Reptilian Anxiety

When anxiety builds in people, its drive is to keep growing to take over all of a person’s mind, will, and emotions. I was told this once about reptiles—I still don’t know if this is true or not, but I like it as a metaphor—that they keep growing their whole life without ever reaching a predetermined size like people. So the longer a reptile lives, the bigger it gets.

That is how anxiety works—the more we let it run and grow, the even larger it becomes. Situations often trigger low-level anxiety, such as icy roads for a driver, an impending exam for a student, or an important doctor’s visit to talk about significant health concerns. The anxiety, when kept at lower levels, can help us focus, concentrate and effectively prepare for whatever is ahead.

The problem is that anxiety isn’t content to stop there. Its goal isn’t to help us navigate our lives wisely but rather to keep growing to take over as much territory as we will give it.

How does anxiety accomplish this growth?

It uses a variety of tactics including:

1. What ifs? – a great way to get people freaking out about some unlikely scenario.
2. Catastrophic thinking – imagining the worst-case scenario possible, then making even more scary options leading to more anxiety.
3. Scarcity thinking – very black and white, no hope, no way out, trapped—as if there are no gray areas, no additional resources, etc.
4. Yeah, buts – “Yeah, I know I can trust God, but…” and in one simple statement, we push God’s greatness aside and imagine something bad as if He can’t do anything about it! “Yeah, I know I’ve made it through tough times before, but this is so much worse.”

Rather than creating hope and confidence building off of past experiences, current resources, etc., there is a creation of hopelessness and helplessness.

The goal is to stop these escalations of anxiety and take control of our thoughts, self-talk, and actions to keep things in a constructive way. Slow down, take some slow, calming deep breaths, clear your head, and know that just because anxiety wants you to think in these ways, you don’t have to. You can make yourself go down more helpful tracts with thoughts like:

1. Slow down
2. Take slow calming deep breaths
3. Clear your head
4. You don’t have have to think the way anxiety wants you to

You can make yourself go down more helpful tracts with thoughts like:

• What is the actual truth of my situation now?
• What are some helpful things I can do for myself right now?

What are some current resources that I can utilize to keep me focused in helpful directions such as:

• Prayer
• Scripture review
• Talking with trusted people
• Taking time to just rest and relax

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