Tag: god’s forgiveness

By Pastor Andrew Farland

When I went through my battle with depression, anxiety, and panic attacks, no one told me that there were ways to combat, and sometimes even prevent, attacks from starting.

I would just try to breathe faster and faster, keeping up with the pace of my heart rate, until I found out it’s counterproductive. One day, I decided to research techniques to lower my heart rate, ease my anxiety, and calm my breathing.

I discovered two amazing ways to deal with panic attacks. Today, I want to share these tools with you in the hopes that they help you take steps forward in your journey toward healing.

Progressive Relaxation. This relaxation technique is one that would help me in the middle of a panic attack. Was it a cure? Not exactly, but it gave me the ability to take control of my own mind and body. Here’s how it works. First, make yourself comfortable by wearing loose-fitting clothes and taking off your shoes. Then, begin the exercise by tensing the muscles in your right foot, holding for ten seconds. Move to your left foot, then your legs, your abdomen, arms, neck, and face. Move from your feet to your head, flexing your muscles for ten seconds at a time. You’ll find that the relaxation of your mind is closely related to the relaxation of your muscles.

Box Breathing. I found that this technique was helpful during an attack and was beneficial to do each day. To do box breathing, find a chair in a room where you won’t be interrupted. Put your feet on the floor and begin taking slow, deep breaths through your nose, counting to four seconds. Then, exhale for four seconds through your mouth. As the air enters your lungs, focus your attention on the way your stomach and chest go up and down with every breath. The point of this exercise is to calm down your respiratory system. What’s great about this is you can do it anywhere.
If you’ve never attempted anything like these relaxation techniques, start today. The biggest reason is that it will give you control over your mind and body again. Depression, anxiety, subsequent panic attacks make you feel helpless, but utilizing these tools can give you confidence in the power that God has put inside of you.

Isaiah41:10
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Be encouraged today because God is with you.

By Pastor Andrew Farland

Let’s recap. Panic attacks are the result of an overactive brain sending adrenaline through your body. You are not crazy because you have them. It’s a normal part of the journey that you’re on even though it feels like a ride that will never stop.

I remember, after a week in which I had literally hundreds of panic attacks, sitting down with my counselor defeated and ready to give up. The first issue was that I had never experienced anything like them before. They made me feel completely out of control and their unpredictability made me even more anxious. The other problem was that I didn’t have any tools, any methods, for managing my panic attacks. I would just fearfully go through them and hope that it would stop.

If you’re going through depression right now, you probably know what I’m talking about. Today, you’re going to do a little homework. This exercise is the very one that my counselor gave to me when I sat in his office clueless about what to do next. Grab a pen and paper, or your smartphone, and spend time writing your answers to these questions:

How many panic attacks have you had?
How many of those panic attacks have killed you?
Think of every one of your panic attacks. On a scale of 0 to 10 (0 = ultimate peace and serenity; 10 = running out into the street naked, wielding a ballistic weapon), how often did you make it to a 10? You can call this the “Crazy Scale.”
What does this tell you about how you are naturally able to manage a panic attack?

This exercise is important because I want you to see how awesome you already are. You may feel like you don’t have the power to overcome life’s obstacles, but the reality is that you have been able to navigate your attacks with your own God-given strength! You’ve accomplished a lot without having very many tools to work with. In the next section, we’ll talk about some practical tools you can begin to utilize as you take control of what seems uncontrollable.

Psalm 139:14
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.

Be encouraged today because God is with you.

BY Pastor Andrew Farland

In the Bible, God tells us to cast all of our anxiety on Him, that His yoke is easy and His burden is light, and He reminds us that He works all things out for the good of those who love Him.

These promises are beautiful and trustworthy.

But, the problem is that our minds can become a barrier, a wall that prevents us from experiencing the life of peace that only God can give. What I’m trying to say is that as much as we want to give God all of our worries, it’s not going to happen when we are in the middle of a season of depression and experiencing frequent panic attacks. And listen: that’s okay!

Scientists have known for decades that men and women who are depressed ruminate more on their thoughts and emotions, and dream more at night, than people who aren’t going through depression.

The truth is that panic attacks are a normal part of depression and anxiety. They are the result of your brain telling your body that it’s in danger, that your life is being threatened. It instigates your natural fight-or-flight response sending an incredible amount of adrenaline through your body. And even though you aren’t actually in a life-threatening situation, it sure does feel like it. Doesn’t it? Your heart rate skyrockets, it gets more difficult to breathe, and you feel suddenly out of control.

What I want you to hear today is that panic attacks are normal. They are just shots of adrenaline, sent by an over-reactive brain, that aren’t going to last forever. Your body doesn’t have an endless supply of anything. So, as you work toward navigating panic attacks, the first thing to keep in mind is that your attacks, and this season that you’re in, are going to stop one day.

I didn’t believe it when I was having dozens of panic attacks per day. But, now that I’m on the other side, you can trust me when I say that things will get better.

Isaiah 40:29
“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak”

Be encouraged today because God is with you.

By Pastor Andrew Farland

The President of the United States typically has fifteen cabinet members, people who lead important executive departments of the government. One person is in charge of housing development across the country while another might be tasked with caring for military veterans. The cabinet is intended to be a place where the President can gather information and piece together a picture of reality based on fifteen different perspectives. If the President listened to the leader of the country’s infrastructure more than the head of the energy department, he would come away with a skewed understanding of what’s going on.

Here’s my point. Your emotions are part of a cabinet of voices that paint reality on the canvas of your mind. The problem is, when you’re in a depression, you tend to allow one member of your cabinet to be the loudest and most influential in your decision-making. When I was going through a difficult season of depression, my emotions affected everything I did, believed, and kept me from healing for a long time.

It was when I realized that two other voices deserved the same amount of attention that I began to see a clear picture of who I was and where I needed to go.

Other people. What is true about you based on people’s perspectives? Even though you will filter their words through negativity, try to believe your friends’ encouragement. They are speaking the truth about you and you will need to lean on their words if you’re ever going to get better.
Your past. What is true about you based on past experiences? It is difficult to look back and remember the type of person you were before you got sick. I struggled with the same issue. But, force yourself to remember what interested you, what made you smile, what you were passionate about. You have not changed. The gifts, talents, and heart that God placed in you have not disappeared. Believe this.

Today, begin to put less stock in your emotions. Why? Because they will lie to you and keep you from healing. Just like the President, gather information from different places so that you can begin to clean up the metaphorical bacteria that has been growing in your mind that keeps you from believing how amazing you really are.

1 John 3:20
“God is greater than our feelings and he knows everything.”

Be encouraged today because God is with you.