A Conversation About… Dealing with Anxiety

With Dr Sarah, an Australian GP

In the first episode of Season 2, we spoke to Sarah, a GP here in Australia, who helped us learn what anxiety is from a medical perspective. What some may not realise, is that anxiety is a normal response in our bodies to a threat or fear, but how can we deal with it when that anxiety isn’t going away, or is based around a longer-term stressor? 

“Sarah shared with us four things we can all be doing - eating well, sleeping well, exercising regularly, and connecting with others. We’ve probably all heard about these things before, but Sarah has gone into more detail as to why we should do these things.”

The overall reason these four things are suggested so often, is that they allow our bodies to reduce the adrenaline and cortisol levels in our body that anxiety releases. Reducing these means that we can feel better and think through problems more clearly. It can also help us be more able to connect with others, and especially, to help others. Empathy is impaired when we’re under threat or feeling anxious. This denies us the ability to connect with others and so affects our capacity to love and serve them, as we’ve been called to do.

So, what are they?

Eating Well

Sarah shared that eating small amounts of food regularly throughout the day gives us enough nutrition to be able to concentrate, for our heart rate to be regulated, and for us to be ready to sleep. Often when we’re anxious, the cortisol levels in our body are high, which leads to our gut not receiving as much blood flow as normal - meaning we don’t feel hungry. However, our bodies still need the energy and food input to be able to function, even more so when we’re trying to deal with the anxiety. 

When speaking about their anxiety, Sarah says so many of her patients admit to not eating breakfast - and, as a GP, this is often one of the first pieces of homework she assigns them. Why? Because eating a small amount of carbohydrates, with a small amount of protein, washed down with water, gives our bodies the fuel to get kickstarted in the morning. It gives our cardiovascular system the fuel it needs to power our concentration, memory, ability to work through problems - all things that are beneficial when trying to work through an anxious situation. And we need to keep eating small amounts throughout the day to make sure our body doesn’t run out of fuel.

Sleeping Well

We often underestimate the importance of sleep in our normal lives. It only takes a period where we don’t get enough sleep to highlight that clearly. Yes, there are going to be times out of our control where we can’t get enough sleep, but forming a general pattern of healthy sleep is really important. There is an immediate catch 22 though: telling someone who is already having trouble sleeping due to anxiety that they need to get enough sleep, is likely to make them more anxious. 

“Sarah suggests that even if we can’t get to sleep, lying in bed still and relaxed, is the next best thing - it at least improves our opportunity for rest and sleep. She also says that we don’t need to feel guilty about not sleeping, but instead, focus on the fact that we are still resting. ”

So how do we make the best of that opportunity to actually fall asleep? Low lighting, no alcohol, no screens 30 mins before bed, and a consistent bed time and wake up time are some of the best things we can do to give ourselves the best chance of getting better sleep.

Exercise

When our bodies are presented with a situation that creates anxiety, they’re flooded with adrenaline. Sarah shared that the reason exercise is so important is that adrenaline is only processed in one of two ways: it either takes up to 8 hours to circulate throughout the body until it is broken down and reabsorbed, or it is burnt by using the big muscles in our bodies through exercise. These big muscles are engaged when we’re doing exercise like running, jogging, swimming, lifting weights - anything that uses our arms and legs for half an hour.

Additionally, if we exercise for half an hour every day, after two weeks we will be able to feel that we are less nervous and less jittery. If that can be stretched to an hour of exercise every day - which is a lot, we know - after a month of daily exercise, the affect it has on us can be likened to being on an antidepressant for treating anxiety.

Connecting with Others

As people made in the image of God, we’re designed to be in community with others. We see this message time and time again throughout the Bible, from Ecclesiastes telling us that two are better than one for the ability to help each other (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12), to the examples of the early church in Acts and the letters to churches in the New Testament, where meeting together, sharing meals, and encouraging each other are continually affirmed and mentioned (Acts 2:44-47, Romans 1:11-12, Hebrews 10:24-25).

“We also know that loneliness is a contributing factor to anxiety; facing something alone is often harder than facing it with someone alongside you.”

So we need to be conscious and intentional about continuing to connect with others - friends, family, small groups, church communities - as part of learning to deal with and minimize anxiety.

These things aren’t going to cure us of anxiety, neither are they going to ensure that we live an anxiousless life. But when we do face situations, relationships, or challenges that induce anxiety in us, having these four principles as foundational to our life will enable us to respond with that anxiety better.