In my earliest months of middle school, I struggled a lot. One day, as I sat in the cafeteria waiting for an assembly to start, a woman gently got my attention and told me she noticed that I kept holding my breath. She invited me to breathe.
That experience keeps coming back to me as I notice that I have been holding my breath lately, just as I did as an anxious seventh grader.
Satan wants us to be miserable, and his tactic is to lie.
Anxiety is an investment in lies. It is a focus on things that have not happened, and therefore not grounded in truth.
In contrast, God’s goal for us is joy through a full exercise of agency. When we “act for ourselves” rather than allow ourselves to be “acted upon” by fears or other influences, this is an important step to joy. (2 Nephi 2:18-27)
A favorite line from the movie Mulan is, “There is no courage without fear.” I don’t think I will ever be free from some degree of fear, but I am learning to manage it.
Lately, when I play the violin for people, I try not to focus on myself, but the service I am trying to give. I identify the people who are listening, and direct my efforts to their needs. An outward focus is one key to shaking anxious thoughts and feelings.
Another thing I do to have courage is to act according to my beliefs, not my fears. I want to serve, not cower inside my house in fear of a virus or any other thing. So, I take precautions and try to do things for people.
Most of what we read in the news is designed to peddle fear and division. It is worth the effort to avoid sensational coverage of events that is meant to stir up anxiety.
I read and re-read 1 and 2 Nephi. It is full of honest encounters with fear. Even the very best feel like their trials are more than they can handle sometimes. The difference between those who triumph and fail is not how they feel, it is in how they act. I try to be like Nephi.
Other simple actions that keep fear and anxiety at bay: prayer, playing calming music, staying hydrated and working on getting adequate sleep, coloring books, walking outside, connecting with a friend on the phone, and reading my stash of Reminisce magazines. It is okay to be gentle with ourselves. It is okay to identify the essentials and simply focus on those when we are in a fog. My mom likes to say, “Rest, then keep going.”
