Breaking Cycles of Anxiety Event Notes

by | Apr 17, 2023 | Uncategorized | 0 comments

Intense, excessive, and persistent worry and fear about everyday situations. Fast heart rate, rapid breathing, sweating, and feeling tired may occur.

COMMON CAUSES: Anxiety can be normal in stressful situations such as public speaking or taking a test. Anxiety is only an indicator of underlying disease when feelings become excessive, all-consuming, and interfere with daily living.

Symptoms – Common anxiety signs and symptoms include:

  • Feeling nervous, restless, or tense
  • Having a sense of impending danger, panic, or doom
  • Having an increased heart rate
  • Breathing rapidly (hyperventilation)
  • Sweating
  • Trembling
  • Feeling weak or tired
  • Trouble concentrating or thinking about anything other than the present worry
  • Having trouble sleeping
  • Experiencing gastrointestinal (GI) problems
  • Having difficulty controlling worry
  • Having the urge to avoid things that trigger anxiety

Sources: Mayo Clinic and others.

Natural  Vs. Supernatural Causes of Anxiety

Natural Sources of Anxiety

Environment – city life, commute, home, work-life balance

Relationships – There may be stressful, abusive, or just difficult people in your life

Nutritional – Too much sugar, caffeine, dehydration, alcohol, drugs, nicotine

Hereditary – Not learning to cope with life’s problems as a child, anxiety passed down, worldview passed down

Financial – Worrying about making ends meet, stress at work, feeling like you aren’t doing what God has called you to, worrying about the future.

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:34

Natural Solutions to Anxiety

  • Proper planning, organization
  • Creating boundaries, removing people who are harmful to you
  • Avoiding sugar, tea instead of coffee, having wine instead of hard liquor, or cutting it out completely.
  • Therapy –  finding a good Christian counselor to help you process your feelings
  • Quiet time, warm bath, classical music, regular sleep. 8 hours plus!
  • Hobbies, crafting, time with Godly friends (the enemy loves to isolate us).
  • Exercise, feel-good hormones sent to your brain

Supernatural Causes of Anxiety

  • Demonic – Torment, bad dreams, or visions of horrific things happening
  • Spirit of Fear – Irrational fear, fear that keeps you from moving, leaving the house: example of my friend
  • Spirit of Foreboding – This nagging sense that something is going to go wrong
  • Sin – When we sin, we open our lives up to the enemy
    • We are vulnerable to his attacks, we are susceptible to hearing the condemning words of the enemy
    • Jesus said, my sheep hear my voice. We are separated from God when we sin, but we can reconnect and hear His voice in repentance.
  • Hereditary/Generational Curses –
    • You shall not bow down to them or serve them (false gods, idols, which are demons); for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, – Deuteronomy 5:9
    • Just as a blessing or an inheritance can be passed down a curse can be too, sometimes just a mindset or character trait, sometimes it’s spiritual.      
Spiritual Treatment – What do we do?
  • Put your trust in God – We never learn to trust God as long as things are good, easy, or predictable.
    • Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
          and do not lean on your own understanding.
      6 In all your ways acknowledge him,
          and he will make straight your paths.
  • Use the word of God – replace your ideas/ the enemy’s ideas with His.
    • Not only does His word comfort you, but it is also powerful and it changes things.2 Timothy 3:16 – All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, (We know what happens when God breaths, things change, creation happens, light happens.)
    • God’s word has creative power, brings growth, and will not fail.

10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
    and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
    giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
    it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
    and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:10-11
  • Hebrews 4:12 – For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (We can rightly judge our own hearts, emotions and thoughts against God’s word. His word is truth!)
    • Example: When felt walls folding in, went for a walk, prayed, spoke His word, feel the darkness break.
    • Angels on assignment, doing battle for you.
      •  Are they (angels) not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?- Hebrews 1:14
      • Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word! – Psalm 103:20
  • Worship God – Play praise songs that emphasize your power in Christ, your victory. Find worship songs that aren’t about you but about the Lord’s holiness, righteousness, power, and holiness of our God.
  • Pray – Tell the Lord all that you are feeling/facing. Get it off your chest. Give every burden to the Lord, he can carry it!
    • Exchange your anxiety for His peace, daily:John 14:27 (NKJV) “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”1 Peter 5:6-7 – “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”Psalm 55:22 (NKJV)“Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.”
    • A good Father wants his beautiful daughter to come to Him when she’s in trouble.
  • LOVE This one may not be as obvious, but receive God’s love and intentionally love others- 1 John 4:18 – There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
    • The more we become love and are rooted and grounded in love, the less we fear.
    • Fear is “cast out” it has no place in you because love fills that place.
  • Confess God’s word and make it personal. God has not given me a spirit of fear, but I have a spirit of Love, power and I have a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7)
  • Manage Your thought-Life-  This may take some time and practice, but we need to “think about what we’re thinking bout”

Do not be anxious about anything, 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 your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Philippians 4:6-8 ESV

  For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion (or imagination) raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

2 Corinthians 10:3-5
Bible- Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth
  1. Do Not Worry Matthew 6:25-34

25“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

28“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

2.      Do Not Fear Isaiah 41:10 (NKJV)

“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

3.      Be courageous. Joshua 1:9 (NKJV)

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

4.      Don’t be Anxious, Pray. Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV)

“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.”