We know that Americans today are three times more likely to experience symptoms of anxiety than they were pre-COVID. But, how can you tell the difference between normal, everyday levels of anxiety and chronic anxiety that requires treatment?
The answer lies in the impact of your anxiety on your ability to function in the different areas of life.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, the difference between normal anxiety and what would be characterized as extreme is how it affects your ability to function and the level of distress it creates. If it’s difficult to function at work, school, home, in social situations, or in your relationships with others than the probability you might have an anxiety disorder is high.
Take a look at the diagram below from Verywell that shows some common symptoms of extreme anxiety.
Photo Credit Verywell / Theresa Chiechi
In today’s article, I’m sharing 5 characteristics of chronic anxiety, along with ways you can treat it to experience peace, move toward healing, and reach your full potential:
1. Chronic anxiety is generated by false beliefs and assumptions.
Anxiety stems from unnecessary worry or fear and is rooted in two words: What if…
What if she never calls me back? What if I open up and she betrays my trust?
What if the tingling in my hands means I have a brain tumor? What if this mole is cancer?
What if I try, but I fail? What if my marriage/career/this new opportunity doesn’t work out? What if I miss God’s will?
All of these questions may be rooted in legitimate concerns, but if you find yourself dwelling on them to the point that you consistently feel uneasy or worried, have difficulty concentrating, or have trouble falling asleep, this is anxiety.
Other classic signs of anxiety include increased heart rate, rapid breathing, heavy sweating, and compulsive habits such as nail biting, cheek biting, and grinding or clenching your teeth.
One of the best ways to calm our “what if” questions is to replace them with “what is”—what we know to be true based on the credibility of God’s Word.
In Philippians 4:6-8, Paul calls us to “not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 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.”
To help you with this, I’ve compiled a list of 10 Affirmations to speak over the lies many of us believe about ourselves, our situation, or God, which you can download here. This includes lies such as “My value is based on what I accomplish,” “My situation is hopeless,” and “My life has little/no purpose.”
If you find yourself going through a particularly difficult season, 10 Lies We Believe About Pain & The Scriptural Truths to Replace Them might also be helpful. This free resource addresses false beliefs including “I am a burden to others,” “God is punishing me,” and “My pain will never go away.”
By consistently meditating on these truths, God will gradually renew our mind to focus on what is true and praiseworthy. As we fix our eyes on Him, He will replace our anxiety with peace (Isaiah 26:3).
2. Chronic anxiety is characterized by reactivity.
Do you find that you’re frequently irritable, on edge, or defensive? Does your reaction to a stimulus seem out of proportion to the event? Does your blood boil, your heart race, or your breathing rate spike at the drop of a hat? This higher level of reactivity is characteristic of chronic anxiety.
When we are stressed, the sympathetic nervous system goes into overdrive. Our muscles tense, we get tired more easily, and our physical health (e.g. blood pressure) is negatively impacted.
The good news is we can take proactive steps to reduce stress and “practice the pause” in situations that trigger anxiety. In the words of writer and holocaust survivor, Viktor Frankl, “between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
I’ve compiled a list of 10 Strategies to Combat Stress and Anxiety here. Among them are exercising, practicing good nutrition, connecting with others, and having more fun.
Focus on life-giving foods that fuel your body without causing inflammation and fatigue. If you struggle with chronic pain or inflammation, avoid fried foods, refined carbohydrates, sugar, alcohol, and gluten (if you’re sensitive). Move your body in gentle ways, such as walking, swimming, and engaging in core strength and stability.
Don’t underestimate the importance of in-person conversation with other people who encourage you to be a better version of yourself and, if you don’t already have one, pick up a hobby that reduces stress and shifts your focus off of yourself. This could include volunteering at a nursing home, serving in the church, and playing a musical instrument. Getting out in nature also helps us clear our mind, take in the beauty of God’s creation, and develop a greater awareness of His presence, which will calm our anxiety.
3. Chronic anxiety affects our physical, mental, social, and spiritual well-being (which means healing should address all of these aspects).
It should come as no surprise that our physical, mental, social and spiritual well-being are intertwined. Our thoughts and beliefs, including our core values and faith, directly influence our behaviors. They also impact our emotions, which is why people who spend excessive amounts of time worrying feel anxious. When anxious, our muscles tense, our blood pressure rises and, over time, it can increase our chance of developing heart disease and other illnesses.
People who are anxious often isolate from others, resulting in a decline in the quality of their relationships. Our entire well-being becomes affected, but we often approach treatment for anxiety purely from a medical, mental, or physical mindset. For example, we might see a doctor who prescribes medication, make an appointment with a therapist who helps us better understand our fears and establish positive coping mechanisms, or implement strategies like exercise to help alleviate stress.
All of these things are great, but if we’re neglecting the spiritual aspect we are missing a key component of our healing.
Prayer, meditation, silence and solitude with God, and regularly engaging in communal worship are important parts of our journey toward wholeness. If you’ve become indifferent to church attendance or have settled for watching online, check out my article on Crosswalk, 5 Ways to Get the Most Out of Church.
4. Chronic anxiety makes it difficult to hear from God.
During Lent, my church hosted a self-guided prayer experience with seven stations positioned throughout the sanctuary. Station 1, Noise, was designed to help participants identify the voices, information, and distractions that compete for our attention and then, one by one, set them aside.
In an anxious person, the internal chatter is often constant. Excessive worry, racing thoughts, and the anticipation of negative outcomes distract from fully experiencing the present. Their souls live in a state of disarray, their minds are frequently dominated by fear, and their bodies struggle to be still. This mental and psychological clutter interferes with their ability to grow in their faith and connect with God.
To hear from God, we must silence the noise and commit to spending time in solitude with Him. He is always speaking, but we’ve become focused on our problems and caught up in our schedules that we miss it. To be still and know that He is God we must still the chaos of our soul, silence the other voices in our head, and listen (Psalm 46:10 NIV). Only when our spiritual eyes and ears are open to what He has to say will we begin to hear from God.
One practice that has helped me tremendously with this is the daily Examen (I use the phone app). This 500-year-old prayer, inspired by St. Ignatius’s Examen, helps review your day with God through five simple steps. The entire prayer takes about ten minutes, but it has brought me closer to God, helped me hear from Him, and increased my own self-awareness so I can ask God for help on things I need to work on and thank Him for His blessings.
Image of Examen App
Pretend for a moment that your anxious thoughts are a telephone scammer. You can’t stop them from calling, but once you know it’s a scammer, what do you do? You hang up! Similarly, you can’t control when anxious thoughts enter your mind; however, you can choose which thoughts you allow to stay—which ones you allow to “continue the conversation” and which ones you politely “hang up” on. Some ways to “hang up” include getting involved in an activity that engages your creativity, deep breathing, and guided imagery.
5. Chronic anxiety is contagious
Just as anxiety affects all parts of our well-being, it also affects everyone in the family unit. Social contagion—the spread of affect from one person to another—is a real thing, and it is common in cases of fear and anxiety. Therefore, just as a holistic approach to treatment poses the greatest potential for success, involving everyone in the family unit in the treatment process is ideal.
In the Family Systems model of therapy, treatment is directly to the family as a whole, not just the client. What therapists have found is that those who are anxious can be calmed by a non-anxious presence of those around them. This means if your friend or loved one is struggling with chronic anxiety, making a conscious effort to be calm around them can actually help diffuse it. Knowing that we can play a part in their healing is good news because it means we can come alongside and encourage them.
Five practices to adopt a non-anxious presence, as described by John Mark Comer, author and pastor of Bridgetown Church, are:
- Slow down – make space for interruptions, practicing hospitality, and investing in relationships
- Rest – following Jesus’ rhythm of time alone in silence and prayer before going into the public
- Koinonia –a Greek word referring to the formation of deep, honest, vulnerable, self-giving relationships with other Christians
- Engage in Contemplative Prayer – a type of prayer where we rest in God’s love and relax into His goodness (click here for a free Prayer Practices worksheet)
- Adopt a Posture of Surrender – let go of controlling and manipulating people, events, and circumstances of life to achieve peace or happiness. By releasing the need for control and resting in God’s love, we will find the peace and joy we crave through Christ.
As we implement these practices in our homes, churches, workplaces, and communities, we will improve the mental health of ourselves and those we care about while also emerging as spiritual leaders.
Call To Action: If you believe you or someone you know demonstrates the characteristics of chronic anxiety, I’d love to chat and hear your story. You can contact me via email here.
If you’re looking for encouragement and accountability to implement the practices outlined in this article, you can set up a complimentary coaching call with me here.
Which of the five main practices in today’s post do you want to implement? Share your thoughts in the comments! I’d love to come alongside and support you!
