beat it - anxiety and panic attacks

I don't know why I've never written about this before.  It's a subject I happen to know a great deal about.  And it's extremely important.  Millions of people ~ far more than most people realize, suffer from anxiety and panic attacks.  But most of them, I believe, suffer alone: either because they don't want others to think there's something "wrong" with them; or, because they think they won't be understood; or, because they think it may just be a 'normal' part of life ~ like, "Everybody deals with this, right?"

Before going any further, I want you to understand how I came to know so much about this subject.  For, talk is cheap.  But I want to tell you that I have the answer.  No, I don't have anything to sell; and I don't want you to join my club.  I just want to help you ~ and I know I can do that ~ if you may be willing.

First of all, I've "been there and done that", so to speak: I mean, I've had intimate, first-hand experience with anxiety and panic attacks.  Here's my story ~

When I was 23 years old, I was working alone one day, installing some equipment in the ceiling of a commercial building.  I was about 20 feet up on an extension ladder, working and minding my own business.  (I was not then, nor am I now, afraid of heights.)  When, all of a sudden without any warning, a great fear gripped me!  Without even thinking about what I was doing, I wrapped both of my arms around that ladder and held on for dear life!  I glanced down at the concrete floor beneath me and ~ for just one moment, I thought I could almost see that floor open up and the flames of hell reach up to receive me!

"What?!  What is this? what's happening?"  I was frozen with fear.  No one was in the building at that time, to help me.  I tried to come down from the ladder, but my knees felt like jelly.  Finally ~ after what seemed like a long time, I was able to get on the ground.  My legs felt like lead.  I was somewhat dizzy and felt very faint.  I made it to a bench and sat down, hoping that whatever was going on would just go away in a few minutes.

But it didn't go away.  Not for a long time . . . .

As best I can recall (it happened some time ago), it was an hour or so before I felt strong enough to pack up my stuff and go home.  Later that night, the fear came back, again.  I don't want to go into a lot of detail, except, to briefly tell you what my life was like for the next several months afterward.  I couldn't shake the fear ~ nor the multiple symptoms associated with that.  It would come and go, somewhat, but it never left me in peace.  I couldn't sleep at night.  I soon lost my appetite.  I wanted to talk to somebody about what was happening to me.  In fact, I did try to talk to a few people ~ but they all seemed to more or less "blow me off".  They told me it was my "imagination", or that it was "nothing", that it would resolve itself.

After just a few weeks, I was so tormented that I didn't want to live ~ but I was terrified to die.  I was so miserable, feeling like I was caught in between life and death....  And nobody seemed to understand.  I felt like I was in a constant fog, or a dream ~ more like a nightmare from which I couldn't wake up.

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Maybe, what you have experienced is nothing at all so bad as that.  But I doubt that your experience could be much worse than mine was.  Before I tell you how I was freed from those attacks (and I've never suffered from that, again), I want to tell you more about certain other experiences I've had, which, all together, have made me something of an 'expert' on this subject.

A number of years later, I got married.  We weren't married very long when my wife began to suffer a number of strange (and sometimes painful) symptoms.  At first, I didn't make any connection between her symptoms and what I had experienced years earlier.  (Anxiety and panic attacks affect people differently; and, people deal with it differently.)  She didn't have a clue what was going on.  Over a period of at least a year or so, she went to at least a half-dozen different doctors ~ but none of them could give her any solid answers.  Her symptoms seemed to change, over time.  But I began to notice one thing that remained the same: she appeared to be dealing with a lot of anxiety....

As soon as I put "two and two" together, I was able to respond much differently to my wife's need.  Although I had been loving and sympathetic to her, nevertheless, when I discerned that the real problem ~ underlying all of her strange symptoms ~ was anxiety and panic attacks, I began to talk to her, and to deal with her, especially, in those times of her "attacks", in the way I am about to counsel you, in the next few paragraphs.  And, yes, she was set free ~ moreover, she has never suffered anxiety and panic attacks, again.

Still, I want to give you a little more information concerning how I know what I know about that awful affliction.

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Not long after my wife's experience which I just described, I graduated with highest honors from what was then one of America's leading (4-year) schools for Physician Assistants.  I'm only telling you that, in order that you may believe that I do understand the medical implications of what I'm discussing.

Medical science most often attributes anxiety disorder and panic attacks to chemical imbalances in the brain (after ruling out other kinds of causative factors, such as stressful circumstances, etc.).  Although I do not doubt that chemical imbalance may sometimes occur, yet, I am persuaded that chemical imbalance is a result, and not the cause, of anxiety/panic syndromes.  At any rate, drug therapy for anxiety/panic disorder is not curative (healing), but it is only meliorative (gives a measure of relief).  And practically all drugs have significant side-effects and/or long-term effects ~ some of which can be worse than the thing which they are intended to treat; so-called "mood-altering" drugs, and anxiolytics included.

Now, to the very heart of the matter.

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In order for you to be set free from anxiety and panic attacks, your need must be addressed ~ on the highest level.  Anxiety and panic attacks have practically nothing to do with your body, per se.  Yes, bodily symptoms are very real; I do not mean to suggest that "it's all in your mind".  But you, as a human being, are something much more than a mass of cells and tissues and organs: you are a living, thinking, feeling, soul (a "soul" is an "embodied spirit").  You are a living spirit-being ~ inhabiting (temporarily) a physical body.

Here's a very simple "proof" of that:  Imagine, if you will, hitting your thumb as hard as you can with a hammer.  OWWWCH!!!  Now, imagine that the shock of that was so bad that you had a massive heart attack and died instantly.  Sixty seconds goes by . . . .  Now, someone else picks up that same hammer and hits your other thumb as hard as he can.  Will your now-dead body react as it did just a minute or two ago, when you hit your own thumb with the hammer?  Of course, not.  But why not?  You've only been dead for about one minute; thus, most of the cells in your body are still alive ~ even though they are no longer being re-oxygenated.  Same body; same hammer-blow ~ and very nearly at the same time.  Yet, the reaction of your body would be altogether different: because, death is what happens when one's spirit is dissociated (separated) from his or her body.

You are a living spirit, inhabiting (integrated with) a physical body.

Your spirit is that "part" of you in which anxiety and panic attacks occur.  And that's precisely what they are: "attacks".  You are a spiritual being.  And when you suffer anxiety and panic attacks, it is because you are literally under "attack" by 'other kinds' of spirit-beings.

If that sounds too hokey or far-out for you to believe, then, you can always go to the doctors and let them do what they can for you.  But you might at least want to talk to other people who have tried that approach in hope of being healed.  What you will discover is that medical science ~ which knows nothing about the spiritual nature of man ~ is still in the dark concerning effectual treatment and deliverance from anxiety/panic disorder.

If you're still reading, there is real hope for you (but you will have some choices to make).  

What "other kinds" of spirit-beings am I referring to?  Demons.  Yes, demons are real ~ as real as you and me.  Except, they don't have physical bodies (though they once did).  I do not profess to know how it is that demons are capable to influence our spirit.  But I do know it the case; for, it is plainly taught in Scripture.  That's right, the Bible has much to say about demons, as well as angels, and, believe it or not, it has a very great deal to say about the nature of human beings ~ that is, you.

Demons are hell-bent (no pun intended) to torment (indeed, to destroy, if possible) every human being.  I don't have the time or the space, here, to get into a deep theological discourse about these tremendously important and complex subjects.  How do I know about these things?  Let me just say that I have been a serious student of the Bible for longer than most of you have been alive.  Beyond that, you'll just have to trust me, I suppose.  So, I'll get right to the point. 

The very root of anxiety/panic attacks is the fear of death.  Satan and his demon hordes employ fear as one of their primary weapons of war, against human beings.  Importantly, they have certain real advantages in that war ~ not the least of which, advantages, is the gross ignorance (lack of knowledge) which prevents most people even from acknowledging the reality of demon spirits; much less do many people know how to turn the tide of war against those wicked spirits.

God created man to want to live; so, God "hardwired" every human being with a healthy measure of fear ~ but only to serve as a protective shield, as it were, against foolhardy conduct (for example, walking in front of a moving train, or jumping off of a ten-storey building). Not only do all human beings naturally want to live, but in practically all circumstances, human beings desperately do not want to die!  That 'fear of death' is good for human beings: but only as it serves to protect from harm.

However, when the fear (of death) is not related to any real and present danger to the life; in such a case, what God placed in every human being for his or her good, some demon spirit has managed to turn that fear into a weapon of war, to torment the soul of such a person who is under demonic attack.

Anxiety/panic attacks oftentimes produce: heart symptoms, such as tachycardia (rapid heartbeat) and/or palpitation (irregular beats); or, hyperventilation (extreme shortness of breath); or, sensations of dizziness/fainting: which many would say those symptoms may actually present a "real and present danger".  Yet, close attention to the sequence of events will reveal that, where it involves anxiety/panic attack, those symptoms are preceded by feelings of anxiety (although such sensation sometimes appears with such subtle onset that one may not readily detect that as being an anxiety attack).  Of course, anxiety/panic attack involves a spectrum of sensation ~ where the "panic" phase typically follows after one or more distressing physical symptoms have arisen as the result of an anxiety attack.  Anxiety is the precursor (the start) of a cascade of events ~ which oftentimes culminates in full-blown panic.

How, then, can one conquer anxiety/panic attacks?  Remember, the fear of death is the root of anxiety/panic attacks.  How, then, can one conquer the fear of death?

Only, by choosing to put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, who offered his own human life as a sacrifice to God, in order that your sin may be forgiven, and you can thus be reconciled to God and receive the free gift of eternal life ~ which is Christ's spirit indwelling your spirit, when you receive him by faith, as He is in truth.

Anxiety/panic attack is a spiritual problem ~ which produces real physiological symptoms, as the result of disorder and fear in the spirit.  Yoga, meditation, psychiatric counseling, drugs, exercise, hyper-activity, excessive sleep ~ or whatever else you may think to try: none of those things is capable to make anxiety and panic attacks cease altogether.  But the living Christ is able and willing to give you the faith to believe, and to receive His Spirit ~ which, then, Christ in you will be more than a match for every demon spirit that would trouble you.

It is not at all difficult to receive Jesus Christ into your life: just call on His name and ask Him to come into your life and to save you.  It is exceedingly difficult, though, to humble yourself to acknowledge both to Christ and to all the world that you are a sinner in need of the Savior and, furthermore, that you are now willing to surrender yourself wholly and for ever unto His will.  But you can receive the risen Christ ~ if you truly will.  And from that moment when you give over your self to Christ, He will teach you and strengthen you against all the power and devices of demon spirits.

And you, who profess that you already have received Christ ~ yet, you still suffer from anxiety and panic attacks; I will ask you some vital questions, namely:

• Do you truly put Christ first in all things and in every circumstance?
• Do you, then, earnestly study to know and understand ~ and obey God's Word?
• Do you daily seek His fellowship, in prayer and in your own private life?
• Are you in any way compromising your supposed commitment to Christ, by entertaining thoughts and deeds which are contrary to the will of God?
• Are you in close fellowship with any strong and well-established Christians?  (I don't mean you have to be a church-goer; although, that is most desirable ~ if you can find a church group which truly honors God according to His Word.)
• Are you truly relying upon God to give you victory over your affliction; or, are you, instead, hoping that doctors and medicines ~ or whatever other kinds of remedies or diversions you have tried ~ may provide you the relief you desire?

Remarkably ~ or should I say, tragically? ~ whereas most professing Christians will allow that Christ is far stronger than the demons, yet, even most Christians do not understand the truths I have shared with you in this blog.  You don't have to be the devil's punching-bag any longer.  But you do have to make your choice concerning Jesus Christ.  And choosing to put off that choice until a later or more convenient time, in fact, is choosing to reject Him.

I will conclude this brief but important essay, with the following quotation from the Bible:

"See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; in that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee.... 

"But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land.... 

"I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: that thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days...."  (Deuteronomy 30:15-20)