Anxiety, Panic Attacks & Suffering Well

I recently heard a quote by Carl Jung saying that neurosis is caused by the avoidance of legitimate suffering and he is right.  For those who don’t know neurosis is a mental disorder that appears from stress. It can come out as depression, anxiety, o.c.d. or hypochondria because for some reason one’s ability to cope with stress is damaged.  As I personally have dealt with anxiety/panic disorder for most of my life, and for many years have been debilitated by it, this got me thinking.  I don’t suffer well and I’ll bet neither does most of my culture, which may be clear in the rise of neurosis cases.

At the core of our consumer mentality are a people who prescribe for themselves “happiness” as a distraction from the things we cannot control.  This is not meant to tear down genuine happiness, but when we ignore everything else for the sake of self-fulfilled pleasure it creates more problems.  Look at what thrives; lots of distractions in the form of entertainment, social media, food, drugs (both pharmaceutical and recreational) and listening to health & wealth televangelists and/or positive thinking gurus. Then we hold this as the high-ideal for happiness, but it’s all shallow and vapid at best.

As a side note, I believe it has also crossed over into how we comfort one another when somebody is genuinely hurting from depression, grief, relational issues and so forth.  We go right for the comfort/hope without addressing the damage. Distractive words of cheer and happiness are offered far quicker than helpful notes of truth, solidarity and a willingness to allow them to go, and ourselves to go with them, into the pain and tears.  We need to be allowed to feel the pain and the loss before we can adequately accept it and transform it into something healthier.  So, despite common belief it is okay to say it is not okay.  That is not a lack of faith.  

  

            As for anxiety and panic attacks, the reality is (like grief, conflict, and most discomforts out of our control) avoidance and quick-fixes only make it worse and stop us from moving forward.  When we can begin to enter into the situations that trigger such panic-ridden thoughts and feelings (and may I recommend small steps, don’t set-up for failure) we can finally begin to face it and suffer well. We let those thoughts and feelings come and pass, and they do pass.  More to the amazement is when they diminish and not because you have found a new distraction, but because you stopped avoiding the component of fear and created a new pattern where the scary “what if” thoughts no longer hold the power. 

With this said, over the years I have heard a lot of fellow Christians dwell on the fear aspect of it and say that fear is not from God so it is the Devil tormenting you and by your faith God will deliver you from this.  Let me say I do believe that fear is not from God and I do believe that God is the best person to be a part of your overcoming process and I believe this is not the way things are supposed to be. But, blaming the Devil alone only detracts from the fact that it is we (in the moment when our brain triggers a false “fight or flight” feeling from stress) take the bait and run from it. In neurosis our part in it is evident and what is worse is no real threat is at hand.

However, as you work through this in a healthy manner of accepting the feelings, lack of control and continuing forward, I cannot help but think you will also develop the God-given tools to face legitimate suffering and even one’s own finiteness.  The good news is God also has no intention of our staying in such a place either but only asks that we be willing to confront its existence by accepting the anguish because from that place he can bring a new beginning (Lk. 1:78-79).  So in retrospect God will deliver us, but it will not be from it so much as through it.