Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8
I recently spoke with a client who struggles with anxiety, specifically around how she relates to others, and what are proper responses in dealing with other people. She often projects onto others thoughts of her own, especially around their acceptance of her. Sadly, she often feels unaccepted, and she has low self-esteem. Though she would want others to like her, she often does not like herself. She tends to judge other people, assuming that they are judging her. In short, she overthinks many social situations. Overthinking situations is a cause of anxiety, but is also perhaps a result of it.
We had discussion about what she is responsible for and what she is NOT responsible for. That being said, anxiety control is often about knowing what we CAN control and what we CANNOT control.
She is responsible for her own actions, and her responses to others. That is why we have executive function which filters our responses to others before we blurt out something hurtful. We cannot always control the thoughts that come into our head, but we can control what comes out of our mouth.
This woman is very bright and insightful, but her anxiety frustrates her and causes her a great deal of emotional pain. Letting go of overthinking is easy to say, but hard to do. If it were as simple as “letting it go”, nobody would suffer from anxiety.
So, “let go and let God” is a nice trite saying, but let us be sure that we are not trivializing the pain that so many who suffer from anxiety endure.
Prayer: Lord, help us to be accepting of those who struggle with anxiety, Amen
Reflections of a Counselor 