Charles Swindoll -
Words can never adequately convey the incredible impact of our attitude toward life. The longer I live the more convinced I become that life is 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we respond to it.
It would be incredible if there was a quick fix to our problems but as we all know the problems that we face didn't appear overnight and the likelihood of it dissapearing overnight is very slim.
We live in a society that expects everything to happen in an instant, put in another way - society is filled with microwave thinking.
People might face similar life issues, but each individual has his/her own unique and particular circumstances. Let's face it at some point in time everybody experiences feelings of anxiety and depression, however the degree and depth varies from person to person and their particular situations.
One thing to remember is, anxiety comes from fearing the unknown as well as fearing the future. On the other hand, depression is activated by past hurts and losses. So in light of this we can identify and cope with anxiety and depression by for example thinking positive thoughts.
Our inability to change the past or to determine our future can cause intense emotional turmoil in our way of thinking, which leads to one losing perspective on life.
The emotions associated with with anxiety and depression seem to be attempts to try gain contril over what we can't always control whether it's the past or the future. This creates fears and results in anger. We might not like it but the desire to control things are woven into the fabric of our personalities. Everyone wants things to be done the way they want it and in the time they want it and the moment we think that things aren't going our way we tend to become angry, fearful, anxious and depressed. Some even resort to sulking, whining and throwing temper tantrums to try display some form of control over their circumstances.
Obviously there are some issues in life that we should be concerned with. For example, protecting our children from harm and danger which is good and proper parenting but there is always the possibility that this legitimate concern can lead to worrying. Conscious worrying can end up being warped and twisted and can lead to anxiety which can overwhelm us. In turn the anxiety is hard for one to deal with, cope with and understand because multiple worries are intertwined.
We can ourselves the question - why do these fears and worries overwhelm us? The answer is, we worry about things that are out of our control. We aren't God so we cannot make all the proper decisions for our lives therefore we must accept that there will always be certain events in our lives whether we like it or not.
The time has come to realise and acknowledge that all our fears, worries, anxieties, angers and depression won't solve or accomplish anything. When we do it is one step towards maturity and growth.
It is important to note that God actually has given us the emotions of fear and anger because fear helps us to flee harmful situations and anger enables us to fight and protect ourselves agains harmful people or circumstances. Therefore, fear isn't an illnes but simply fear, anger isn't an illness but simply anger. The same can be said of anxiety, it's not an illness but confused and unfocussed thinking. Depression isn't a sickness either, it's a collection of memories and feelings which focusses on hurts and losses.
For this reason we need to take ownership of our thought life. For example instead of saying, I am depressed rather say - I am in the process of depressing or I am in the process of being anxious.
Although in some instances the use of medication has helped it is not a long term solution because when you stop the medication the issues you had before will still be there because it hasn't been dealt with. Obviously you can't just stop taking your medication because that will have serious consequences but what is important to realise is that it is a good idea to work towards dealing with the root of the problem and not the symptoms. This can be done by correcting the information we have stored in our heads and start thinking proper thoughts about our fears and anxieties.
It cannot be denied that our thoughts and perceptions are amazingly powerful even when they are not based on facts. The perceptions we hold regulates our feelings as well as our behaviours.
The good news though is that false perceptions, misunderstandings as well as the lack of information aren't illnesses or diseases which means they can be worked on and changed.
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