I’m a huge believer in the good that can come out of our anxiety. I believe that we too often dismiss anxiety as something bad. We are too quick to try and get over it, or bury it, or pretend it doesn’t exist…all things that can lead to high levels of unhealthy anxiety, depression and other mental health concerns. I believe that anxiety can be harnessed in a life-giving way that leads to change and growth in our lives. As I write in the book, anxiety is one of the biggest catalysts in our lives to help us grow.
So over the last month I have written nine posts on the topic of transforming your anxiety. The posts coincide with the chapter topics that I write about in my book The Anxious Christian. You can see the posts below.
Post #9: Transforming Your Anxiety: Anxiety in Relationships
Post #8: Transforming Your Anxiety: Boundaries and Living Within Your Limits
Post #7: Transforming Your Anxiety: Getting Intentional
Post #6: Transforming Your Anxiety: Wrestling with God
Post #5: Transforming Your Anxiety: Beginning to ReImagine Your Anxiety as Good
Post #4: Transforming Your Anxiety: Stuck in a Rut
Post #3: Transforming Your Anxiety: Welcoming Uncertainty Into Your Life
Post #2: Transforming Your Anxiety: Embrace Your Anxiety
Post #1: Transforming Your Anxiety: Anxiety and Your Story
Additional Resources
There are lots of good books out there on anxiety, but some are more helpful than others. In addition to hopefully gleaning some wisdom from my book on anxiety and the posts above, here are two books that I have found very insightful and helpful when it comes to dealing with the anxiety in our lives in such a way that it acts as a springboard to further growth. By the way, each of these books has great exercises to work through.
Things Might Go Terribly, Horribly Wrong: A Guide to Life Liberated from Anxiety by Kelly G. Wilson and Troy DuFrene.
The Mindful Way through Anxiety: Break Free from Chronic Worry and Reclaim Your Life by Susan M. Orsillo, Lizabeth Roemer, and Zindl V. Segal
Also, I have had more and more people email me in recent months letting me know that they were using my book The Anxious Christian in their small groups. I love hearing that news. In order to help with the groups that are doing that, I will be video recording short, 3-4 minute videos about each chapter in the book. My purpose in doing the videos is that I hope it will explain to the reader why I wrote each chapter; shed more insight on how the chapter can be used for the group; and add an additional exercise or question that isn’t already in the book. These will be posted on my YouTube channel and at my website rhettsmith.com. I hope to have those videos done in the next few weeks, and I will update you when they are finished.
