This morning I (Matt) had the privilege to join a webinar with Send Network President, Dhati Lewis, and Dr. Sandy Thomas. The purpose of the webinar was to discuss ways to cope with anxiety during the pandemic we are facing. The reality is we all face fears and anxiety and the people in our community are definitely facing anxiety, which is why I wanted to share the takeaways. We are all trying to figure out a new way of doing life and can easily find ourselves overwhelmed but I believe you will find these ways to be helpful.
10 Ways to Cope with Anxiety with Dr. Sandy Thomas
Create Routine - Set an alarm, get out of bed, prayer, read the Word, etc.
Get ready for the day - This is not a vacation so get dressed, brush your teeth, and start your day as you normally would.
Challenge your thoughts - Experiencing thoughts of fear and anxiety make you human but as Scripture reminds us take every thought captive to obey Christ.
Create New Thoughts - As you take every thought captive to obey Christ, also create new thoughts that are informed and led by the Holy Spirit.
Ask for Help - Recognize it is okay to be the one in need and realize there is no shame in asking for help.
Fight Myths with Facts - There are news articles by the minute, some helpful and some not so helpful, but be sure you are fighting the myths out there with true facts about everything.
Set Boundaries - We all need boundaries so this can range from media intake, social media, etc. The point is set boundaries and stick with them.
Confess where you are (tell the truth about what is going on inside of you…) - I think telling people to have no fear or anxiety because God is in control, while true, is not helpful. We believe at Sojourn it is okay to not be okay so feel free to confess where you are. Pretending you are okay when you are not okay is not helpful to you or anyone else. There are no “super Christians” so be honest.
Create Relaxation and Exercise Habits - This is not a vacation but you also shouldn’t feel the need to be a virtual workaholic. Create your routine and make sure you add time for slowing down, relaxing, and exercise.
Press Into Your Faith - We all likely have more time and space than we had even a week ago. Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+ are great, but instead of binge watching all the newest releases take some time you didn’t feel like you had before to pray more, fast, read the Word, and press into discipleship using Zoom, Skype, or FaceTime.
