Anxiety Disorder? It is Up to You!

Anxiety is a natural response to uncertainty and is often misunderstood despite its widespread acknowledgment and social support. Anxiety is similar to fear, but the difference lies in how a thing or situation is perceived as threatening. For instance, if you encounter a bear, you immediately feel fear. But suppose you were told that you might encounter a bear on your next hiking trip. In that case, you may worry about how and when it will happen, playing possible scenarios in your mind, eventually causing you to become anxious about the hike. Essentially, fear and anxiety prepare us to protect ourselves, which is a unique and necessary physiological mechanism built into our brains.

Anxiety becomes problematic when non-threatening future events are perceived as actual and present dangers when, in reality, they are not. This misrepresentation of non-threatening events leads a person to believe they can’t escape or, at least, control the outcome of a thing or situation they perceive as threatening. The longer this way of thinking is cultivated, the stronger the emotions are towards it, making the body react even more strongly.

It is why the mind, emotions, and body are interconnected. Whenever we ponder something for a long time, our feelings are bound to get stirred up, and our bodies react physiologically according to the emotion.

Suppose our thoughts continuously perceive non-existent threats or irrational fears as being real. In that case, we may notice a sudden tingling sensation in our skin, a rapid increase in heart rate, tense muscles, or constricted breathing. This body's physiological reaction is a natural signal to respond to a perceived threat generated by only thoughts. If left unchecked, it eventually triggers the “fight or flight” response mechanism. The ensuing experience often makes a person feel like they are losing control or a sense of imminent death. Then, the brain does what it is designed to do: it captures the moment this happened, like a video, and registers it in its memory to respond similarly the next time it finds itself in the same situation or environment. And the uncontrolled reactions to non-threatening situations and environments for prolonged periods are what deems it a disorder.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a prevalent mental health condition in the United States that significantly affects those who experience it. People with GAD experience excessive worry and nervousness about various matters, even when there is no reason to feel this way. This constant feeling can disrupt daily activities and persist for months or even years. While GAD often begins in childhood, it typically affects people in their 30s, with women being more likely to experience this condition than men. Among the myriad mental health challenges GAD presents, panic disorder emerges as a distressing assailant, jolting individuals unexpectedly into bouts of overwhelming fear and anxiety.

Panic disorder often takes root in late adolescence or early adulthood and tends to affect women more frequently than men. Panic attacks are harrowing experiences that can disrupt an individual’s life unexpectedly. These attacks bring an overwhelming tide of anxiety and fear, even when there seems to be no clear danger or trigger. They can mimic the symptoms of a heart attack, plunging individuals into an unexpected whirlpool of physical and emotional distress. Panic disorder can cause a range of symptoms, including recurrent panic attacks, a sense of impending doom during the attacks, and intense worry about future attacks. Some people may develop a fear of certain places where they have experienced these episodes in the past. The underlying causes of this condition are complex, involving a combination of brain mechanisms and biological processes that trigger a chain reaction of fear and anxiety. Researchers are exploring brain-body interaction to develop specialized treatments and better understand how stress and environmental factors contribute to the disorder’s complexity.

In 2021, 6.5 million Americans accessed mental health services, with 27% being children and 73% adults. This translates to a rate of 1 in 38 children and 1 in 48 adults. Among those seeking treatment, about 54% of children were males, and 46% were females. In contrast, about 55% of adults seeking help were females, while 45% were males. Diagnoses revealed that 75% of treated children had severe emotional disturbances, while 76% of adults were diagnosed with serious mental illnesses. Depressive disorders (32%) and anxiety disorders (27%) were the most common diagnoses for all clients (SAMHSA.gov).

What do I think about this?

I confess that I am intimate with the effects of anxiety. My experiences with it have not been as prevalent or intense as I have heard of others' experiences. Also, it is not my intention to downplay the realities of others and their battles with anxiety. People truly suffer from anxiety for various reasons and I pray they are healed from it. But I believe there is an underlying cause that many of us, if not all, commonly share and maybe are unaware of, which could be why such a rampant disorder has increased in our culture.

I understand that saying the following may get me “fact-checked” or, at most, ridiculed, but I would not put myself out there unless I did not think it vital to share. The current social pulse on opinions tends to prefer sources only backed by some 3-letter academic accolade after someone’s last name. I don’t knock those “experts” down. But what are we then if we allow others to think for us on every single matter of life? Wouldn’t we be mere puppets waiting to be spoon-fed “expert” opinions? I’d say give “experts” their due diligence. Ultimately, it is up to each of us to seek the truth and align ourselves with reality.

Nevertheless, I compassionately understand many cannot do the following and may also require specialized mental health care and medication. I completely support such medical care. However, I believe GAD, anxiety and panic attacks can be permanently reversed without any medication whatsoever by what we CHOOSE to think about truth and reality.

Sometimes, I focus on negative-patterned thinking that is not aligned with truth. This induces anxious thoughts in me that spiral into endless loops, facilitating negative emotions and eventually setting unwanted physiological responses in my body. It wasn’t until I acknowledged that I was voluntarily cultivating this behavior that I realized I was the culprit of my anxiety.

Suppose you are reading this and suffer from anxiety and panic attacks or GAD. WHAT ARE YOU ALLOWING YOURSELF TO THINK ABOUT? Take a moment to analyze what you are entertaining as truth in your mind. Is what you fear a real threat? Is what you avoid impeding you from doing what you want? Or is it you who's hindering yourself from moving forward?

I understand people experience or witness horrific things. But what you decide to do consciously with those experiences is UP TO YOU. You decide if those thoughts dwell in your mind or not. Acknowledge what is a lie in your mind and choose TRUTH!

I leave you with some truths I CHOOSE to believe in when I am engaging in undisciplined and negative thought patterns in my mind:

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2, NIV)

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1:7, NIV)

“The simple believe anything, but the prudent give thought to their steps.” (Proverbs 14:15, NIV)

“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5, NIV)

“And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.” (Romans 13:11-14)

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:8-9, NIV)