Anxiety (Part 1): Understanding Anxiety, Its Symptoms, Types, And Cases In The Bible Series

Intro: A pastor in the countryside was retiring after 35 years of serving in the church. As he came to clear out his bedroom, he found a small bowl with five eggs and $1,000 in it. Baffled, he called his wife, "Honey, what is this little basket under the bed with five eggs and $1,000 in it?" "Oh," she said, "I must confess that every time you preach a bad sermon, I put an egg in the basket." Surely the pastor was pleased. "Not bad five bad sermons in 35 years," he thought. "And what about the $1,000?" "Well, every time I get a dozen, I sell them!" I don't know how many eggs my wife has sold in the past 31 years of my ministry.

Today we will continue the sermon series on "The Bible and Emotional Problems." We will learn about anxiety. Did you know that anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States, age 18 and older, or 18.1% of the population every year? According to Max Lucado in his book "Anxious for Nothing," the United States is now the most anxious nation in the world. The land of the Stars and Stripes has become a country of stress and strife. This is a costly achievement. Lucado says, "Stress-related ailments cost the nation $300 billion yearly in medical bills and lost productivity, while our usage of sedative drugs keeps skyrocketing; just between 1997 and 2004. Americans more than doubled their spending on anti-anxiety medications like Xanax and Valium, from $900 million to $2.1 billion."

Before we learn from the Bible how to deal with anxiety, we need to understand the complexity of anxiety. Like depression, we learned last week that not all anxiety can be cured only with prayer and the Bible. That is why we need to understand what anxiety is, its symptoms, various types of anxiety, and the factors that cause it.

Understanding Anxiety

You may wonder whether anxiety is similar to worry. The answer is "yes" and "no." Let me explain. Anxiety has three main components: emotional, physiological, and cognitive. Imagine you have a presentation coming up at work. You might notice feelings of fear and dread, two examples of the emotional component. You may also notice bodily sensations, such as heart palpitations, sweating, or tightness in your stomach, representing the physiological component. Finally, you might think, "I can't do it," or "I'm going to embarrass myself." Worries and negative thoughts like these about what might happen in the future are the cognitive component. So, while worry is an integral part of anxiety, it is only one of the three main building blocks.

Anxiety is a normal phenomenon. It is a natural way in which the body responds to danger. It is your body's biological threat response system. When your brain believes you are in danger, it sends signals to your body, resulting in the fight-or-flight response. However, anxiety becomes a challenge or problem when it becomes chronic or leads to mental disorders. It can be challenging and frustrating to live with an anxiety disorder. You may suffer from chronic anxiety when you always feel fearful, nervous, or anxious, even when you are not undergoing any form of stress or danger. Therefore, it is essential to identify when you have just normal or mild anxiety and experiencing chronic ones that require medical attention.

Symptoms of Anxiety

Common anxiety signs and symptoms include:

- Feeling nervous, restless, or tense

- Having a sense of impending danger, panic, or doom

- Having an increased heart rate

- Breathing rapidly (hyperventilation)

- Sweating

- Trembling

- Feeling weak or tired

- Trouble concentrating or thinking about anything other than the present worry

- Having trouble sleeping

- Experiencing gastrointestinal (GI) problems

- Having difficulty controlling worry

- Having the urge to avoid things that trigger anxiety.

Types of Anxiety

According to the National Institutes of Mental Health, there are five primary types of anxiety disorders are:

1. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). It is an anxiety disorder characterized by chronic anxiety, exaggerated worry, and tension, even when little or nothing is to provoke it.

2. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). It is an anxiety disorder characterized by recurrent, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and or repetitive behaviors (compulsions) such as hand washing, counting, checking, or cleaning.

3. Panic Disorder. It is an anxiety disorder characterized by unexpected and repeated episodes of intense fear accompanied by physical symptoms, including chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, or abdominal distress.

4. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). An anxiety disorder can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal where grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. Traumatic events that may trigger PTSD include violent personal assaults, natural or human-caused disasters, accidents, or military combat.