Battle of the Mind: How To Overcome Your Anxious Thoughts

If you’re anything like me, you may often struggle with anxiety. And gosh, that mental load we carry everyday feels heavy sometimes, doesn’t it? In this post, I share some notes on my constant battle of anxious thoughts and the reminders I think we all need.

Hey there!

Whew, does life feel heavy sometimes! I think I can speak for most people when I say the mental load we carry just feels overwhelming at times. Recently, the weight of that darn mental load I’ve been carrying has been so heavy I was starting to feel it physically.

Over the past week, I’ve had to have greater discipline with myself to really get to the bottom of why my thoughts and emotions have felt so heavy. Some of it relates to all the “to do’s”, particularly some things I’ve been procrastinating for awhile now (please tell me I’m not alone with this!) For whatever reason, my never ending to do list seems to always contribute to anxious thoughts popping up.

So, that being said, I took initiative and sat down and just began writing. A so called “brain dump” if you will, which I’m convinced is one of the absolute best things to do when you start to feel anxious and overwhelmed.

How to Start

I suggest to start out by grabbing a journal or notebook and jotting down how you feel. (You can grab my favorite journal that I use on a daily basis here). I start with this because it helps me to “vent” so to speak. It gets all of my messy and anxious thoughts and worries down on paper, however unorganized it may look. I don’t worry about making a perfect bulleted list of how I’m going to tackle whatever is bugging me. I just write what I feel.

Next, I write down some of my favorite scriptures for when life feels tough. These scriptures serve as a reminder that God remains an ever-present force in my life. He is for us. And He is paying attention. 

Recently, I’ve taken comfort in Genesis 16:13,

“For You are the God who sees me.”

God sees me. And not just in a looking down from heaven at my tiny speck of a person sees me. He sees and understands my thoughts, my moods, my actions and interactions with others. He sees us, and He is faithful and loving, even if our circumstances don’t always reflect that.

I know that I am guilty of questioning God’s goodness and faithfulness to me as soon as my circumstances shift. As in, Does he know this situation and how tough this is right now? and Why did that have to happen?  The good news though, is that we can rest in the fact that He has made promises to us, and he is not a God who breaks promises. I read a quote in my devotional not long ago that I really loved, and immediately wrote down and stuck to our fridge. It goes-

Fear not tomorrow, child of the King

Leave it to Jesus. Do the next thing.

Reminders to Set Your Mind On

I needed the reminder to not get caught up in everything all at once. It can be easy to invite anxiety in when we have a mile-long mental list of all the things we need to do or feel we should be doing better, or when we get too wrapped up in wondering “what’s next?”  I needed that reminder to just live out my life one step at a time, not even day by day but moment by moment.

If this is something you have found yourself struggling with lately, I encourage you not to live your life ruled by anxiety or fear. It’s easier said than done, I know. 

I think sometimes we forget that we create our own life. However big or small or humble or grand, it’s ours to do with what we wish. We do have the freedom to choose and to truly live out our lives. I encourage you to rest in the fact that God is faithful. He is loving. He has it worked out, and we can be free to live each day as it comes.

Best, 

Rachael

A Couple Resources I Love

A great study for combating anxiety is linked here!

You can grab some of my favorite studies here.

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