October 26, 2001

With the news of anthrax spreading, I am concerned about those of  you who tend to have a problem with anxiety.

Of course we should be concerned, but realistically speaking, the odds against you or yours contracting anthrax are small.  Still, we are under attack. Moreover, every person infected needs our prayers, sympathy, and help.

However, some of us have trouble with anxiety in normal times.  Let me make a few suggestions.

First of all, the automatic thought, WHAT IF, produces anxiety.  We can't attack the feeling of anxiety or fear directly.  You need to be honest about your feelings.

However, we can attack the automatic thought that gives rise to the fear.  Some of us have either learned or have a genetic disposition to have lots of automatic WHAT IF thoughts.  WHAT IF thoughts project us into the future.  God's love, grace, and help occur in the present.

If you notice that you are bombarded by WHAT IF thoughts that seem to occur automatically (and about everything), you have a problem with anxiety.

The rational answer to WHAT IF I GET ANTHRAX is that the odds are small, even if you are in a high risk area.  Also, drugs are available to treat the infection.

WHAT IF THE TERRORISTS FIND WAYS TO DISTRIBUTE ANTHRAX MORE WIDELY.  That should be considered, but again, drugs are available.

You may have other automatic thoughts that have anxiety attached because of events in your personal history.  In other words, you may have had experiences that caused anxiety.  The memory is there, and certain things punch that memory button.

You need to find the automatic thought or picture attached to the feeling and work through it rationally.  You might need some help doing it.  That is why I and others do private sessions where we sit down and help people sort things out.

In some cases anxiety is related to a chemical imbalance in the brain.  You can always start with your family doctor.  Medications are available.  However, unless the chemical imbalance is an ongoing medical problem, you should also sort out the underlying thoughts and pictures that occur automatically and produce the anxiety.

Has your anxiety started recently?  Is it related to something specific?  Do you always seem to feel anxious about everything?  Have you always been this way?  If recent and related to a specific event, you will probably adjust.  If long term and about everything, you have a problem with anxiety.

You want to avoid developing a pattern of avoidance.  For example, a person might be eating at a French restaurant and experience sudden intense anxiety.  So, they start avoiding French restaurants.  They never deal with the underlying causes, experience other anxiety attacks, and start avoiding more and more places.  Some people reach a point of not ever leaving their homes.

You may notice that you experience more anxiety when you are not busy.  When your mind is occupied with specific thoughts, automatic thoughts don't tend to pop up.  At the end of the day, or at night when you try to sleep, you may find that the automatic thoughts and related fears pop up and take over.

You must be honest about your feelings, and you must locate the automatic thoughts and pictures.  If they are irrational, you can start to dismiss them.

A final step is to fill your mind with positive thoughts.  I find many promises from the Bible are good to meditate on rather than leaving old, out of date thoughts to take over.  In fact, I will be adding many promises from the Bible to this site in the future.

This week I am adding some that I claim when I am feeling anxious, have worked through my feelings and thoughts, and am ready to move on.

If you can't sort all this out by yourself, write me and I'll try to help you find someone to talk with in your area.