Doctor on Duty: Steps to conquer anxiety

Today, I want to focus on steps you can take to conquer anxiety and I will be focusing on your mind.

The most important thing you must understand about anxiety is that it is a very greedy disease or condition. You will have to fight it with everything in you. Don’t hug it up and own it as yours. Do recognize this – anxiety will take over your life, if you let it.

Remember what 2 Timothy 1:7 says: “God has not given you a spirit of fear…but a sound mind.”

Dr. Jen says: Don’t “hug up” anxiety!

This exercise may be a bit difficult for some people, but it is necessary for your healing to begin. I consider this article the foundation for healing.

Dr. Jen’s Tip: Please get a notebook and pen to write down the answers and to journal your thoughts. (KAYCE, DO INSET A PIC OF SOMEONE WRITING IN A  JOURNAL, HERE)

MINDSET

1. WHAT is the CAUSE of your anxiety?
2. What exactly is worrying and bothering you?

• Is it your money, your boss, your relationship, sickness?

• Is it some past trauma, pain, or abuse?

1. Is worrying something you learnt from your parents or family? Is it a family habit or trait or even a generational problem?

1. Are you fearful of something or someone? Are you afraid of failing, or of succeeding, afraid of what people think?

1. Is it a medical problem?

Dr. Jen’s Tip: Medical conditions such as certain hormone problems (thyroid, reproductive hormone imbalances), certain medications can also cause anxiety.

You need to figure out what makes you anxious.

Dr. Jen says: “This may take a little detective work, so please be patient with yourself.”

2.  WHEN did your anxiety begin?

After identifying the cause, try to recall when it first began.

1. When was the first time you began feeling like this?

1. Was it something that stressed you out as a child or as a teenager?

1. Was it after abuse?

1. Were you neglected?

You want to identify when it all started.

Think about it:

If you have an abscess or boil filled with pus and infection and you covered it with a band aid or dressing, but didn’t drain it at the root, the abscess will just continue to fester.

That’s what’s happening in the mind. The pain and hurt and stress are festering even though you can hide it well with a smile, or even while functioning at a high level.

Dr. Jen says: “You can’t fix what you won’t first confront.”

3.  What are the TRIGGERS of your anxiety?

Next, we want to identify the triggers of your anxiety.

Triggers are situations, people, or things that will set off an anxiety episode. The trigger may NOT be the same thing that is actually causing you anxiety.

Triggers can be a sound, smell, a memory, a thought, a certain time of year, etc. Anything!

For example, the smell of a certain cologne may remind you of a past abuser. Just smelling the cologne now triggers a panic attack.

It’s important to identify your triggers, as these will need to be dealt with also.

Go ahead and write down your triggers as well.

4.  List your symptoms in the ORDER they come.

Lastly, I want you to write down your symptoms in great detail.

1. What exactly do you feel when you first feel the anxiety coming on?
2. Do you get dizzy, nauseated, weak?
3. Then what happens next?

Write everything down in the order they appear, step by step.

This step is extremely important since anxiety responses are virtually automatic and you will need to consciously work on this.

LET’S SUMMARIZE

This is what I want you to work on:

1. What has caused or is causing your anxiety?
2. When did these traumatic events and your anxiety symptoms begin?
3. What are the triggers of your anxiety?
4. What are your exact symptoms and in what order do they occur?

If you find this exercise difficult to do, you may need the help of a trained counselor or therapist.

Please do not go to a therapist simply to vent or let off steam ONLY.

To make progress with this condition, you will need to be strategic and deliberate.

I don’t want you to “perish” because you “lack knowledge.”

Next time, I will be touching on the stress response, chronic stress, and how it sets you up for anxiety.

I will cover a lot more in the coming weeks about dealing with this condition including lifestyle changes, medications, and supplements, etc. So, look out for the articles.

Remember, faith WITHOUT doing the work is dead!

We take baby steps.

Until next time and with love, Dr. Jen

Serving God and the elderly are two of Dr. Jennice’s passions. A house call doctor and health educator, she has been a Christian from her youth.