You Cannot Just Pray and Walk Away From Anxiety. Where is the Science Behind it?

In a slogan on my vision board, it states "Chose faith over worry", and yet I forget to believe it why? I have not built up a resistance to it. The reality is that anxiety will be felt again so when it does I

need to have a plan in place which requires casting all of my fears and worries on a higher power.

I believe I have a strong faith that provides comfort in my needs being met, but it is easier said than done.

The past several years have been a challenge and an opportunity for huge amounts of growth about who I am and where I want to be, but that darn anxiety gets in the way. I have completed an eight-week program learning about the benefits of CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy), which allowed me to learn more about triggers and how to deal with them. My pastor has also mentioned CBT in his sermons as a proven and effective approach to dealing with anxiety. Truth is truth regardless of whether it comes from a hospital setting or a church gathering; there is definitely a connection between emotion and cognitive dysfunction.

After changing the thought patterns in my mind, we call my Pseudo Self, I saw a reduction in my negative emotions and the intensity at which the anxiety entered my mind. But they still kept coming back. What I realized is that in order for this change in thought pattern to continue it needed to be done consistently so that the brain can be rewired. Based on Dr. Caroline Leaf's work, toxic thinking will change your brain wiring in a negative direction and throw your mind and body into stress, however, negative shutdown can be reversed by feelings of joy, love, appreciation, and gratitude (check out my first blog that talks about increasing your level of gratitude) (Leaf, 2013).

What I struggle with, and perhaps you do too, is how does one get their thoughts to think in a more positive approach when it is bogged down with negativity? This is my own opinion, but one has to believe that thinking differently changes the physical matter of the brain (Leaf, 2013). This is cool scientific stuff that I could write for hours on, but basically Dr. Leaf indicates that spending time each day on focused, meditative capturing of thoughts shifts the brain into more engagement (Leaf, 2013). There is the scripture in the bible that states to "hold every thought captive" and really that is exactly what we are to do. Truth is truth, whether you are a believer or not; God created the amazing pre-frontal cortex in us that allows us to be thinking beings. We need to be on guard constantly to ensure that negative thoughts do not turn into toxic ones. So the million-dollar question is how do you do that?

From a scientific perspective, CBT helps individuals become aware of what emotions they are feeling and how intense the emotions are from 0 to 100%. For example, fear, anger, and resentment can trigger major physiological responses; I know they do for me. CBT teaches consumers to identify what is it that is causing the response and try and reframe it in a less negative way. A scientific way of holding every thought captive. The challenge I had with the process was that they did not teach consistency, but only when the negative thoughts popped into the brain.

From a spiritual perspective, CBT can also be called CB Theology. Paster Graham provided an excellent correlation between CBT and how meditating on scripture verses can keep those negative thought patterns at bay. But it needs to be consistent and your need to be prepared to have scripture memorized or written down so that you are ready to fight back when the negativity arises. In Dr. Leaf's book called Switch on Your Brain: The Key to Peak Happiness, Thinking, and Health she features a 21-day brain detox plan. Why 21 days? Because it takes 21 days to break a habit. She insists that "we need to wire in positive thought networks that can fill us with the power to get us back on track" (Leaf, 2013).

So what is the point of this discussion? I have spent that last 14 weeks working towards my Life Coaching Certification. I have learned specific techniques to help reframe negative thoughts into more positive ones. I will be honest it is not easy. I have been practicing since January 2020 and now I can honestly say that my brain rewires to reframe or go into positivity mode when my anxiety tries to breakthrough. My fellow students have been helping me with this and I am forever grateful to all of them. As a Life Coach, I believe I can do that for you. If you need someone to talk to, hold space for you or give you some guidance on how to reframe and use positive psychology please contact me anytime. I would be honored to share in the rewiring of your brain!