A Root Cause Quick Guide for Anxiety
Are you struggling with the “false mood” of anxiety? …Anxious, depressive thoughts that aren’t tied to any real reason? You’re not sure why you’re feeling down or fearful… no loss has been experienced recently, you’re not under abnormal stress, your dog is still alive, your children are thriving. So, why do you feel this unfounded negative mood taking over your mind and heart?
That’s a false mood.
Not rooted in reality (although the feelings are very real) …Anxiety caused by the 7 Root Causes mentioned in the previous articles can cause the “false mood anxiety”:
#1: Low Blood Sugar & Metabolic Imbalance
#2: Gut Health Dysfunction
#3: Thyroid Disorders
#4: Nutrient Deficiencies
#5: Chronic Systemic Infections
#6: Hormone Imbalances
#7: Neurotransmitter Imbalances: Low Serotonin / Low GABA
But what about “real mood anxiety”?
Fear rooted in real circumstances, situations or reasons. Your children are going through some tough stuff. You just lost your job, your spouse, your beloved pet. A specific scenario triggers anxiety for you…. Like driving on a main interstate at rush hour or going in for a job interview. There are definitely stressful situations we all can relate to that can trigger anxiousness.
What do we do from a FAITH perspective to not let anxiety take over our thoughts, influence our decisions and interrupt our lives?
How does faith in God’s Word, ways and works shut down the fear and quiet our hearts?
Let’s take a look at what Scripture has to say about anxiety:
The word “anxiety, anxious or anxiousness is not in the King James English version at all. (Strong’s concordance is based on the KJV). But it is in the New King James version three times.
Psalm 94:19 – “In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul.”
Proverbs 12:25 – “Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But a good word makes it glad.”
Phillippians 4:6-7 – “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Insights from these verses on ANXIETY:
- Recognize God’s comforts
- Anxiety can lead to depression
- Speaking life – words of encouragement, affirmation, truth and love can relieve anxiety
- Prayer combined with gratefulness can lead to peace.
- God’s (supernatural) peace protects, guards and keeps anxiety away because we are IN Christ.
Anxiety is fear, and FEAR in any form is mentioned over 500 times in Scripture. Fear can be simple fear of something/someone or some circumstance… OR it can have a deeper cause…
Spiritual stressors like guilt, envy, and bitterness can cause anxiety (fear) to grow and affect us physically:
Here are a few examples of physical impacts:
- By literally shutting down our stomach acid production that leads to Root Cause #2, #4 and #7
- By depressing our immune systems, opening the door for inflammation to take over and we feel the symptoms physically.
- By elevating cortisol, disrupting sleep, hormones and blood sugar (energy)
Spiritual strategies for real mood anxiety:
- Be willing to look deeper. Is my anxiety rooted in fears that God commands us to not allow to overtake?
- Is my fear rooted in another spiritual stressor like guilt?
- What do you truly fear? Not superficially fear, but underneath the spoken fear, what’s at the real heart of your fear?
- Most of the time our fears have something to do with our own self-preservation.
- We don’t want to be misunderstood
- We don’t want to experience loss
- We don’t want to be rejected
- We don’t want to be alone
This is where FAITH comes in…
We can choose my thoughts.
Thoughts based on FAITH in His Word, ways and work…Faith says…
- My God supplies all my needs (when I need it)
- My God will provide supernatural peace when I come to Him
- My God not only understands and knows me, He loves me and will not give me anything that is not for my ultimate good. (Rom. 8:28)
Faith can be measured. It can be increased or decreased. Choosing FAITH over FEAR is a conscious choice of our minds. How do we build faith – -how do we train our minds to think with faith, not fear?
#1 – Biblical Meditation
For the Christian this is not clearing the mind, but rather filling the mind with Scripture.
Steps to meditate:
- Choose a quiet space
- Choose a passage of Scripture
- Read the passage
- Think about the truths of the passage
- Pray the passage
- Re-read the passage
#2 – Prayer Targeting
Whenever anxiety is triggered and you are overwhelmed with anxious thoughts. Choose a specific UNRELATED prayer need to direct your prayer to… choose the same target… maybe it’s…
- Your neighbor’s salvation
- Your husband’s health issue
- A specific financial need
The key is to choose something that is NOT related to the anxiety trigger, so that your mind and focus shift to prayer specifically for that target request and spiritual warfare knows that everytime that anxiety trigger is pressed; you will be praying for that specific request.
#3 – Faith Journaling
It’s the twelve stone memorial. The altar. The written record. Just as God met your needs in the past, He will do it again in the future. Journaling how God took care of your fear, your need, your worry, your situation in the past can provide a great channel to share with your children, remind yourself, share with others, remind us to thank Him again for, and ultimately build our faith!!
Write it down.
In times of anxiety, go back and read it. Remind yourself…
How has God shown up for you…
How has He shown Himself strong for you and your family…
If He did it in the past.
He can do it again.
He is not only with you, but goes before you.
Let go of your fears. Let go of control. Let go of self-preservation.
“The just shall live by faith.” May you know God’s comforts, His life-giving words, His supernatural peace that comes when we focus our faith-filled thoughts on:
His Word
His Ways
His Work
