Member-only story
Can Religion Address your Anxiety?
A few short months ago, I would not be writing this article. I was the last person who would agree religion as a way to address life’s troubles. The ancient texts were out of step with modern life’s trials and tribulations, so I believed. I and I alone was firmly in control of my life and I had only myself to blame for my successes and failures. How wrong I was.
In December, 2020 I had my first anxiety attack while driving on a highway at night. If you have never experienced such an episode, it includes racing thoughts convincing yourself of immediate danger. For me, this included a constant replaying of crashing into the guardrail and taking my family to a fiery death. I’m usually the chirpy personality on car rides that can be both endearing and full of life, and disgustingly annoying. On this car ride, I was eerily quiet. Something was not right. Thankfully I made it home, but driving was near impossible for many days. The anxiety was overwhelming.
And so began the quest to understand this neurological condition. This was not a ‘run-to-Home-Depot-for-the-correct screw-driver’ type issue, but self-engineering: before we get to the solution, what was the problem and what was causing it?
I signed up for therapy courses. I journaled. I wrote down as many thoughts as I could remember at the end of each day and wanted to notice patterns. And themes emerged. My life was out of balance. I was ruminating on the past, obsessed with the future. I lacked self-confidence in key social settings. I had crushing self-doubt. It was easy for me to think the COVID-19 Pandemic was the straw that broke the camel’s back. But it was not. I was my own worst enemy. And without serious changes to my outlook, I was destined to allow anxiety to rule my life.
How does Religion Address Anxiety?
After many months of keeping a journal, I decided to start meditation. Perhaps calming my thoughts through this practice would help in my quest to address the constant thinking. And through deep meditation, I began turning to religion. I am not clear at what point exactly I decided to do so, but my findings after reading the ancient texts were fascinating. Below are some of what I was able to decipher.
- You are not your thoughts: for those struggling…
