7 WAYS TO RELIEVE STRESS
1. Admit There's a Problem
Those familiar with programs like AA will tell you the first step to recovery is owning up to the fact that a problem exists. And they are right.
This requires a lot of humility. Anxiety in particular can be hard to own up to because it makes us feel weak in an area where so many others appear to be strong. The temptation is to keep pushing and hope the anxiety goes away on its own.
As I learned the hard way, however, pushing through without addressing the problem can lead to an inevitable and ugly crash. I was dealing with anxiety for a very long time before I would acknowledge it. It wasn’t until I started having debilitating panic attacks that I finally admitted there was a problem.
Had I owned up to the problem sooner, I could have spared both myself and my family a lot of pain.
2. Stop Self-Medicating
Many who struggle with stress and anxiety develop their own ways of coping along the way. Some respond to stress by snacking constantly on junk food. Some drink to take the edge off. Others camp out in front of the television for hours on end.
None of these are healthy ways of dealing with stress and anxiety. Most of us intrinsically know this. What we don’t often realize, however, is that responding to stress in these ways can actually work against our body’s ability to fight back and get healthy, not to mention what it can do to our soul.
In other words, unhealthy coping mechanisms often make it worse, creating an endless cycle of stress and self-medication.
3. Take Care of Yourself Physically
In his letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul encourages believers to remember that our body is a living temple, one that has been bought at a great price, and therefore we ought to glorify God with it. Taking care of our bodies, therefore, is a spiritual endeavor.
This is particularly important for those who struggle with stress and anxiety as our physical health is connected to our mental health. Regular exercise, for example, has been shown to significantly reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. One study in particular showed that those who regularly exercise were 25 percent less likely to develop depression or an anxiety disorder over the next five years.
One of my favorite anxiety moments in the Bible is found in 1 Kings 19 when Elijah is so overwhelmed by his circumstances that he wants to end his life. In that moment, God didn’t give him a pep talk or shame him for his lack of faith. Instead, He gave him a meal and let him go to sleep. Twice.
Learning to rest is an important part of taking care of the body God has entrusted us with. Sometimes the most spiritual thing we can do is take a nap.
There are some things about God
that can only be learned through suffering.
