How Christianity Has Failed Anxiety Sufferers…

By classifying anxiety as solely a spiritual problem, rather than a biological one.

Let me explain…

I have seen a lot of well-meaning Christians and churches spiritualize anxiety, and imply that if you struggle with high anxiety that it is fundamentally a problem with your faith in God. After all, the Bible tells us to “not be anxious about anything” and to “cast all your anxiety” on the Lord, right? Well, yes and

Yes, there are many verses in the Bible telling us we are called to have spirits of courage rather than fear

Yes, the Bible provides incredible words of comfort when we are feeling anxious or overwhelmed

Yes, having a relationship with God can provide us with peace that surpasses our understanding of our circumstances

Yes, our God is a God of peace

AND

Anxiety has a biological basis and is largely a biological problem

Anxiety, at it’s core, is your sympathetic nervous system activating your fight or flight response. But here’s the kicker - 99% of the time that anxiety activates your nervous system there is not any actual danger.

So understanding the way anxiety functions in our bodies on a biological level is absolutely fundamental to overcoming and healing anxiety.

In my many years as an anxiety therapist, one of the most common mistakes I see Christians make when trying to work through anxiety is not realizing that truth that anxiety does have a biological basis and is largely a biological problem (not just a mental and emotional one, and certainly not just a spiritual one).

I have seen a lot of Christians being told to “pray the anxiety away” and then getting extremely discouraged or frustrated when they still struggle with anxiety. Maybe you can relate to those feelings…

I have also seen a lot of Christians being told that their anxiety is because of a lack of faith, and then feeling incredibly guilty and ashamed when they can’t seem to make the anxiety go away. Maybe you’ve been here as well…

Friends, anxiety is a complex struggle. 

Yes, there is incredible power in prayer and Scripture to heal all sorts of struggles, including anxiety

AND if we only use prayer and scripture to treat anxiety, then we are missing out on all the ways God has given us to heal anxiety at a biological level as well.

We need to approach the treatment of anxiety the same way we might approach the treatment of, for example, a diagnosis of diabetes. We don’t often hear a diabetic being told to “pray the diabetes away” in the same way that Christians are often told to “pray the anxiety away.” This is largely because it’s widely known that a disease like diabetes has a biological basis and requires biological intervention in order to heal.

Well, the same can be said for anxiety - it has a biological basis and requires biological intervention to most fully heal.

So what does “biological intervention” mean for treating anxiety? It means intentionally learning how to regulate and reset your nervous system when it keeps activating your fight or flight response.

The amazing truth is that God has not only given us the gift of peace through his Holy Scripture, but He has given us effective ways to treat the medical, biological roots of anxiety as well.

That’s where I come in, and what I want to help you learn! 

I have spent almost a decade navigating the worlds of Christianity, ministry, and professional therapy and all of that has lead me to create a way to help Christians better understand and manage their anxiety through an accessible, self-paced online course, Overcoming Your Anxiety.

My friend, if you have been the victim of spiritualizing anxiety, I’m so sorry. I want you to know that your anxiety is not your fault and it has nothing to do with the quality of your relationship with God (and it definitely has nothing to do with how much God loves you!)

If you want to learn how to combine the healing power of your faith in Christ with the science behind anxiety and how to regulate your nervous system, then I’m here whenever you’re ready!

Meet me in Overcoming Anxiety and we’ll work through it together.