“And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” Matthew 6:27 ESV
The wonder of the human mind is still being studied, and it’s likely that we’ll never fully comprehend its complexity. It’s one of our great gifts under the skies, but what happens when we become trapped in negative thoughts, unable to escape the darkness? There are common mental conditions that degrade the human soul. When the mind speeds at 100 miles per hour with one bad thought after another, you may believe these cycles are outside of your control. But there’s a reason behind it.
Only when anxiety sufferers, overthinkers, and worriers are aware of the triggers of their mental overload can they learn to redirect their negative energies. The toxic thought pattern must be broken to avoid becoming trapped in their heads like stagnated water, harbouring pathogenic thoughts that lead to serious mental and physical illnesses. In order to attain more desirable outcomes, support is needed to challenge their thought processes.
Subconsciously, people know that thinking impacts feelings and behaviours. But how many understand that thoughts can heal or harm the body? This connection is often unknown to many sufferers of mental disorders, many of whom become prime candidates for chronic diseases.
Prolonged Stress Kills
The body’s stress reactors are designed to safeguard you from harm. For instance, a mother becomes a superwoman catapulting herself in front of a speeding car to save a child’s life. The fight-or-flight hormones are activated when the adrenals initiate an innate physiological response to a circumstance that the mind perceives as threatening. This gives the body and brain the energy to react quickly by raising heart rate and blood pressure, breaking down fat, and increasing glucose in the blood as regulated by cortisol. Hormone production stops once the threat has passed, bringing the body back to a state of calm.
After the stressful event is averted, her body relaxes. However, in our crazy, stressed-out world, people retain a perpetual stressful norm that their bodies weren’t designed to handle. Sufferers of long-term stress may experience,“symptoms said to be due to adrenal fatigue, including tiredness, trouble falling asleep at night or waking up in the morning, salt and sugar cravings, and needing stimulants like caffeine to get through the day.” Endocrine.org also claims these symptoms may signal other diseases, and it appears that many stress sufferers experience some or all of these symptoms.
The stress hormone cortisol remains high, resulting in chronic health issues that are brought on by the body’s constant state of stress, which puts strain on its systems and organs. The body suffers when the very mechanisms that equip it to handle dangers become stressed. “Research suggests that chronic stress contributes to high blood pressure, promotes the formation of artery-clogging deposits, and causes brain changes that may contribute to anxiety, depression, and addiction.” Harvard Health
Science shows that long-term stress impacts every cellular function in the body. To break the escalating cycle of stress triggering sickness and sickness causing more stress, anxiety must be managed and avoided.
Protect the Mind
The aforementioned serves as a perfect example of the body’s reaction to danger, whether genuine or imagined. “The body can also overreact to stressors that are not life-threatening, such as traffic jams, work pressure, and family difficulties.” Harvard Health
As the holy book says, “Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Mathew 6:34
Anxiety can be turned off. It’s a skill you can acquire. There are several practical therapies in use, but let’s consider a few principles.
Awareness
The first step is becoming aware of your triggers. Knowing this allows you to minimise stressful emotions by taking appropriate action. You can manage your reactions by acknowledging how and why you feel the way that you do.
For example, if a passive-aggressive family member makes you feel belittled, you can admit to yourself that you are aware of what they are doing and how it makes you feel. You can acknowledge that you’re not emotionally ready to confront them, so it’s best to limit contact to secure your peace of mind. This gives you a sense of power because you accept the situation for what it is and have taken decisive action to maintain control.
Staying Present
Depression is a symptom, not a cause. Therefore, antidepressants treat symptoms rather than the root of the problem. That explains why a sufferer will be medicated for life because the issue is never resolved.
A person is stuck in depression because they feel trapped and hopeless. Repeatedly reminiscing about the past or trying to rewrite troubling events in your mind will keep you depressed because it leaves you powerless in the present. There’s nothing you can do to change the past. You’ll carry “what ifs” and “if only” around like heavy bricks on your shoulders everywhere you go.
You lose valuable time now, which is rapidly turning into the past. Isn’t it better to try to accept what has happened, grow from it, and make better choices going forward?
Forgiveness gives you permission to let go. It’s a process that helps you to accept all of yourself and others as they are. However, forgiveness doesn’t mean forgetting.
Worrying is trying to prepare for potential undesirable events. Does it really solve anything? In the mind of the worrier, it does. It is their way of preventing unlikely scenarios. They think that they are proactively avoiding possible stress when, in fact, it creates a constant flow of stress. To avoid future heartaches, the individual overthinks many unlikely scenarios, but this causes them daily anxiety. They reason that worrying prevents regrettable events from occurring. The pattern is confirmed when they make good decisions.
For example, the worrier is a successful event planner and is praised for her organisation, time management, and eye for detail. She attributes her success to her efficiency, which confirms that worrying works. But her colleagues don’t know about her insomnia, tossing and turning, or her active mind worrying the moment she closes her eyes.
The need for security is often the root cause of perpetual worry. People who were unsupported in life and had to bear the burdens on their own are prone to constant worrying about the future. They consume a lot of energy in this process and are left exhausted. Sadly, they are unable to live life freely in the present.
As the good book says: “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ … your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” Matthew 6: 31, 32
Self-acceptance
Developing a positive relationship with yourself should be the goal of all. A person would defend their loved ones in a heartbeat against an abuser. They wouldn’t stand idly by and do nothing, but regularly, they generously give themselves a large dose of emotional slamming.
When you accept your past and realistically assess your weaknesses and strengths, you will increase your self-compassion. Accepting who and where you are is important to a healthy self-esteem because you do not need to achieve something to be valuable. You are worthy just by being you.
This is challenging to believe when you are experiencing emotions you wish to suppress. You’ll struggle with self-acceptance until you’re ready to face yourself head-on. A willingness to understand and feel your emotions and then let them go will enable you to grow and become comfortable with yourself. Initially, it may feel challenging, but it becomes natural over time.
Your sense of value increases as you develop self-acceptance, and your critical thoughts will begin to decrease. You shouldn’t have to pretend or lie to yourself to exist in your mind, which is not healthy and doesn’t work. The goal is to see yourself realistically and positively.
Reason for Confidence
A positive mind and body connection can be seen when enjoying the company of people who lived into their 90s with their mental wit, mobility, and tending their gardens. It’s worthwhile to investigate the various techniques that can help reset the mind and release negative emotions in order to promote healing in the body. Often times, these emotional energies are the source of many chronic illnesses, apart from environmental factors.
Negative thoughts trigger physiological defects in the body, conversely positive thoughts generate health. The placebo effect shows that positive thinking is “real” medicine. “When given a sugar pill in place of a prescription drug, an average of 30% of subjects will show a positive response. What causes this response isn’t a physical substance but the activity of the mind-body connection. Positive belief, hope, and expectation can trigger self-healing superpowers that manifest physiologically in the body” (Psychology Today).
In conclusion, putting our complete confidence in the one who knows all has proven to be a life-sustaining antidote for many. “But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31
