Tag: anxiety

Paul the anxious apostle

You can read this or listen to the audio here

In his letter to the church in Philippi Paul says, “Don’t be anxious about anything…” (Philippians 4:6-7). But in my experience, Christians are just as anxious as anyone else. And we make things worse by piling on the phony guilt, “If I were a better Christian I wouldn’t worry so much”.

But why would God allow a child of God be prone to anxiety and what do we say to those who are? Let’s start by taking a closer look at the man who wrote Philippians.

Paul speaks openly about his own anxieties in his second letter to the Corinthians. He had written a very critical letter to that church and couldn’t stop worrying if he had gone too far. He was too anxious to settle, despite finding Troas wide open to the gospel, he left to look for news of the church’s response. Have you ever lost sleep over an email you wished you hadn’t sent? That is how Paul felt. (see 2 Corinthians 2:12-13)

Paul is equally honest about an incident elsewhere in the Roman province of Asia (modern Turkey). He doesn’t say exactly what happened, except that it was terrifying (2 Corinthians 1:8-9). He tells us that he and his team were in fear of losing their lives, “We despaired of life”, he writes.

By contrast, when Paul wrote Philippians, he felt super confident, even though he knew he might be facing death. So here’s the truth about the Christian and anxiety: even ‘super Christians’ like Paul go through times when they are very vulnerable, this is not unspiritual, it is part of the normal Christian life.

In 2 Corinthians Paul reflects on why God lets this happen and he gives us three reasons.

First, experiences like his in Asia sensitise us to the struggle others have. Experience of anxiety gives you a superpower – empathy for others (2 Corinthians 1:4).

Second, anxious times can deepen our trust in God. Anxiety is not just switched off by prayer, it is a process. As we pray and trust God, we learn to deal with it and grow through it (2 Corinthians 1:9-10). We learn resilience through adversity.

Here’s the third thing, read 2 Corinthians right through and you see Paul working through the fact that he is not a ‘super Christian’ (unlike some in Corinth who were pretending to be!). “God’s strength”, he says, “Is made perfect in our weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:10).

It is worth saying at this point that there are two kinds of anxiety. The first is a natural response to scary circumstances. The anxious feelings are part of our biology – they help us run away, fight, or perform to the best of our ability. This is normal anxiety, and it is very useful.

The second kind is not useful, an out-of-all-proportion response to not-very-threatening things. It lasts for ages and has a negative impact on our lives, we avoid the things that make us anxious, and our lives shrink around our anxiety. This is an anxiety disorder, and we need professional help to get through it. Seriously, we need to go and talk to our GP.

It was too long ago and too far away to tell which of these kinds of anxiety we see in Paul. Though you do occasionally see the second kind in the Psalms. But whatever kind of anxiety we face, the way to manage it is through connection. Four connections are essential.

First, connect with God – worship, meditation and prayer are all deeply therapeutic. Tell God exactly how you feel, tell him what you are afraid of. Above all, trust him, he won’t let you down. Holding on to the Lord in the dark times gets us through.

Second, connect with others – invest time in your friendships, and especially in one or two people you can be honest with. You need both superficial friendships (mates) and deep ones (real friends). Spend time with the people you love and trust.

Third, connect with the natural world – get out and enjoy the open spaces near you, get a couple of house plants and keep them on your desk, stop and enjoy the scenery. You are built to be a part of nature. Remember too that every living thing on the earth is built for a 24-hour rhythm – you are no exception, get some sleep!

Finally, connect with yourself – remember what you are, the dust of the earth animated by the breath of God (Genesis 2:7). Look after your body and your mind. Get some exercise and push some boundaries to flex your brain. Learn to be still. Oh, and give yourself something to look forward to at the end of each day!

 

 

 

Gospel-centred resilience

Listen to this on audio here

How can we help young people become more resilient? We have all heard some the statistics but you only have to think of a person whose child is in their teens or twenties and is ill with anxiety, 100% of their heart is broken and that is the only statistic that really matters. The world has changed and poor mental health is on the rise, why?

Here’s a big factor, our culture tells young people that God is not real, his will does not matter, and that they must construct their own identity and set of values. The spiritual scaffolding that has sustained people over centuries has been removed. Sure, other factors are important, but we can’t overlook this one.

What we have instead are techniques like mindfulness and stress management. These are helpful, but Jesus said that a unique peace is available to those who trust him (John 14:27). The gospel offers psychological wellbeing that anyone can access first by trusting it and then by living it out.

The apostle Paul writes about this clearly in Romans 5:1-5. Access into God’s grace, he says, is the fruit of trusting Christ (v.1-2). The gospel re-connects us to the God who is there. We really do have an almighty Father we can lean on. We can put the weight of our life and our worries on him. The gospel puts the scaffolding back in place.

In the public mind, and in that of many young people, faith in God nurtures guilt because God will always demand more than we can give. The gospel says the opposite, faith brings freedom from guilt. The moment we trust Jesus we are ‘justified’; that means righteous, clean as a whistle, accepted without reservation, loved despite all our faults!

That is the first big thing about the gospel, here is the second. Trusting Christ is not a once-for-all event in our lives, it is the means by which we navigate all our troubles (3-4). Paul is telling us that suffering is one of the tools God uses to reshape my character and make it more like Christ’s. God has a purpose, and nothing – however horrible – is random. Adversity is the way to resilience.

You see this when Paul told the Corinthian church about his own psychological challenges, ‘…this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead’ (2 Corinthians 1:8-9). In other words, whatever caused Paul’s mood to plummet into despair the answer was to shift his trust from himself and onto God. That is how we can get through anything.

Some practical points might help focus our pastoral care.

First, nagging people to ‘have more faith’ won’t work. Faith comes by hearing God’s word, and it is therapeutic to dwell in it listening to his voice. Take a month or two to soak up Psalm 103 for example, learning to meditate on it as you go.

Second, listen without interrupting. Encourage, and support, reassuring people that whatever happens their life is in God’s hands. We can even help people to see that their anxiety or low mood is part of a plan, they will be stronger and happier when they learn to live with it, manage it, and eventually overcome it.

Finally, we shouldn’t dismiss the techniques they will probably learn at school, or therapy advised by a doctor. Just as an aspirin can help with a headache, knowing how to breathe when you are anxious can help a young person face an exam. We are spiritual beings, but we are also biological systems and every little helps.

I have a Christian friend who teaches dance to young people. As exams and assessments approach, she receives a lot of calls from her students, ‘I can’t make the exam, I’ve got anxiety!’ they say. ‘Of course you are anxious’, she replies, ‘That is your mind gearing up to perform your best’. Then she encourages them, ‘Come to the assessment and put your anxiety into your art, use it to give the performance of your life!’ Very few students fail to turn up for their test and those who do are buzzing with joy afterwards. They have won a victory and now they are stronger, they are more resilient!

 

 

Are doctors over-diagnosing mental health problems?

Read this article or listen to the podcast here

In 2018 back pain ceased to be the main reason people were taking days off work. The number one spot is now occupied by the stress-anxiety-depression family of mental health problems. Some used to say that people with back pain were malingering, now we reserve that accusation for people with mental health issues.

Wes Streeting, the health secretary, added fuel to this fire recently by suggesting that doctors were ‘over-diagnosing’ mental health problems. The cynics are having a field day.

As a Christian, what do I make of this? It is an important question because the answer has a bearing on pastoral care for those who suffer from mental health challenges. I think that three things are important to consider.

Here’s the first, scripture recognises mental health struggles, sometimes in surprising places. Just think of three ‘difficult’ Psalms. Psalm 6 where David’s feelings look very much like what we might call depression. Psalm 88 where the song writer feels immersed in inescapable darkness. In Psalm 137 where, traumatised by the destruction of his people, the writer asks God to bless those who kill little Babylonian children.

These Psalms show us that depression exists, that anxiety is real, that trauma makes godly people ask for ungodly things. Even Paul, in the months before he wrote his second letter to the Corinthians, experienced stresses so great that he says that he ‘despaired of life’ (2 Corinthians 1:9). Sometimes the bible is more real than we would like it to be!

The great Victorian preacher, C.H. Spurgeon, knew about this. Expounding Psalm 88 he says, “It is all very well for those who are in robust health and full of spirits to blame those whose lives are sicklied o’er with the pale cast of melancholy, but the evil is as real as a gaping wound… Reader, never ridicule the nervous and hypocondriacal, their pain is real; though much of the evil lies in the imagination, it is not imaginary.

Christians who brush aside the reality of mental ill health really need to think again.

Second, we should not be too sceptical about diagnosis itself. Even though mental illness is all about feelings such as low mood, anxiety, or feeling disconnected from reality, psychiatrists are trained to assess people’s feelings objectively. If a doctor has made a reasonably objective assessment, I need compelling reasons, and some expertise, to question it. A diagnosis can be helpful in itself for someone who is confused about their feelings, convinced that they are alone and that there is no hope.

Third, medical professionals are our partners when we support people who are experiencing mental health challenges. I encourage Christians I support to see a doctor because it opens the door to a variety of therapies within the NHS. Alongside the church’s ministry, these interventions can be effective in the journey to wellness.

The hair-raising experience Paul records in 2 Corinthians 1:9 had a purpose; Paul tells us that it both sensitised him to the struggles others face (equipping him to be pastorally effective) and it helped him to trust God more than he did before (read the whole chapter). The gospel changes the meaning of suffering. While others see it as random hardship a Christian sees it as a means to growing resilience, character and hope (Romans 5:1-5). Preaching the gospel should offer this to those who suffer but it should not exclude God’s goodness to us through medicine and other helpful therapies. Cynicism is not a Christian virtue.