Mastering Anxiety During Tough Times
- Taylor Wehri
- Mar 31, 2020
- 3 min read
Worry is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained. A.S. Roche
Mnemonic (ni-mon-ik) is a term I learned when I studied education. It’s a memory technique that helps us recall important and relevant information, and teachers use them to help students learn.
No doubt you’ve used some yourself. Here are a few familiar examples:
Acrostic
To remember the nine planets andtheir order from the sun, you may have learned the phrase My VeryEnergetic Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas.
Acronym
An acronym is a word formedby the first letters in a list or phrase. English teachers use the word FANBOYSto help students learn conjunctions.
Rhymes
I still call on this poem when needed:
Thirty days hath September,April, June, and November;All the rest have thirty-one,Except February alone, which has but twenty-eight, rain or shine;Till leap year makes it twenty-nine.
Imagery andVisualization
Imagery is a mnemonic device that has application in the field of psychology. After a traumatic event several years ago, my brain insisted on replaying it in my head. I struggled to turn it off, and I recognized I needed to stop this livestream before it stopped me.
I saw a counselor. Shesuggested two techniques involving imagery. The goal was to create a conditionedresponse to redirect my thinking when it started down a path of fear andanxiety.
The first wasto picture me wielding a big, red stop sign in my head to STOP worry in itstracks as soon as it started.
Or I could weara rubber band on my wrist and snap it when negative thinking started. I was tovisualize the rubber band as a slingshot sending my thoughts in a betterdirection.
Both actions helped, but onlyminimally.
Calling onAnother Counselor
“I lift up myeyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, …”(Psalm 121:1-2 ESV).
When I tookmy struggle to God, He directed my attention to a particular Bible passage.
The verse is found in the finalchapter of Paul’s letter to the church of Philippi. In it, Paul urges the Philippians to stand firm in the Lord. The following words stood out forme amid one of the most powerful books in the Bible. And even more so when Ilearned Paul wrote them from a prison cell:
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever isnoble, whatever is right,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever isadmirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think on such things (Philippians 4:8 NIV).
The beautiful piece of poetrydelighted my ears. It also showed me that my thoughts should be centered onGod, for He alone embodies all these characteristics. And I sensed that myreciting these words as a conditioned response to my wrong thinking wouldplease Him.
But to quote it, I had toknow it.
Mnemonics and Scripture
I created a mnemonic to helpme memorize the verse. It’s a 3-part acronym using phrases.
Part 1 coincides with thefirst three traits: true, noble, and right.
My Mnemonic: Time Never Rests (A truism)
Part 2 coincides with thenext three: pure, lovely, and admirable.
My Mnemonic: Please Love All (God’s commandment)
Part 3 coincides with thelast two: excellent and praiseworthy
My Mnemonic: Education Physical (my favorite class, backwards)
This is a little silly, but thedevice served me well during a period of high anxiety when it was difficult toarticulate prayer.
It’s been over twenty yearssince I memorized Philippians 4:8, and I’ve called on it often. But never haveI needed it more than during this Covid-19 pandemic we’re in the middle of.
These words anchor me. They prevent me from spiraling downstream in a current of anxiety. They help me look ahead to the true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy things in store for us.
God’s Word can help us overcome fear and settle our anxiety. Do you have specific scripture you’re leaning on during these days, or other things you do to keep worry at bay?
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