Christian Counseling for Anxiety

It is normal to feel anxious sometimes, but some individuals are severely restricted in their ability to live because of their anxiety. If you frequently feel tense, overwhelmed, anxious, or obsess over things until you feel panicked or out of control, you might have an anxiety disorder. Chronic stress and anxiety are harmful to your health and can negatively affect your relationships. Don’t let anxiety continue to control or restrict your life; Christian anxiety counseling can assist you in finding peace and reclaiming your life. 

Anxiety sufferers may find the phrase “let go and let God” to be difficult to grasp. Even though it is a decent suggestion, it is not simple for those with anxiety disorders. At Restoration Recovery, we recognize how difficult it can be to manage negative thoughts and behaviors. You may accomplish long-lasting, positive adjustments to your anxiety with the assistance of highly-effective anxiety reduction strategies that are tailored to your unique beliefs and needs.

What is Anxiety?

According to the DSM-5, an anxiety disorder is a condition in which a person experiences overwhelming worry, nervousness, and distress in anticipation of a future event or problem. It is characterized by an unpleasant feeling of concern, distress, and/or physical signs of tension.

Despite how precisely it is defined, anxiety can manifest in many different ways and at various intensities—from being a minor nuisance to an all-consuming debilitating force. For example, you may feel butterflies in your stomach or an unshakable sensation of fear that prevents you from leaving the house. Anxiety, therefore, may occur on a wide-ranging spectrum. When it occurs on the far left of that spectrum, it is considered “normal” anxiety. When it exceeds a certain magnitude and/or time period beyond what is developmentally appropriate, it goes from “normal” anxiety to an anxiety disorder. 

Types of Anxiety Disorders

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, anxiety disorders are the most common mental health problem in the United States, affecting over 40 million Americans (19.1%). Around 7% of children aged 3-17 (approximately 7% of children aged 3-17) experience anxiety each year. Anxiety disorders usually manifest before age 21. The most common anxiety disorders include: 

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

• Generalized anxiety disorder is a chronic condition characterized by excessive and persistent worry about everyday matters. Your worry is disproportionate to the circumstance, difficult to control, and has an adverse impact on your physical health. It is often co-occurring with other anxiety disorders or depression. 

Panic Disorder

• A panic disorder is characterized by episodes of intense anxiety and terror that peak within minutes (panic attacks). You may experience a sensation of impending doom, shortness of breath, chest pain, or a rapid, fluttering, or pounding heartbeat (heart palpitations). These panic attacks might cause you to worry about them happening again or to avoid situations in which they occurred.

Social Anxiety Disorder

• People with social anxiety disorder feel embarrassed, self-conscious, and concerned about being judged or viewed negatively in social situations, creating high levels of anxiety, fear, and avoidance.

Phobias

• When you are confronted with a certain object or scenario, you experience extreme anxiety and want to avoid it, you have a specific phobia. Panic attacks may be provoked by phobias. 

Benefits of Christian Counseling for Anxiety

Christian counseling is an excellent method for dealing with an anxiety disorder. Rather than fighting against or resisting anxiety through willpower (which tends to increase anxiety levels), you must shift your focus away from the distress and onto an external objective or significance. Whether it is the significance of life or the significance of a relationship, the best place to start is with a call to meaningful action. A Christian therapist can assist you in discovering your purpose and creating a plan to achieve it. The following are just some of the benefits of participating in Christian counseling for anxiety: 

Identify the source of anxiety

• Patients who have anxiety disorders may be treated with prescription medication to relieve their symptoms rapidly. While rapid results are a benefit, this treatment is only temporary. Furthermore, prescription pills only treat the symptoms of the disease rather than treating the disease itself, which is what psychotherapy does. Therapy, which is customized to meet the needs of each patient, helps patients recognize the root cause of their issues by identifying the actual cause. Anxiety might be caused by a number of factors, including how they see the world, the environment, and their circumstances. Therapy helps you discover new ways to monitor and alter your thoughts, which may be contributing to panic attacks or anxiety.

Work towards a solution

• The purpose of counseling is to help the individual discover the genuine reasons for their issues and how to control and manage their thoughts and behavior in an effective manner. The client is guided by the counselor to apply these strategies when they come across stressors. Therapy does not hand them a  solution to their problems on a silver platter, rather it helps patients discover how to cope with their issues and eventually overcome them. Rather than avoiding future situations in which they might feel anxious, they may be provided with tools and resources to help them. 

Regain confidence

• It is common for anxiety disorders to severely limit a person’s confidence. Counseling assists patients as they gradually rebuild their confidence by offering them an opportunity to examine their own thoughts and feelings. Counseling gives people the knowledge, skills, and control over their thoughts, feelings, and actions, which allows them to live a healthy, happy life.

Christian Counseling vs. Secular Counseling for Anxiety 

Seeing a Christian therapist would not be a substitute for meeting with God. It would be in addition to meeting with God. You may experience difficulties that are more difficult to overcome. God cannot solve them, but working with a Christian anxiety counselor might give you extra direction, guidance, and support. 

Having a compassionate, skilled person present can be advantageous to the recovery process. God employs people as His vessels to accomplish things. Since God utilizes doctors to treat a variety of medical conditions, he may utilize a mental health professional to treat mental health issues as well. If you desire God but anxiety is still holding you back, you may benefit from seeing an anxiety Christian counselor. 

True healing and real transformation are from the Lord alone. When we don’t bring Jesus into the process of therapy, we may be putting a Band-Aid on a serious wound that needs stitches. There may be some short-term relief. There might even be some visible changes at first. However, deep and long-lasting healing can only come from Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. With His blood, He frees us, and with His Holy Spirit, He makes things fresh. Since we are only using a portion of the resources we need in our therapy sessions if we remove Jesus, we will not succeed. If you go on the football field with only knee pads and wrist guards, you will not succeed.

Restoration Recovery is Here for You 

We want to assist you in finding peace with the Lord as you seek His help in handling your burdens. At Restoration Recovery, our guidance and support will assist you in starting your recovery journey. If you or a loved one is suffering from an anxiety disorder and is in need of counseling services, the professionals at Restoration Recovery are here to help. 

Through our faith-based approach, we work with all individuals to restore their health and relationship with the Lord. Contact us today to learn about anxiety counseling or any of the other services we provide.