Solutions

Be not afraid, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. – Isaiah 41

Last week we started talking about anxiety.

I was going to say “we live in anxious times,” but I don’t believe there’s ever been an age where anxiety wasn’t present in one form or another. In the time of the hunter-gatherer, one had to follow the herds and continue moving to keep up with a shifting food supply. As people settled down and began farming, they had to deal with marauding bands of thieves and thugs, as well as alternating periods of weal and woe, or feast and famine.

It seems the only certain thing in life is life’s uncertainty. It is no wonder we need to learn techniques for calming down, relaxing, and decompressing on occasion. Our responsive reflexes, designed for survival, are working overtime as we fret over paying bills, finding jobs, and keeping homes.

One fellow I spoke with the other day said he struggles to make ends meet, even though he has a million dollar home. His clothing suggested he might be stretching the truth, but he wasn’t. The bridge beneath which he lived cost at least a million dollars to build!

It was no laughing matter, of course, as it really wasn’t his home – at least not his alone. He shared that space with his two young children and has finally gotten into subsidized housing – thank God!

He had been involved in a traffic accident several years back and suffered brain injuries that left him unemployable; his wife abandoned the family and life quickly ate up what little he had been able to save before the accident; but he is happy, because now he has an apartment, an address, a home, and school for his children.

He says he is happy because he now has a home, and having a place to live for one’s children has GOT to be a major source of relief, and yet I think he misses an important element in his happiness. It isn’t the home or even the kids, but having a resolution to the problem that has given him some relief.

He has a sense of hope, and I think it is that hope that has given him strength and courage in the face of overwhelming odds and terrible challenges that still lie before him.

It is generally helpful to deal with nervousness and anxiety by shifting one’s focus from one’s problems and looking at solutions instead.

It is like driving. When one is driving and attending to text messages, one is more likely to have an accident. Studies show that distracted driving is as bad as drunk driving. People who believe they can multi-task effectively are delusional.

Likewise, when a driver turns his or her head to look at something on the side of the road, the vehicle will begin to turn into the direction they’re looking. It isn’t a conscious thing but sub-conscious. The body wants to go where the eyes are looking.

So it is with anxiety; what one wants to do is identify the source of the anxiety (such as the loss of a job) and begin identifying solutions and options. Do some brain storming. Write down all the options that occur to you – sane and insane ideas as well.

Stress limits our vision, but writing down thoughts and ideas (without debating their merits or challenging them) allows one to have a level of freedom that produces chemicals (endorphins) that promote a sense of well-being. It is having a sense of well-being that helps a person relax and start finding solutions to those matters that are troubling them.

God created us; in the image of God, we are creative. We need to find better and healthier ways to explore our creative side, for that will continue the flow of energy that strengthens and empowers us. Helping others is another way to identify constructive ideas, and develop positive plans and a brighter future for not only ourselves, but for others.

It is what enables us to join God in overcoming fear and reducing those things which may dismay and overwhelm us. Hope’s a great stress reliever, and it’s worth the effort in this, our world.