and it’s burnout waiting to happen. I must stay present and try to stay in the moment. Easier said than done, right? What helps is seeking God in the middle of anxiety.
Look for God – Finding God when I am worried or stressed centers me.
I am comforted by Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:25-34 where he spends time talking about worrying. Not that it validates the anxiety, but that he gets it and why we worry and stress about our everyday lives. However, in verse 33 he tells us that if we seek God and His kingdom, the things we are so worried about will be taken care of! We can be assured that if God is making sure that the birds have no worries, we can be worry-free too if we seek Him.
Dump the Worry – Sometimes the hardest part of anxiety is the feeling that I have to worry. That by virtue of being who I am, worrying is my lot in life.
I think worrying came to me naturally and easily when I was younger. I was the oldest sister and I constantly fretted over my sisters (whether they knew it or not). I stressed over the family’s finances and my strain on them. I carried this behavior all my life. I use the word “carry” intentionally here. Worry can be my burden. It’s always heavy. It is unwieldy and gets in the way. Worry can be a stone in my mouth, keeping me from laughing. Worry is always a chaos in my head, never allowing rest or peace.
You know what? Jesus talked about that too! In Matthew 11:28 he gives us an invitation to rest. He said “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Doesn’t that sound amazing? In the middle of my runaway thoughts, I can rest. I can give my burdens to God and I can rest!
I don’t know about you, but I am so glad that Jesus took the time to talk about worry. It takes the shame away from experiencing anxiety, doesn’t it? He talked about it openly which means he gets it, he wants US to talk about it and he wants to helps us. How kind of our friend Jesus! We can go to him and say “You know what? I am worried about…”. He is gonna let us know that he has us. That’s good news!
So when my thoughts start going down the track unchecked, I have a few hand breaks I can use. I can be present, seek God and dump the worry. The train might still pass through the station, but maybe the damage won’t be so bad.
I do want to finish by saying that I know these suggestions can seem like an oversimplification of a complicated issue. I am not a professional and I will always champion therapy. It helped me for so long and it got me to a place where I could use some coping skills to get through rough patches. Seek help if your worry or anxiety interferes with your everyday life.