Dealing with Stress and Anxiety from a Christian Perspective

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Good afternoon.

This is, Clement and today we're going to be talking

about dealing with stress and anxiety from a Christian perspective.

Today is going to be just a discussion with myself and Ope is with me.

So we're just going to, first of all, start with,

that'll be looking at things along the lines of everyday challenges.

And, it's just to set the show.

I just want to read a short verse from first Peter five seven

which says, cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

So I don't know about you.

Is this a subject you feel that you

that resonates with you?

In a sense, yes.

Because even though consciously, I don't necessarily feel stressed

on the day to day understanding for sure that it does

manifest, in many different ways.

So, for instance, perhaps you feel tense, me as well.

I think a lot of things, even though I would say worry,

I do have to overthink some things.

And sometimes when you think about those things and not taking time

to actually be still sometimes and you can and,

processing your body and your mind, feeling a bit fatigued.

So in a sense, those relate to me.

In the sense that because of that, because of that,

I do try and take active steps to be still, to evolve.

Whether it's reading, whether it's playing or meditating

or exercising to relieve any stress.

But, yeah, I definitely do relate

to the subject of, you know, how to manage stress and what not.

Because even though it's not even a, so I feel stressed, I know that

your body doesn't lie.

And sometimes, even if it's a you might feel is due to medical things

you might be thinking about or concerned about on the day to day.

But I just wanted to, what's become in kind of a society

now that talks a lot about anxiety and stress.

And I'm just wondering if it really used to be like this.

Maybe people are recognizing that, well, maybe society's going to change

because when we when I think about maybe triggers for me.

But like, you know,

maybe I'll just wake up in the middle of the night and things like that.

It's usually happens because,

I've got time to think about these things, I guess.

Sometimes I'm paralyzed.

So I just wonder if my if if I was doing

something with my hands or something physical.

I just wonder if I'd be as anxious.

So, I mean, the kind of look we have here.

Nowadays, where you front of the computer, you've got all the time in your phone,

and someone's always asking you to get something done.

Maybe like 75% of all of these things actually contribute or Landsman.

So it's it's it's like this.

I do think so I would agree, I think nowadays with what's bombarded

by a lot of very trivial things and trivial

concerns to a point where

we all

focusing too much energy into things that don't necessarily

match on or conducive or both of us would, as you said, you know, when you're busy,

you don't really have time to be pondering, you know?

I don't the nights and about certain things most okay,

what's the task and what has been accomplished today?

You've got your plan, and then you're busy doing that.

But in this age with, you know, social media,

well,

many of the things that we see on TV, especially with more generation, younger

generation telling us how to do this, get this quickly.

Chase this car, chase this job,

you know, for guys, maybe chase that woman or try and get this.

There's so much of being constantly inundated with, I think,

as you said, it does paralyze us.

So I honestly think the change is more so.

We've been bombarded by a lot of things that are rather trivial.

And so instead of actually occupying ourselves or doing things

or conducive and, you know, not being idle, so to speak, we've

we've become kind of burdened with all these things

that in the world that we're being told that we should be attaining.

That's how I see it.

Yeah.

I mean, I agree.

I'm just wondering, actually, as part of the topic

we're talking about as well, how did Jesus himself, handle pressure?

Because if you think about it as a human,

as a human being, very famous human beings raising from the dead,

he's turned water into wine and stuff like that.

Being so famous for people pushing all the time,

human, human, you know, Satan and all that kind of stuff.

As a man, that would have been quite,

stressful, I think, for him.

So I'm just having the,

some things that Jesus did.

Thing one, I think he always tends to

withdraw to a quiet place to pray

for guidance and pressure.

One of the, pressure? Yeah. Those ones,

I guess.

Yeah.

So I also think there's this thing about trusting in God's plan.

Because if you think about it,

some of the things that maybe make us anxious is usually

when we haven't got a plan,

we haven't actually mapped out, what's the day going to look like?

What am I going to get done?

And so on, so forth.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Praise as well, I think kind of listens to

those on radio.

The other day there was a program on radio four where they were talking about

how music is actually quite the same thing that, although in different cultures,

whatever people call the healing process was chanting

and dancing and moving around and stuff like that.

But you can imagine what it must be like if you just when you go to church and you,

feeling a certain way, you really get to praise.

It does help to lift the spirits.

It does, it does, it does.

Like one of my one of my favorite, praise songs is,

no weapon formed against me, but these are also.

That's a lovely, lovely song.

And it's true.

Praise and worship.

It really does lift the spirits.

I mean, it's meant to, you know, encourage and, you know, lift up each other,

you know, and come together to, to worship and to honor God.

It definitely does, refocus us

in terms of what I really should be or I'm not so concerned

or any sort of importance because, as you said, you know, when we

when we don't was so focused on not having a plan,

you know, in front of us to do we do concentrate

anxiety and become stressed because of that.

But as you said, it's about, trying to, you know, follow God's plan, trying

to hearken into what he wants for us and and letting him actually take control.

And it's very hard to do as human beings because we love to be in control,

because that gives us security.

So the hundred percent, you know, you're right.

That's what I was even thinking that like I say, trusting in the plan

and also having

having that work,

to keep you occupied because as Jesus said so many times in, these verses

when he was questioned about, you know, are you doing his weight in that?

I'm about my father's work.

So he's there's a plan to, you know, plan to do so.

It isn't to worry about that.

So he just has to do the work the Lord has given us.

So I think that was, that does help.

I'm just, I'm also thinking as well about,

you know, the practical things that we can do.

So I was told about praying when I choose, and,

I think journaling as well might be another good one.

I don't know if that's something you've ever tried doing.

It's actually funny enough, is something I started doing.

But last year, like on summer time, I'm going to consistent with that,

trying to get back into it.

But when I was journaling,

it was definitely help because I was thinking about me to journal.

And when I start to do it and I'm actually,

I have, you know, to pay for, you know, my thoughts, my my concerns.

You know, what God has done for me, what I'm studying for us.

You always have a reference point for what

God brought you through and what God can bring you through.

I think it's so important.

Always remember that, like, you know, it talks about in the Scripture

in Old Testament about there's one that's always been taught to remember,

to write things down.

I remember, you know, of the ancestors and what he.

Yeah.

So, sister,

it's really important to have that reference point

because you could easily get swamped by that.

Now, in terms of what's happening in the flesh,

you might forget what God's actually was. So

I think journaling is definitely

a great way to alleviate stress

and anxiety and, just to actually have your thoughts

on paper, it's easier for yourself anyway when you actually written something down.

That's good and actually kind of links.

That actually leads on to a kind of ideas.

Gratitude is

the power of gratitude can actually shift perspectives.

So if you're anxious about something and you're thinking about something

you haven't done or haven't got or, so you can't achieve,

but then maybe, like I say, through journaling,

you kind of shift the perspective to, what I've been able to achieve.

Look what I've got, you know, that can also reduce anxiety.

So that's I don't know, speaking as a 50 something year old,

is it

do you see the as a, as part of the younger generation?

You have a lot more to worry about that there's lots not just the immediate

things around you, but also all the stuff that you get constantly fed

on the news from climate change to the in office and stuff like that.

That's a good question, uncle.

Honestly, how I see it truly is, you know, this isn't

nothing new under the sun.

So ultimately, the general struggles

we face as human beings in the flesh isn't actually hasn't actually changed.

One thing has happened is there's just a lot more present

that we're being told to concern ourselves with and to worry about.

And because of technology, our false information

transfers, is really across the world.

Things arrive, things we trusted far sooner than they would have

maybe 50 years ago, a hundred years ago.

But the overall concern necessarily different.

I just think that we're being inundated by so much.

And so maybe the problems aren't

necessarily different, but more so

our approach to actually dealing with them is, for instance, if

all I

see is if you knew your, you know, your enemy,

but you're facing some sort of enemy and you know, okay,

you're not to reside in the area and and it will come over,

they'll breach you and like, you know, ten days, then at least you're aware of.

Okay, I know the enemies, you know, attribute.

So I know what strategies are I prepare, you know, for ten days.

But in this generation,

because of what's around us, things a lot more present enemies.

Let's see what things about more present.

So I see is the way in which we deal with things to be a lot more,

which take a lot of action

much sooner in terms of, you know, combating what we, we hear, what

we're dealing with as opposed to,

you know, 50 years ago, hundred years ago.

So that's how I see it.

Essentially what I'm saying is what other humbling is, the enemy

and the challenges are the same, but how we approach

them is to be a bit more different because of how present

those challenges are.

You know, so true. Yeah.

And like I said, I mean, everything we've we have all these conversations now

past nine episodes, and I think we all talk about how this digital age

kind of accelerates everything, just, amplifies things.

And you're right now, I think because, of algorithms and everything,

we are told what we should consider as important.

So I guess the question is probably important.

Like, I know you always pray for this group discernment.

I think it's really important to

continue to have that kind of prayer, because then you can see

what is and what isn't important.

I want to see the end of Renewal testaments.

And I've been going through the prophets

and I've mixed up all the different verses of them myself.

Oh, I should really make a note of that, because there are some there where

it talks about,

I, you know, it was and John was saying,

I talks about God blinding people to the truth

because of the reluctance to kind of you said they will, not because of that,

they will not, see the truth, but impressively slaps them in the face.

So when you look at, things around that, people are saying,

this is important, you must you must, pay attention to this.

I'm thinking of,

but the first thing to cross my mind

at the moment is Elon Musk, to be honest, because

he doesn't want to metrics everything he tweets as newsworthy.

I mean, to control not everything in tweets as newsworthy.

There are people,

dying in other parts of the world.

There's big companies, listen, people,

there's logging still going on the Amazon basin and all sorts of things.

But we are, we're not at the summit.

We are slaves to the screen space of one person's Twitter account.

This is something I think we need to

really just pray for that, to serve and to know what's really important

or to preserve what you were saying.

I remember this one quite heard recently, actually, a couple of years ago,

I was like, you know, the elixir of this century would be the ones that,

I'm able to read or write, but

people, they'll be unable to, you know, learn and unlearn certain things.

And to recognize, you know, the agenda of what's being pushed towards them.

I remember, you know, talk to us long time ago about how,

you know, when it comes to the news, you listen to your work or,

or sources from, you know, what's the agenda behind it

and what the spirit behind it in terms of what they're trying to tell us.

And is it actually edifying?

Is it actually, leading us, you know, towards God and is actually true?

And as you talked about and as we talked about,

you know, today, right now, I think that this understanding

is, is so important because, you know, and it says those things like,

you know, crowd in line and we have to be constantly vigilant.

And now more than ever, really, just really in the woods

and really shine as to what God wants for us.

Because, yeah, it's not about being fearful,

but it's really about being vigilant and not being honest about

what what we're facing.

And when we have an enemy that is trying to deceive us

because this is in the super world, we we know that,

we're dealing with an entity that is seeking to make things that they're not.

And this is a mess with our generation.

The younger people, you know, we don't we don't know much.

I mean, we just got here and I know more younger.

We think we know everything, but we don't.

And I know Satan.

I see the arrogance of, okay,

you know, I've been in for like 21 or 25 years.

You know, you're right. You know, you do it.

And we, we, we see this thing of, you know, the youth not really

respecting the, the seniors and the adults in terms of the wisdom expression.

They actually, you know, they have and I think

that is another aspect of when we're talking about,

you know, discernment that factors in we have to be, as younger people,

a little more receptive to what's, seniors

are telling us, just in a sense of

they've passed or they passed or youth, there's insights

into how we navigate things

that will help us, especially since, as we talked about, nothing is new under

the sun,

issues and and the battles we face.

I would change most of the context in which they occur.

So, yeah, as we just talked about,

praying for that wisdom, praying for the summit and,

leaning on that understanding, I that's really, really important.

It's very odd sometimes not do that

when you're, you're not focused on

what God's plan is for you or when you think you know it all,

especially as younger people tend to move some for a lot.

Yeah.

I think the virtue referred to,

I think that you mentioned earlier on the things for Philippians four eight.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever

things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure,

whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report,

if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things.

And that's a really good recipe for good mental health skills. Yes,

yes, things are going, things are rough I think earlier this week.

But the message say,

it's like it's really depressing trying to find something, actually.

Yeah.

Pleasant to,

listen to.

Anything you're getting is to soak in news about, Well, you mentioned about you.

I don't give in too much. Really?

What's going on in America?

And, you know, in the Middle East, but,

yeah, if we take that scripture, I think that's really which.

That's right.

So in itself, it's a

is a good way of stability.

You got your mental health.

I think myself as a Christian is,

faith does complement doesn't replace mental health resources completely.

I mean, exercise is great.

Breathing techniques that you might bring.

Yes, meditation as well, because if you do that to

mostly call it,

smell the roses candle for you.

So there's some real silver,

breathing through your

nose and through your mouth slowly say a prayer.

Yeah, that can calm the mind, that can focus on the physical activity

of right there and take your mind off whatever it is.

It's,

it's kind of kindling.

And I think there's also this kind of stigma around mental health.

I mean, I've got so Baptist Church now, but

I'm just one of those prosperity churches

where, especially, back home where

something's going on in the process.

Like it as well.

Well, thank you so much with the Monty Python sketch with the guys on this, it's.

Oh, it's only a flesh wound.

It's just it's let you know, because.

What, you're not allowed to have a breakdown.

Not allowed to be stressed because you're a Christian.

And I just feel stressed.

You're, what's the word for it?

You know, kind of faith.

So now let's just it's over the, the across the generations.

Or is it just because it's something I noticed when people are supposed to be

successful and so far in church, they're not with it going through stuff.

And, and faith is a strong enough brother.

Yeah, that's an interesting, point.

And honestly, I, I just mean, do you see the innocence of what

it's almost like what's what's, you know,

we're not meant to feel vulnerable is very, very.

I don't think they're quite what maybe it wasn't necessarily

the most accurate word, but as normal to feel vulnerable and

understand that, you know, we we're not always going to be strong,

you know, and, human beings in the flesh won't always be strong all the time.

And that's why, you know, we have, you know,

well, when we must also when we're not strong enough.

God is strong for us and also this moment to be.

Well, welcome to our our own strength on, you know, guidance to God

and Jesus Christ as well.

So, yeah, the notion that we have to

we're not going to feign this,

you know, it's everything is well, suck it up.

And if you don't, we feel stress or you feel anxiety that,

you know, you're you're not trusting God is very, very harmful because,

it's not allowing us to confront

what those, those issues are.

And I think when you're not confronting it, to be honest with

anything in your life, because when it strongholds

or, you know, fears, you know, feelings, then you're leaving a foothold

for those to become, you know, strongholds and yeah, I definitely do agree

that that is something that reducing our generation a bit more especially.

And it is kind of an aside, but,

we're being taught to not show feelings

or to not commit to things or to not tell someone you love them or,

you know, just just to be human and yeah, I know I'm rambling a bit.

My thought was good on that a bit, but I do agree with you

that it's definitely something that I'm seeing as an issue.

Amongst our generation.

So what would you be your kind of advice about?

Turn that around.

If people from that kind of have you already of, yeah.

Everyone wants to belong.

Everyone wants to run with the herd.

But some people say they don't want to run, but they want to be.

I want to be unique, end up running with the unique herd.

But how do you get people to change

that kind of way of looking at things?

Good question.

How do we get them to change their perspective?

Well, I think ultimately

I think it starts by recognizing,

first and foremost, you're an individual.

And that's not to say that, you know,

we shouldn't we shouldn't, we should say community

or gathering or whatnot, but I think it's good to understand that,

you know, your your feelings or your own thoughts or your own,

and you really have to, think about,

what what what are you

what are you doing or or what thoughts or things you listening to

that are actually edifying to you?

And I'm going to,

should equipping you to to move forward,

you know, with confidence and and in peace.

I think when it comes to you being a believer, first and foremost,

I mean, all religious or, you know, God, entities.

So I think as a believer, at least, it's

taken more time to be introspective and,

you know, praying, meditating on,

what,

what your thoughts are, what you listening to.

And then from there moving forward.

Because I think once you have a solid base in that, then

you just like to be swept away by,

you know, group think or thoughts and you just like,

please feel pressured in terms of conform to some way of thinking

because everyone is thinking or oh, you're less than or you're not.

You're not here if you're not with this crowd or that crowd.

So I think, the core comes from having

that religious record and just start by being selective about

what?

What are you listening to? What's feeding you?

And are you are you believing it or thinking it because they're doing so?

Or there's something that you actually,

want to cosign or, you know, and it's

not actually answering the question, but that's the way I perceived it.

I think that's what it does.

Stop by a discussion. Introspection.

Yeah. It's more of a discussion in the interview room.

I was just thinking as well, what you said about,

you know, being introspective

and taking that time out,

usually listen to, sort of the day of the month of the day or something.

I saw the radio for radio two,

depending on whether or not you're Christopher or not.

So morning to the radio two one on seven, 15 on radio two. And,

I think this was.

This was, something to do with noise.

The noise, the.

Because that's what we're hearing, though, even about fires or, you know, fights

and wars and elections and all that kind of stuff.

And the it was actually I was talking about,

where is it?

I think it's in King's first King's 1911 to 12.

I, as the Lord said, go out and stand on the mountain

in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.

And if he goes through these, you know, powerful wind,

you know, the storm surges within 12 miles apart, just the rocks.

But the Lord wasn't in the wind of the windows.

An earthquake on the wall was like, just quick, quick earthquake fire.

Then after the fire came a gentle whisper,

and it was in the still small voice.

That's where it was found.

So all the noises around us. God's made it

so, because it was around us,

we should be focusing on the small, still small voice.

But that's what I called it. That's what it called risks.

And if we do that, then,

cuts down on sizing.

And if Jesus did that and we get so overwhelmed.

This is a quiet place as he knows what God is. Yes.

You go inside the walls and talk to people and save them from themselves.

But you know, so God is the still small, still quiet voice.

So he goes into the wilderness and he prays and he trusts in God.

He leaves everything to God.

And then finally he praises God.

So about that as well.

And, you know, he just rests in the moment.

And I think to be able to do that is

feels like a comfortable place to be.

I think those as well, like you mentioned earlier on about the Israelites

or these guys are putting themselves and what God did for them in Egypt, those

kind of testimonies and personal stories, they can always encourage people.

Whenever you hear stories about how God helps someone to just see that real,

I'm not sure.

I don't do six openings on Instagram.

I know that guy in Los Angeles where everybody's house around him,

but to the ground,

and this was the only house still standing

room.

Yeah, I will send you the link when I find it.

Every house around him,

that timber that he has.

And he was getting ready, he was even to the decking outside

that nothing touched it.

Wow. It was like yeah that was there was a bit of smoldering

one part of his garage, but he did the whole, the whole street.

I wasn't like there weren't trees around in the trees around his building.

So when you see that kind of thing out coming out, some mold of that,

that's what he said. This is what I think.

I'll see it posted on,

then WhatsApp on Facebook or Instagram as well, so as you can.

So there's no God.

That's what it was just saying.

It was like almost two years.

Yeah.

Those kind of stories, they kind of listing, they kind of give you that

help you get through tough times.

And they've been quite a few people

have come out to actually been talking about sharing

stories and those kind of stories to encourage.

So people have lost everything or lost their homes and like, well,

I'm still a life that for me speaks of gratitude.

So maybe this ought to be the lens.

There as well as

you can be for sure.

And I do think, yeah, testimonies like that definitely.

Do, you know, encourage us and can encourage us and

as you said, you know, the gratitude perspective

and the mindset is I think it's so important

because it allows us to contextualize what what we're seeing and ultimately,

despite, you know, the claims that come before us in this life,

you know, that is life as much as as good as life as we see there is suffering.

But I do think that having that, gratitude, you know, posture,

you know, spirit allows us to, you know, actually see more and more

how much God does for us.

And the fact that we have a lot more to be done for them to do, to complain about,

even though that doesn't always appear as so.

But when we think about,

you know, how much you know God does for us on a daily for the years,

you know, the decades, we do really see that, you know,

we actually,

You know, in, in prosperity.

So, you know, despite, the things that do before us so

hundred percent, I do think that having that growth,

you might say, well, alleviate stress and anxiety.

And actually, most of in a funny way, but is the truth

a more realistic perspective for wildlife actually is.

Yeah.

So yeah, absolutely.

Well, it's been a good half hour.

So in called distortion, it's a shame we couldn't

get the other zone around today, but I it's a business of my,

But anyway we're going to our next episode.

We'll, we'll then start talking a bit more about, social media.

So that'll be another good one to talk about.

And I think not just because

whenever you say social media, people think of the evils of social media, but

everything can be turned out,

for us, those who love him, that's when I see him.

So that's, you know,

let's catch up next week.

Or so then.

Till then.