Gregory L. Ph.D. Jantz - Overcoming Anxiety, Worry, and Fear: Practical Ways to Find Peace

Introduction

One More Thing to Worry About

Do you ever find yourself fearful without really knowing why?

Do you worry about a thousand little things during the day?

Do certain situations cause your heart to race and your palms to sweat?

Do you sometimes feel like youre smothering, like you cant get enough air?

Do you all of a sudden feel light-headed, disconnected, and on edge?

Do you wake up in the morning tired and irritable?

Do you have trouble going to sleep or staying asleep?

Does the fear sometimes become so overwhelming that youre afraid youre going to die?

Do you avoid certain people, places, and situations because of how fearful they make you feel?

Do you find yourself thinking about all the things that could go wrong?

In an age of the twenty-four-hour news cycle, instant messaging, and Amber Alerts, terrorist attacks, health epidemics, and natural disasters, environmental toxins, economic collapses, and diseases of the month, we have a lot to be worried about. It seems the more we know, the more we worry. It seems the sooner we know, the longer we have to worry. We worry about our world, our community, our family. In this age of unemployment, layoffs, downsizing, and corporate mergers, we worry about our careers, our jobs, and our livelihood. In this permissive society, we worry about our marriages and our relationships. We grow concerned as we age about our looks and our health. With growing obesity, we worry about our weight. On and on it goes. For some of us, we never seem to jettison a current worry before we take on another. The accumulated burden of so much worry begins to take an emotional, relational, physical, and spiritual toll. All this worrying makes us anxious. What will we do? How will we cope? Whats it all going to mean?

Anxiety is defined as a painful or apprehensive uneasiness of the mind, usually over an impending or anticipated ill; a fearful concern or interest; an abnormal or overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear often marked by physiological signs (as sweating, tension, and increased pulse), by doubt concerning the reality and nature of the threat, and by self-doubt about ones capacity to cope with it. Too many of us live out this definition in our lives. The opposite of worry and anxietyassurance, calm, composure, confidence, contentment, ease, happiness, peace, security, tranquilityis foreign. Wed love to go there; we just dont know the way.

If youre like me, sometimes you just arent able to put your fears into perspective or set your concerns aside. Thats normal; some things take longer to work through than others. However, what do you do when these worries and fears build day after day, leading to a state of anxiety? What do you do when every day you feel like youre gearing up for a battle but you dont know when the first blow will strike? As Christians, it doesnt help to read in Scripture that were supposed to be anxious about nothing when it seems were anxious about everything .

Over my years in the counseling business, Ive seen the toll anxiety takes on lives and health. Ive seen anxiety partner with many other mental health, medical, and chemical dependency concerns, complicating recovery. Ive seen fear of the future outweigh the horror of the present, resulting in paralysis and an inability to move forward.

Ive also seen people meet their worries, fear, and anxieties head-on, helping them break through to recovery. Ive seen the amazing courage of those who refused to cower any longer in a corner of their lives and reached out and up to personal victory. Ive seen hope win out over despair, trust win out over fear, faith triumph over adversity. Ive seen people win and gain back their lives.

If you feel like youve been defeated by anxiety and fear, I want you to win and gain back your life. This book will help you look at the reasons behind excessive worry and anxiety in your life, reaching back to the fears at the root. With assurances from Gods Word and practical, everyday alternatives, this book will present valuable insights to help you stop the runaway train of anxiety and panic. Youll learn how to bring order and calm into lifes daily challenges instead of being run over by them. Youll learn practical information on how to unchain yourself from self-doubt, fear, and constant worry. Presented from a whole-person point of view, this book will outline the emotional, relational, physical, and spiritual factors involved with persistent worry, as well as avenues for positive change.

Anxiety and worry tend to cause reality to become unhinged, spiraling farther and farther away from the truth. So at the end of each chapter, youll find an anchoring activity. Each one is designed to help bring you back to earth, to help you become more grounded in truth and reality.

Would you like to experience peace in your lifea peace you could count on?

Would you like to be able to face your fears and come out the winner?

Would you like to understand what all this fear and worry you feel is about?

Would you like to know how to overcome the panic and really enjoy life again?

Would you like to look forward to the future instead of creeping up on it with dread?

You werent created to live a life of worry, with fears and anxieties constantly hedging you in and draining you of happiness, joy, and peace. Its time to step back from the edge and overcome your anxiety, worry, and fear.