How to Deal With Anxiety

ANXIETY ABOUT DANGER

"When i hear the siren,my heart starts racing and I run to a bomb shelter," says Alona.  "But even there I feel anxious. It's worse when I'm outside, with no place to hide. Once, while just walking down the street, I started to cry and couldn't breathe. It took me hours to calm down. then the siren went off again.

War is only one of many sources of danger.  For example, the discovery that you or a loved one has a life-threatening illness can make you feel as though you have been hit by a bomb. And for others, fear of the future can cause anxiety.  They worry, 'Will our children, or their children, have to live in world of war, crime, pollution, climate change, and epidemics?' How can we deal with such anxieties?

Knowing that bad things happen, "the shrewd person sees the danger and conceals himself." (Proverbs 27:12) And just as we try to protect our physical well-being, we can take steps to shield our mental and emotional health. Violent entertainment and even news reports filled with horrific images add to our own and our children's anxiety. To avoid unnecessary exposure to these things is not hiding our head in the sand. God did not design our minds to dwell on evil. Instead, we should fill them with "whatever things are true, . . .righteous, . . .chaste, . . .lovable."  If we do, "the God of peace"  will give us peace of mind and heart. -Philippians 4:8, 9.

Next time: How to Deal With Anxiety - THE IMPORTANCE OF PRAYER

From the Watchtower magazine, 2015