Many who struggle with anxiety and fear do so because they tell themselves things that are not necessarily true.įor example, I was recently talking to someone who used to be anxious about driving on freeways. The wise man Solomon tells us, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”

Identify your “self-talk”-what you tell yourself when faced with a perceived or real danger.

Once you acknowledge this and recognize that God has given you the power of choice, even in overcoming anxiety, this will be a springboard from which you can begin to take steps in the right direction. You may feel that you cannot control your fears, but the truth is that you can. However, the following are steps you may be able to implement yourself. If you are dealing with anxiety or fear that is affecting your life, you may consider consulting a health professional.

For this article, we will address them as the same phenomenon. Even though they are different, they typically produce the same response when one is faced with either an actual or perceived threatening situation, including increased heart rate, tensing of muscles, shallow breathing, avoidance behavior, etc. Fear is an emotional response to known dangers or threats. It is important to point out that fear and anxiety are interrelated, but slightly different. If you or someone you know is having this type of debilitating experience, take heart. How does one know that anxiety has become a problem? It does the following: It is also one of the most common mental health problems on college campuses. Anxiety disorders-a psychiatric term used for different forms of abnormal and pathological fear and anxiety-are the most common mental illnesses in the United States, affecting 40 million adults age 18 and older (18% of the US population).

Some health experts report that fear and anxiety have increased in the United States since 9/11 and heightened even more with the economic downturn in our world. There are times when they can actually be beneficial in that they can motivate us, increase our productivity, and even enable us to protect ourselves when faced with danger.įor many, however, fear and anxiety are a problem. Fear! Anxiety! Most of Us Have Experienced

Overcoming pathological fear