Are you struggling with anxiety? This is the start of a short multi-part series of blog posts on how teen girls (and young women) can beat anxiety – God’s way!
Anxiety and worry have a direct link with your mental health. And, whatever affects your mind has the capacity to alter the course of your life.
Let me ask you….
Are you feeling worried or anxious about things in your life?
Do you have a feeling of excessive fear or worry?
Do you have a feeling of inner restlessness?
Do you feel continual nervousness or extreme stress?
Let me tell you, you are not alone!
1 in 3 teens, age 13 to 18, experience anxiety disorder, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. And, it’s likely that a lot more teens than that experience regular anxiety, who haven’t been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.
In fact, I’ve experienced my share of anxiety, especially when I was a teenager. So, you are reading a blog post on the topic that is written by someone who has been exactly where you are right now.
I had anxiety so bad at one point, in my early teens, that I couldn’t even attend youth group or Sunday school. I used to hide in the bathroom with my Bible and pray nobody would find me.
I dealt with social anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (which is simply a way I dealt with my anxiety to try to control things), and panic attacks. I was massively shy, afraid to speak up in a crowd, fearful of the future, terrified I’d be laughed at or made fun of at every second, worried about what people thought of me, afraid I wasn’t thin enough or pretty enough, and just constantly concerned with what people thought of me. These fears followed me well into my 20s and 30s, which is why I wanted to write this book, so that you can’t put a stop to the fear and not have to take it with you into the rest of your life.
Oh my…do I know what it’s like! That burning in my stomach. That fear that creeps up that leaves every muscle in my body paralyzed. That lightheadedness when I think about things that worry me.
Sister, you are not alone! Even Christian girls and women deal with anxiety and fear.
Thinking that we are alone and the only one who feels these things, is one of the lies of Satan that makes us think there is something wrong with us. That it’s just us and that we are just weird, a “problem teen,” or that we are the only one dealing with this challenge. This lie keeps us from reaching out for help and keeps us in the same pattern of fear with no way out.
So, know that it’s not just you. You aren’t weird. It is NOT just you. And, know that there is hope that you can beat your anxiety – God’s way!
Stay tuned for part 1! Coming soon!
Dr. Amanda Smith 