Portraits

• Carol was always on the alert. Her timid voice and shy manner indicated shewas on constant watch for potential hazards. As an only child born to a single mother, Janice felt she was born to be her mother’s scapegoat. As a child, Janice can remember waiting for her mother to come home and feeling her whole body become tense. She never knew what would happen when her mother would return. As an adult, Janice was always wary as to potential harm. She even found that she became tense when there was nothing to be anxious about.
• Nadine was considered a “loner.” Little did anyone know that this façade was a mask for a deep fear of being in groups. Nadine found that she would become overwhelmed with panic when she was in a restaurant eating with her coworkers. Even though it seemed irrational she would become afraid of saying something foolish, spilling food on her shirt, or beginning to stutter. When she was alone with one person she was fine, but as soon as she found herself in a group, even making eye contact with someone seemed painful.
  

DEFINITIONS AND KEY THOUGHTS

Fear
While most people experience fear as a negative emotion, fear has a positive component. If you find that you have turned down a one way street and see a car heading directly at you, fear triggers an autonomic response that sends a signal to your brain to “flee” the potentially dangerous situation.

• Fear becomes a problem when a person becomes afraid of things that are not real or when the feeling of fear is out of proportion to what the person is actually experiencing.
• Fear is an emotion that draws someone into a self-protective mode.
• More often than not, fears are related to what a person perceives as a threat to his safety and security. He may fear losing his job, having his home burglarized or having conflict in a relationship.
  

Anxiety
Anxiety is a constant fearful state, accompanied by a feeling of unrest, dread, or worry in which the person may not be aware of what is creating the feeling of fear.

• Anxiety is aroused by a number of factors:
• External situations (viewing the nightly news, fast paced lifestyle)
• Physical well being (lack of sleep, blood sugar imbalance)
• Learning (parents who were highly anxious)Trauma (situations that may be similar to experiences of the past that caused great pain).
  

• Anxiety’s symptoms can include:
• Inability to relax
• Tense feelings
• Rapid heartbeat
• Dry mouth
• Increased blood pressure
• Jumpiness or feeling faint
• Excessive perspiring
• Feeling clammy
• Constant anticipation of trouble
• Constant feeling of uneasiness
  

Phobias
- Phobias are a specific fear of something in particular.
- Phobias are fear that are out of proportion to the object, situation, activity feared. For example, one may have a fear of spiders. A person exhibits a phobia when seeing a small spider on the ceiling of a room and refusing to ever enter the room again.

Panic Attacks
- Panic attacks are sudden, overwhelming, fearful reactions with feelings of impending doom.
- In a panic attack, the person feels out of control.

• Symptoms include:
• Being paralyzed by the flight-or-fight response
• Shortness of breath
• Racing heartbeat
• Sweating
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Diarrhea
• Ringing ears
• Choking
• Vertigo
• Becoming homebound in fear of another attack
  

- The person generally has no clear idea what prompted the reaction and then becomes afraid of another episode occurring.
- The sufferer may feel like he is going crazy or is having a heart attack.

Note: More than three attacks in a month or the onset of a person refusing to go out of the house indicate the need for professional treatment.

Relational Fears
There are four major relational fears that people experience that can significantly alter the quality of one’s life:

• Fear of failure
• Fear of rejection
• Fear of abandonment
• Fear of death/dying

Symptom Assessment and Cause of Anxiety and Stress

• Fear and anxiety are defused by knowledge. The more a person can defuse the perceived threat the less anxiety he will experience.
• Generally, a person battling anxiety or fear has established an irrational belief system that is creating anxiety for him/her. Try to gain an understanding of what has contributed to the anxiety.
• Most anxiety reactions are learned behavior. Be intentional in your efforts to encourage yourself and develop hope that you will be able to overcome the anxiety or fears.
• Anxiety can be contagious: Those who experience strong anxiety tend to elicit anxiety reactions in those who are around them. You need to be aware of your own anxiety level and how you personally cope with anxiety when it occurs.
• Be patient with yourself as you sort through the feelings of fear. Changing patterns takes time.

Treatment Planning and Action Steps against Anxiety and Stress

ACTION STEPS

1. Thought Patterns
-Encourage disputing of negative thoughts and irrational beliefs with the truth of Scripture.

2. Focus on God
- Help the counselee move his/her focus from the fear to the character of God (1 Peter 5:7).
- God wants the counselee to trust and relinquish all fears to Him.
- Keep thoughts on God in order to have peace (Isaiah 26:3).

3. Watch for Triggers
Assist the counselee in trying to minimize activities and input that induce anxiety.

4. Moving Forward
- Ηelp the counselee learn from set backs and resolve to continue to face down the fears.
- Gently encourage the counselee to take risks.
- Urge the counselee, when becoming afraid, to move his/her focus on the external world and others rather than the internal feelings of anxiety.
- Focus on the solution, not the problem (Matthew 14:22-23).

5. Relationships
Assist the counselee in finding supportive, positive relationships.

6. Be Patient
- Remind the counselee that growth takes time.
- God will work in your counselee’s life to overcome the anxiety that is keeping him from living life to the fullest.
- Remind the counselee to try to keep an eternal perspective.

BIBLICAL INSIGHTS

“If you should say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I; how can I dispossess them?’—you shall not be afraid of them, but you shall remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt: the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs and the wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched arm, by which the Lord your God brought you out. . . . You shall not be terrified of them; for the Lord your God, the great and awesome God, is among you.” —Deuteronomy 7:17–21

• The Christian life is not easy. Believers face difficulties, pain, suffering, and sorrow. In situations that seem impossible they sometimes become afraid.
• God told Israel not to be afraid when the battle seemed too great. Instead, they should remember what He had done for them in the past and take heart.
• We must look at our fearful situations in the light of what God has already done for us, remembering that “the great and awesome God” will be going into battle with us.
  

Trust in the Lord . . . Delight yourself also in the Lord . . . Commit your way to the Lord . . . Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. —Psalm 37:3-7

•  David encouraged God’s people to trust in the Lord, delight themselves in Him, commit their way to Him, and wait patiently for Him to act.
• Trusting focuses our faith and deepens our commitment.
• Delighting means to experience pleasure in His presence.
• Committing our way to God means entrusting everything in our lives to His guidance and control.
• Waiting patiently is sometimes difficult, but it often is the ultimate test of our trust in God.
• Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. —Psalm 91:3–6
• When believers are afraid, they can run to a “refuge” and “fortress”—God Himself.
• No place could be more safe than there! Believers can trust that God will protect them in their times of fear.
• This does not imply that God’s people will never suffer or face difficulty; but it does promise that they need not be afraid, for they are in God’s hands.
  

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. —Proverbs 3:5, 6

•  It’s one thing for people to trust God with their eternal destiny; it is quite another for them to trust God to handle the challenges and difficulties of daily life.
• God promises to direct, or straighten, our paths. We need to trust God to help us handle the difficult situations we face, even in cases where we can’t begin to see how He could.
• If we really want to know God’s will for our lives, or even for our actions in a particular situation, we must begin by trusting that God cares about every aspect of living, and that He will provide what we need.
  

PRAYER STARTER

Today a precious child of yours is frightened, Lord. Frightened about the fear that has taken hold of my life and left me feeling helpless and hopeless. I want to serve You, Lord, but this anxiety is debilitating me to the point that I can barely function. I need the healing touch of Your hand, Lord, and wisdom to handle this anxiety . . .