It’s not cool, and it’s not trendy.
Nowadays, almost everyone suddenly has “bad anxiety.”
Whether it’s test anxiety, social anxiety or traveling anxiety, the more stressed out a person is, the more anxiety they claim to have. While some may actually have anxiety disorders, it is so important for the people who do not to recognize the difference between their stress and anxiety.
When everyone uses the words “anxiety” and “anxious” so loosely, it diminishes the awful and life-altering effects of an anxiety disorder.
1. You don’t want anxiety.
Whether you think its “cool” or “trendy’ to have anxiety, or want anxiety medication, it’s just not… Anyone who actually has anxiety would do anything to live a life filled with reasonable worries. Anxiety is not something that you wear like a badge of honor.
2. Anyone who brags about their anxiety probably does not have it.
Everyone who has anxiety experiences it in different ways— but most likely, if someone has anxiety issues, they do not like to broadcast it. Whether it is an anxiety attack or just anxious feelings, you tend to isolate yourself to focus on control.
3. It’s embarrassing.
You have no idea how humiliating it feels to alter your life because of anxiety. If you’re thinking, “then don’t,” it’s not that simple but I truly wish it was. Anxiety takes over your body in so many ways and you are pretty much handing all control of your feelings and decisions to your anxiety. This can cause you to miss out on social events or any other event that brings out roots of your anxiety.
4. You’re making it seem like a joke.
Every time you say you’re feeling anxious when you have no idea what you’re actually talking about, you’re ruining it for everyone who has anxiety. Using anxiety as an excuse makes people assume that everyone is using it as an excuse. You wouldn’t claim to have a physical disease if you did not actually have it, would you? So why do that with anxiety?
5. It’s not your fault.
I know it’s not intentional or vicious, and I understand that when you’re nervous you may just assume that’s what anxiety feels like. But I am here to tell you that feeling nervous for a test or for a situation is completely nervous. But that does not mean you’re feeling anxious.
The most important thing to take out of this is to be conscious of the conditions you are claiming to have. You have no idea how anxiety makes someone feel, so don’t claim to have it just because you have butterflies in your stomach.
Through life we face many giants or mountains…some small and others large. Most of the time we think that God should just remove the giants and that should be it…I mean he is the all powerful God who can do anything right? While this is true he also, wants us to climb the mountains and face our giants, because he gives us battles bigger than ourselves to show that all things are possible with him. But God won’t leave us to conquer alone but be our strength or you might say our armor throughout the battles. For example the story of David and Goliath that many of you have heard but probably never had really broken down before.
(1 Samuel 17:3) This story starts out with a valley between two mountains and the description of Goliath, a destructible, merciful giant. No one in Israel wanted to fight this giant, except one unlikely person David. He was just regular individual who was a slinger, how could he possibly kill this giant? And of course the King said that David was no match to defeat Goliath, and David started to tell about how he kept his father’s sheep and how he had to fight off lions and bears, and if God can deliver him from those then he can deliver him from this giant. So the King sent him to fight. David started out in the armor that was chosen for him but decided that he had to be himself to conquer this giant and most of all have faith in God. So he chose 5 smooth stones and a sling, and went over near Goliath. He knew he had to keep his distance, and while Goliath had a sword and shield, David had a sling, rocks and the power of God. The battle didn’t last very long, and ended in a victory of David after hitting the giant in the forehead with a stone.
I love this story because it is such a good example of facing the giants and mountains in life. Yes, they may be larger then you are but you have to keep in mind that your God is bigger. You have to put on God’s armor, stand firm, and keep climbing. You have to always be prepared and evaluate your focus and make sure your focused on God by spending time with him in different ways. A quote that I heard while watching a video by Jordan Lee Dooley said “Focus on your giants and you stumble, focus on God and your giants will tumble.” And this quote is so perfect because you can’t focus on what the enemy is telling you because he will always find ways to say your not strong enough, your not big enough, you are not able, like the King told David (1 Samuel 17:33). But through the climb and battles always remember God has already overcame the World.
~Shay
By Rachael Cook for TheOdyssey