The Flame Within

Before we go deeper, let’s take a moment to remember where we started in Part 1.

Anxiety begins with our thoughts.
Those thoughts create feelings.
Those feelings begin to impact our body and our behavior.

*We think what we think, which causes us to do what we do. Which causes us to choose what we choose.

Therefore, we must recognize and change the narrative we communicate to our self in order to change.

Sadly, when we don’t recognize what’s happening in our thought process, we can quickly get pulled into an anxiety spiral without even realizing it.

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One of the primary ways the enemy uses to create chaos and overwhelm in our minds is to speak partial truths into demeaning situations.

Partial Truths is a primary strategy of the enemy.

Here are common truths examples of partial truths..:

“You’re not good enough.”
“You’re a failure.”
“No one wants you.”
“You’re not smart enough.”
“You’re an idiot.”

These thoughts feel real because they carry a small piece of truth within them.

The truth is, we all fail sometimes. We all make mistakes.

But the lie is when that moment becomes your identity.

“I made a mistake” turns into “I am a failure.”

That’s the shift.

The enemy takes a moment and tries to define who you are by it.

Scripture reminds us in John 8:44 that he is the father of lies, and in Revelation 12:10 he is called the accuser. So it makes sense that his voice sounds like accusation, shame, and condemnation.

I remember a time I was bringing my daughter lunch to school from Chick-fil-A for her birthday, and I was running late.

Almost instantly, the thought came:
“You’re a bad mom.”

And for a moment, I felt it.

But then I caught it.

I reminded myself, “I’m doing this because I love her. I’m a good mom. She’s going to be okay if I’m a few minutes late.”

That is what it looks like to take a thought captive.

As it says in 2 Corinthians 10:5, we are called to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ.

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Why This Matters for Anxiety

If we don’t catch these thoughts, we stay in a constant state of anxiety.

And that affects everything.
Our ability to think clearly.
Our ability to function.
Our ability to move forward.

When anxiety rises and the spiral continues, your brain shifts into fight-or-flight mode. This is overwhelming and painful. This is when we notice negative physical sensations in our body; panic, tightness, heaviness in our chest, stress headaches, muscle tightness, etc.

The way out of the spiral is to recognize what we’re feeling in our bodies, stop feeding the negative thought cycle, speak truth over the thought, pray, and spend time memorizing scripture, utilizing mindfulness and grounding techniques.

This process moves the anxiety in your body, by allowing the logical mind to take back the flight or flight center and this calms the mind and body down. The reality: it is biologically impossible to operate in both survival mode and logical thinking at the same time. To stop anxiety it is essential to move from the anxiety center of the brain to the logical thinking mind.

It is essential to realize this concept because many people keep pushing through thinking the overwhelm of anxiety will lead to success but the opposite is true: Anxiety in the mind halts thinking and creates an impasse to clearer logical thinking that leads to success in life.

That is why pushing through and white-knuckling through life does not work. Even though, many ill informed individuals still teach and even enforce this concept into their lives and those around them.

Anxiety is exhausting.
It drains your body, your mind, and your spirit.
And it often makes things worse.

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Calming the Body by Speaking Truth

In order to calm your mind, body, and soul your mind is the control center of the brain. The mind/ our thoughts ultimately control our brain’s response to stressful thoughts and situations.

At the most basic level; Your brain’s job is to keep you alive.
It is your mind’s job and the thought patterns that feed God’s truth to our spirit.

When we first notice our body becomes activated by anxiety, we have to speak back positive truths to it.

“I’m okay.”
“I’m not in danger.”
“This is hard, but I can handle it.”

2 Timothy 1:7 reminds us that God has given us power, love, and a sound mind, not a spirit of fear.

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I had a moment like this recently.

I was dealing with a stressful situation with a car dealership, and my response was much more heightened than it needed to be.

So I sat in my car and said to myself, “Crystal, you’re going to be okay. You’re not in danger. This is just a difficult situation.” While taking slow deep breaths.

And slowly, my body began to calm.

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Grounding the Nervous System

Here are a few grounding exercises that help your brain and body regroup and return to its calm state. When your body feels overwhelmed, you have to help it settle.

Some simple ways to do that include:
• Gentle tapping on your chest or wherever you feel tension… while quoting scripture, praying, and speaking positive truths.
• Slow, deep methodical breathing
• Counting backward from 100, taking deep breaths every 10.
• The 5-4-3-2-1 grounding method:
• 5 things you see
• 4 things you feel
• 3 things you hear
• 2 things you smell
• 1 thing you taste

Each of these exercises help ground your anxiety and is a way of telling your body, “You are safe.”

Philippians 4:6–7 reminds us to bring our anxiety to God, and His peace will guard our hearts and minds.

—- Bringing It All Together

When you find yourself in an anxiety spiral:

Recognize the thought.
Identify the feeling.
Notice the partial truth.
Speak truth back in.
Calm your body.
Remind yourself that you are safe.

Remember: Your mind and body is not working against you.

It is trying to protect you.

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Reflection

Take a moment and sit with this.

What thoughts have been fueling your anxiety lately?

Are they truth, or are they partial truth?

What would it look like to begin speaking truth instead?

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Scripture reminds us:

Romans 12:2 calls us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.
Isaiah 26:3 promises perfect peace to those whose minds are stayed on Him.
Philippians 4:8 encourages us to think about whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable.

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So today, gently ask yourself:

What thoughts do I need to take captive?
What truth do I need to speak over myself?
And how can I remind my body that I am safe?

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You are not your thoughts.
You are not your fear.

You are capable of learning how to manage your thoughts so you can better care for your mind, your body, and your soul.

Blessings, Crystal Ridlon, LPC