Rachel Thomas

Understanding the Anxious without Fear

INTRODUCTION
(i) To be alive is to be anxious (Yarhouse).
(i) All anxiety is rooted in fear (Riggs).
(ii) Normal fear turns to true anxiety when overwhelming and controlling fear has
total power over a person and his/her life (Riggs).
(ii) This summer, I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and have faced
the negative stigma of the illness in the church.
(iii) Anxiety is defined as excessive worry about life circumstances that has no factual or
logical basis and persists on a daily basis for a prolonged amount of time (Yarhouse)
(iv) Anxiety disorders affect approximately 40 million of adult Americans (ADAA)
(i) About 20% of U.S. adults experience some form of anxiety disorder in a given
year (Popcak). This means that almost every one of you knows somebody with an
anxiety disorder.
(ii) Anxiety disorders include generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, panic
attacks, social anxiety disorder, and phobias (ADAA).
(v) Due to cases of mental illness among public figures such as Robin Williams has increased
awareness of mental illness and prompted discussions on the topic (Hall).
(vi) (THESIS) Christians approach anxiety disorders by better understanding the nature and
causes of the disorder (Hall).
(vii)Mental illnesses are complex and result from a combination of factors including genetic,
environmental, psychological, and developmental (NIMH).
(Transition) People of faith often feel guilty for being anxious and wonder if their anxiety stems
from not praying enough or not trusting God enough. However, Christians get anxiety disorders
at the same rate as everyone else, just as Christians catch colds or get cancer or heart disease at
the same rate as everyone else (Popcak).
BODY
(i) In order to understand anxiety disorders from a Christian perspective, one must
understand the course of treatment for the disorders.
(i) Anxiety disorders are not purely a scriptural issue (Hall).

(i) We are fallen, tainted by the Fall, so it should not come as a surprise to us
that our mental health is in some way affected by the Fall as well
(Yarhouse).
(ii) Christians recognize the impact that sin and redemption have on our lives,
and thus are able to address anxiety disorders on a spiritual, medical, and
therapeutic level (Hall).
(ii) Social support is a critical way to help those who suffer from anxiety disorders.
(i) Anxiety feels like an isolated struggle, but in reality the prayers of friends
are a significant source of comfort and peace when peace seems far away
(Riggs).
(ii) With social support, those who suffer from anxiety have the potential to be
more resilient (Yarhouse).
(iii) Anxiety feeds off fear and misunderstanding and often God places other
people in our lives to remind us of His truth when we struggle to see it
(Riggs).
(iii) Medication is often a necessary prerequisite for healing and change with problems
of anxiety (Yarhouse).
(i) Medication will not cure anxiety disorders, but it can keep them under
control while the person receives psychotherapy (NIMH).
(ii) People often make a distinction between psychological disorders and
biological disorders, even though there is not a clear line (Hall).
(i) If God has given us medications as a tool to treat anxiety disorders,
there should not be a problem with using them (Hall).
(ii) The subject of medication is tricky because our society is generally
overprescribed (Hall).
(Transition) With proper treatment, people with anxiety disorders can lead normal fulfilling lives
(NIMH). However, when mental illness is treated as an unconfessed, unaddressed sin, alienation
occurs (Peach).
(ii) As Christians, there are specific ways to treat people who have anxiety disorders.
(i) Christians need to be slow to judge, but quick to listen.
(i) Stress and anxiety disorders are complex and multifaceted expressions of
pain and human suffering (Yarhouse).
(ii) Our comprehension of the disorder is limited to self-reports of afflicted
individuals and observation of others struggles, therefore it is important to
be humble and respectful (Yarhouse).

(i) We know very little about others acquired or inherited

vulnerability, so we should be cautious about making quick moral
judgements (Yarhouse).
(iii) Churches have good intentions when dealing with issues of mental health,
but can misinterpret them and thus demoralize those suffering (Peach).
(iv) Churches need to begin responding to anxiety as a community willing to
offer encouragement and support, and people with anxiety disorders may
then be able to accept the help (Peach).
(ii) Spiritual advice giving is not helpful for people struggling with anxiety (Hall).
(i) For someone with anxiety, being told to just pray is exasperating because
they can barely control their thoughts in the first place (Riggs).
(ii) In reality, we could ALL pray more and have more faith, not only people
with anxiety disorders (Hall).
(iii) The Bible is full of wisdom and encouragement for anxiety sufferers, but it
doesnt come in one-verse doses (Peach).
(i) Meditation on key scripture rarely fixes serious anxiety struggles
(Yarhouse).
(ii) Christians have the potential to oversimplify anxiety disorders by quoting
scripture (Hall).
(i) Be anxious for nothing and do not worry can easily be taken
out of context (Peach).
(ii) In Philippians 4:6, Christians are given a powerful and direct
command to cast our worries on God, but its not always that easy
for someone with an anxiety disorder (Riggs).
(iii) Gods grace and truths found in Scripture need to be incarnated in
the context of everyday living (Yarhouse).
(iii) In the Bible, David struggles with mental issues, as seen in Psalm 130,
which shows that spiritual people can struggle with anxiety without being
considered faithless (Hall).
(Transition) Anxiety is not a weakness, and some people are just more prone to anxiety disorders
due to past experiences and/or neurotransmitters (Hall).
CONCLUSION
(i) Anxiety disorders are not the result of personal weakness, character flaw, or poor
upbringing (Goldberg).
(ii) Anxiety disorders are not a failure of character or spiritual maturity (Popcak).

(iii) It is important for Christians to understand the treatment of anxiety disorders as well as
how to treat people with anxiety disorders.
(iv) People have problems. No statement is more trite than that, yet no statement is more
tragically true. Anxiety disorders are especially painful reminders of those problems.
(v) To be alive is to be anxious, but to be anxious does not mean to be alone.

References
Anxiety Disorders. (2014). In National Institute of Mental Health. Retrieved from
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/anxiety-disorders/index.shtml#part1
Goldberg, J. (2014, February 8). Anxiety Disorders. WebMD Medical Reference. Retrieved from
http://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/guide/mental-health-anxiety-disorders
Peach, B.W. (2014, February 20). 5 Things Christians Should Know About Depression and
Anxiety. Relevant Media Group. Retrieved from http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/
church/5-things-christians-should-know-about-depression-and-anxiety
Popcak, G. (2013, May 22). Be Not Afraid: A Christian Response to Anxiety. Patheos. Retrieved
from http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithonthecouch/2013/05/be-not-afraid-a-christian-re
sponse-to-anxiety/
Riggs, L. (2013, December). A Prayer For the Anxiety-Ridden Christian. Christianity Today.
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iety-ridden-christian.html
(S. Hall, personal communication, September 12, 2014).
Understanding the Facts of Anxiety Disorders and Depression is the First Step. (2014). In
Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Retrieved from http://www.adaa.org/pri
nt/understanding-anxiety/myth-conceptions
Yarhouse, M.A., Butman, R.E., & McRay, B.W. (2005). Modern Psychopathologies: A
Comprehensive Christian Appraisal. InterVarsity Press.