Hello Believers!
I hope this message finds you doing well in mind, body, and spirit today.

After spending a few amazing days at the Cove in Asheville, I was encouraged in many ways by the Spirit, the teachers, and my fellow retreat attendees.

Without question, I encourage you to attend a Cove event if you want to receive a wealth of spiritual refreshment and renewal!

One of the subjects that came up at the retreat was on anxiety and how to manage our own anxiety to better serve Christ.

A great resource that was recommended is: Managing Leadership Anxiety by Steve Cuss (I’m reading this now with anticipation of what I will learn managing my own anxiety.)

Since I spend a lot of time talking about improving our physical bodies, the subject for today is on mental health and how that plays into your weight loss journey.

Certainly, the Bible is very clear on what to do concerning this subject: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

So, where are we missing the boat? We have this clear direction. We believe it. We pray earnestly and expectantly about managing our anxiety. We may even journal about our anxiety.

But are these things changing the constant, negative mental chatter you experience? These thoughts might be negative things you say about yourself or someone else says about you, catastrophic thoughts of our world and what’s happening in it, etc.

Are these things changing your negative behaviors in attempts to manage the anxiety? These behaviors might be restrictive or binge eating, not sleeping enough, not leaving your home for extended periods of time, exercising excessively, or using a substance to manage any of these resulting behaviors to get through your day. (This is not an exhaustive list of all behaviors you might experience.)

How about the physical effects you are experiencing from the anxiety? This might be found in conditions like IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), difficulty breathing if you suffer from panic attacks,

difficulty focusing your attention on work or on others in conversation, or many other manifestations of uncontrolled anxiety.

Please know that I’m not a mental health professional, nor is health coaching any substitute for medical or mental health treatment, substance abuse treatment, legal, financial, or spiritual counseling.

My role as a health coach is to assist you in moving toward improving your health either free from chronic disease or ameliorating it’s effects, so you get to do more of what you love to do one small behavior change at a time.

The reason I know much about the subject of anxiety is because 1- I have seen it in many of my clients, and 2- I have struggled with anxiety in the past, and even though I don’t sense the anxiety as a struggle today, I know that the struggle is REAL and only managed one day at a time.

Anxiety is pervasive in our society of pandemics, racial tension, natural disaster, and traumatic life events.

From my days as an insurance agent, I found that it was common for working parents I insured to be taking anti-anxiety medication.

Yes, anxiety is more common than you think!

If you battle chronic pain, diabetes, obesity, or other chronic condition, anxiety may be a problem for you.

Similarly, if you were to turn on the news for 5 minutes and hear the horrific details of our world (which is often worse than any Rated PG-13 or worse rated movie you’ve ever seen), or watch much tv or movies full of “perfect” people that is natural for us to want to emulate, you may understand much more about anxiety.

My point is, there is a place for mental health treatment that may include mental health counseling and/or medication to get back on track with the life you want to live while effectively managing your anxiety.

AND THERE’S NO SHAME IN COUNSELING OR TAKING MEDICATION FOR A MENTAL HEALTH DIAGNOSIS (anxiety being one of them) – PERIOD.

While going through a divorce several years ago and in the wake of a job loss (more than 1), I had to talk with a mental health counselor to manage my anxiety and get back on track.

How did I know I needed to talk with a mental health counselor despite having a consistent prayer life?

Many of the negative behaviors, constant mental chatter, and physical effects of anxiety I mentioned earlier were present in my own life with one glaring result of my resistance to seek counseling- I was 45 pounds heavier than I am now.

And I witnessed how much of the life I wanted to live IN FREEDOM from anxiety’s grip that seemed to be passing me by.

I simply grew tired of being controlled by anxiety and in my case- food and exercise was how anxiety showed up.

Let’s reflect on Psalm 34:5 for a moment: “Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.” Psalm 34:5

Not only is seeking the help of a mental health professional to manage your anxiety not shameful, MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT IS NO REFLECTION OF YOUR FAITH OR YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST.

We know as Believers in Christ, we can never be separated from Him or his love (whether we sense his love or not). “When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” Genesis 28:16

So, if you sense that anxiety has you in its grip about your weight or any other part of your life, I encourage you to seek the help of a mental health professional.

There are Christian mental health professionals available if you feel that might be helpful.

Personally, I’ve used both types of professionals and had tremendous results within the presence of consistent, expectant prayer to our heavenly Father.

If you notice that anxiety about your weight is a struggle for you and you want to hear from others who either experience this struggle currently or have experienced it in the past, feel free to check out my next weight loss group coaching program where you will learn how to:

• Break out of the traditional diet and exercise mentality of weight loss.
• Cultivate continual motivation for your weight loss goal.
• Have greater confidence in your ability to succeed.
• End food and exercise obsession and body criticism by placing your focus on Christ.