Do you struggle with turning your feelings into facts or turning your thoughts into truth? While feelings are not facts and thoughts are not always true, girl, anxiety can still feel overwhelmingly real when we’re experiencing it. Last month, I endured a series of panic attacks (it had been nearly a decade since I had dealt with one). The panic that rises up in us can seem so real … even if it may be over something that seems small to others.

Our guest writer today is high schooler Karis Wagner from North Carolina and she gives us three practical ways to lessen anxiety levels.

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There is a topic that is often avoided by Christians: anxiety. “Now wait,” you say. “Isn’t anxiety just a lack of faith in God?” Not exactly. In fact, someone can trust fully in God and still experience anxiety. Anxiety is not merely worry. Many times, I get anxiety even when there is nothing at all to worry about. Most prevalent for me is when I try to sing in choir.

I do not experience stage fright: I have been singing since I was a child. Recently, however, the choir director at my church gave me some new songs to sing. They are beautiful songs and I know that God has given me a good singing voice. Every time I am called upon to sing, however, I get the worst feeling in my stomach. As soon as I start singing, I am fine. There is no reason for me to feel bad. That, my friends, is one of the defining characteristics of my anxiety. 

Another characteristic of my anxiety is “the overwhelming thought process.” I tend to get too caught up in my own thoughts. Everything becomes a blur and I have trouble thinking straight. The thing that has helped me most with this is having a notebook and planner with me always. The notebook is for sorting out thoughts and ideas. Seeing them on paper makes [my thoughts] clearer and helps me focus. The planner is for my schedule. I have felt much less overwhelmed since I started using it.

The third characteristic of my anxiety is the dreaded social anxiety. I struggle not only with talking to people but being around people in general. Traveling with a father who is a preacher to many revival meetings has allowed me to experience this feeling many times. Coping with this is one of my hardest struggles. Unfortunately, I found myself retreating to a book to escape this. I would only put it down as church would start […]

Many Christians struggle with anxiety and they are often told things like “If you trust God, you won’t need to worry! If you worry, you don’t trust God!” It sounds good, but it leaves people who have hardly any say over our anxiety, coping methods, [etc], feeling like the worst sinners in the world.

So, what do we do? In my own life, I have found a few ways to reduce anxiety and keep calm. The first way may not sound like much, but it helps: it is fidgeting. “What?” you ask. “How can fidgeting reduce anxiety?” I’m glad you asked. I usually keep something with me: a ponytail holder, a pencil, or something similar. It is just something small that I can hold and play with quietly. Sometimes I play with a necklace. It calms my nerves and gives my hands something to do. Otherwise, I start tapping on a table, shaking my leg or clicking a pen.

The second thing that helps is music. I have found that on bad days, I am completely incapable of working without music. If I am not wearing my headphones, I am constantly looking around, hearing snatches of conversations, and getting generally overwhelmed. I tend to get “people claustrophobic,” and I get the strongest urge to be anywhere but there. Putting on my headphones and listening to piano music, film scores, or just white noise, is a way for me to tune everything else out and focus on only my work. It is also great for calming jumbled nerves.

The third thing is my biggest source of comfort. It is prayer. For a while, my anxiety would not let me do anything but panic or run out of the room if I became too aggravated, but my mother talked to me about praying during an attack. Since then, I have tried to start doing that and it has made a serious difference in my life. Anytime I start to feel an attack coming on, I start praying. It helps to have a Friend who is always there and whom I can talk to at any time. 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.” This verse has helped me infinitely. I know that when I am stressed or overwhelmed, or even just anxious, I can talk to the God who created me and knows every struggle that I have ever gone through or ever will go through. He is my Father, and he cares deeply for me.

When we feel ourselves struggling, whether it is just the situation or something like anxiety, we should try to remember that the God Who created us and loves us knows every burden in our lives. All we need to do is go to Him and talk. He is never too busy to help a child in need. He is our Father and He cares for us more deeply than anyone else ever could. We can run to His open arms whenever we need His help or even just when we want to talk. Always remember that we have Someone who wants to help us, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

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Anxiety can be so strong and overbearing, but Karis reminds us that it’s nothing compared to the great love our God has for us. He’s here to help you and to help me overcome. What practical ways have you found to help when anxiety overwhelms you?