To cast something means to throw it forcefully in a specific direction. Anxiety is very difficult to cast off and leave behind but with these ten tips, you can work toward taking your control back.
I am an anxious flyer. That didn’t work out very well for me for our trip to Haiti and the many hours of flying. I found myself anxious about the flights. Anxious about being stranded at the airport in a foreign country where I not only didn’t speak the language, but wouldn’t be able to get around if we weren’t picked up.
Why did I allow myself to worry so much that I felt ill over these things? Because I could. Because I was not trusting God to take care of us. That’s the bottom line.
If Jesus were standing before you, would you tell Him, “Hey, sorry, I don’t trust you. So I will just go ahead and worry about this thing that I can’t really control”?
Of course not! But that’s exactly what we do! There is no reason for you to be anxious about anything. If you are able to read this today, then you’re still breathing in oxygen and kicking around the planet. So clearly, God’s got you through some tough stuff and kept you alive this far!
If the plane went down what was I going to do? Flap my arms and attempt to stay in the air? If our hosts didn’t show to pick us up on time, would we have ceased to function? Or maybe melted into the floor like the wicked witch of the West?
Nope.
What can you do when anxiety starts to take over your life?
- Dig into the scripture and capture words that speak to your heart and situation. Memorize scriptures like the 1 Peter 5:7 above.
- Pray for release.
- Deep Breathing. Seems simple but I use this technique all the time. Breathe in as deep as you can and hold for 3 seconds and then slowly exhale. Repeat until you start to feel calm.
- Talk to someone. Are you heavy burdened and need a friend or counselor?
- See your doctor. Anxiety can be an indicator that something is off in your body; thyroid, blood sugar, blood pressure, allergies, etc.
- Cut the caffeine. Stimulants will make you feel more anxious. You don’t have to go cold turkey but start cutting your caffeine intake and see if there’s any improvement.
- Cut your sugar. Yeah, not so fun but sugar spikes in your body can cause problems in unpleasant and dangerous ways.
- Take your thoughts captive by telling yourself you are no longer going to think about what ever is tormenting you. You don’t have to think about everything that enters your mind. You will have to do this again and again. Memorize some scripture to repeat when the anxious thoughts try to play ring-around-the-rosey in your mind. Take your power back. Break Free.
- Exercise. Sometimes you need to go take a quick walk and work the anxiety out of your body.
- Journal. Write it out. Try writing a letter to God and go through the situation and every feeling you have. Sometimes we just need to get it out of our system. Again, don’t dwell on it.
Anxiety is a tough battle but we’ve been equipped to fight back. Do you have any tips on how you battle anxious thoughts? Share them with our community in the comments below.
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Blessings,
So glad you walked past those anxieties and right onto the plane Mel. Every moment really is a choice – will we trust Him or not. Our times are in His hands, do we believe this and rest in His absolute knowledge and care of us or do we fret…love the picture of casting in that heave ho manner, all of those anxious thoughts far from us. And your tips are great, all of them. May God continue to bring you victory in every area of your heart and soul. In the Name of Jesus, we have the victory!
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