Whether we struggle with anxiety personally or our loved one battles against anxiety, all of us have seen the effects it can have on a person’s life.
Physical symptoms mimicking illnesses, a decline in mental health, depression – it manifests itself in so many different ways. We are blessed to live in a time with so many available treatments for anxiety.
As you seek to treat your anxiety, whether through medicine, therapy, or any other means, I’d like to offer you one way that I manage anxiety currently!
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My own experience with anxiety
My story is much like any other woman’s story: I dealt with postpartum depression/anxiety after having children. This PPD morphed in to generalized anxiety disorder (to be honest, I think I had dealt with this even before babies). Through the use of medicine and some therapy/counseling, I most of the time have a good handle on my anxiety. (None of us are perfect, though!) With the help of my OBGYN, I learned that my hormones have an effect on my anxiety, making a low dose of medicine a necessary part of my routine for now.
Thoughts about anxiety
Disregarding medically diagnosed anxiety, I think there is a true anxiety epidemic today in our culture that could actually be avoidable. I personally note a direct correlation with my social media consumption and my anxiety levels.
Why is that? Social media is such a two-sided coin! I can scroll past a couple posts that are positive, encouraging, funny, or reminder me of how great God is. Then with one move of my thumb, I’m seeing a beautiful, humongous farmhouse: the farmhouse of my dreams! And it’s only that – a dream. Unachievable. My mind automatically goes to, “oh wow I would love that house.” From that comes jealousy. From jealousy comes discontentment. And discontentment can only take us downhill.
I don’t know about you, but I have certainly found myself checking social media in bed, way too late at night, totally invested in an argument between two strangers in the comments on some random post. Why? No clue why I become so invested, but there I am, becoming subconsciously stressed out by other people’s conflicts!
From fall of 2024 to this current day in 2025, we have also “enjoyed” the political commentary of every person on every side of the ticket, and whether you’re a fan of a certain politician or not, it can get pretty ugly.
Another strange phenomenon with social media is that I now have the opportunity to see – and thus worry about and care about and feel anxious about – everything that is happening all over the world. There’s a fine line between being informed and invested and active in the things you are passionate about, and being entirely overwhelmed by the world at large.
A possible first step in minimizing anxiety?
You can probably guess where I’m going with this…
A social media break will go a long way.
I promise! I’ve experienced it myself.
Every so often I will delete Instagram and Facebook off of my phone. I’ll go three or four days without checking in and wow does it lighten my mental load. I will go back to it eventually. There are friends that I keep up with on those avenues and I don’t want to entirely abandon them.
When I do have these social media apps on my phone, I set limits by telling myself, “I won’t look at social media until I have _________.” Usually, my first priority is my Bible study and quiet time. If I don’t get that done in the morning, I probably won’t get to it in the afternoon either. In my mind, if I haven’t made time for the most important things, I shouldn’t have time to mindlessly scroll, either.
What else helps with anxiety?
Another favorite way to minimize anxiety is quoting scripture to myself. I also like to have it hung up around our house where I’ll see it and be reminded of something very important:
I am not in charge.
The God who created the world loves me, He is with me, He has plans for me, and I don’t have to do His job!
I believe a lot of anxiety stems from control issues.
If I can make this day go a certain way, it’ll be okay. If it doesn’t go this way, then x, y, and z could happen, and if that happens, then…
You and I both know that never ends well.
I like to keep a few verses in my proverbial back pocket that I can whip out and preach to myself when I feel myself spiraling.
Be strong and courageous
“Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
In the first nine verses of Joshua, God tells him three times not to be afraid. This is a noteworthy command, considering the context. Moses has just died after actual decades of being the leader of Israel. If there’s ever a time to panic, it’s probably now.
But no, God tells him to be strong and courageous. Why? Because “I’m with you!” He’s reminding Joshua that he doesn’t need to lead in his own strength. Trying to do that would only be anxiety-fueling and discouraging. However, being a leader under the mighty hand of God is an entirely different story. This verse also follows God’s command for Joshua to meditate on his Word day and night. That’s scriptural proof that memorizing scripture not only helps our anxiety – it honors God, too!
Check out this wall hanging featuring Joshua 1:9.
The Lord is my Shepherd!
The Lord is my shepherd; I have what I need. Psalm 23
My most-quoted-to-myself portion of scripture is the 23rd Psalm. It’s so rich and full of beautiful imagery, which I so appreciate as a visual learner and reader. From beginning to end, this chapter of scripture teaches us that God is our good shepherd. God is our guide. He walks with us through the darkest valleys, constantly on defense, fighting for us.
Not only is he fighting for us, he’s providing for us! God is a generous host, preparing a feast for his faithful believers – a party that not even our enemies can bust. If that provision isn’t enough, the psalm ends by telling us that we’ll live in the house of the Lord forever. That’s eternal worship, eternal dwelling, eternal relationship with the God of the universe!
I love this wooden Psalm 23 plaque for sitting on a desk.
This is so cute! There are other verses available, too.
Preach the truth to yourself
Why, my soul, are you so dejected? Why are you in such turmoil?
Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him, my savior and my God. Psalm 42:5
The author of this psalm realizes that if he puts his hope in himself, he’ll be disappointed. He isn’t God! He reminds himself that confidence in God is his only sure foundation. The author preaches to himself that his troubles won’t last forever and that God is still worthy of praise. Even if we don’t feel like it, God always deserves our praise. When we’re confident in the Lord, there shouldn’t be room for our soul to be in turmoil because we realize we are not in control.
Consider the lilies
Consider how the wildflowers grow: They don’t labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these. If that’s how God clothes the grass, which is in the field today and is thrown into the furnace tomorrow, how much more will he do for you – you of little faith? Luke 12: 27-28
Luke 12 is a portion one of Jesus’ sermons. The wildflower metaphor follows a similar one concerning ravens. I hone in on the wildflowers one, though, because flowers to me are such an image of God’s creativity. The wide range of colors, the vast array of shapes and forms – I mean, wow! I love to draw and paint flowers, and when you study one up close, the details on each individual flower are nothing short of amazing.
God cares about the flowers. They’re part of his creation – they’re purposeful and intentional. If he cares that much about the flowers, how much more does he care about us, the humans that he made in his own image? (Genesis 1:27)
I love this verse so much that I daily wear a ring with a lily on it. Other translations of the Bible, such as the ESV, use the word lilies in place of wildflowers. When I look at my hand and see my lily ring, I’m reminded that God is taking care of me. To revisit my control issues – there is no control issue when I let God have his rightful place on the throne of my life!
I love this canvas print – it would be so cute in a girl’s bedroom, too!
This is the lily ring that I wear!
Here’s a similar ring on Amazon – you can customize it to feature a lily.
What do I do with all of this?
I’ve shared just a handful of verses that are meaningful to me. I choose to memorize scripture that I can get stuck in my head, much like a song that you can’t shake. When anxious thoughts start creeping in, I 2 Corinthians 10:5 it and hand it over to God. Once it’s out of my head and in the capable hands of my Savior, I replace it with one of these verses that reminds me of my place relative to my Creator.
I encourage you to commit these verses to memory, or a whole slew of other verses that may be important and close to your heart! If you’re creative, artistic, or great at graphic design, create a piece of art that you can hang in your house or in your office that speaks scripture to you. If you’re not artistic, find artwork at the links I suggested, or any other one that you can find. Set a wallpaper on your phone’s lock screen of one of your chosen verses. Find a piece of jewelry that reminds you of your verse.
Memorize scripture and keep it constantly in front of your eyes. When you are wholly focus on the Lord, there’s not so much room for anxiety to sneak its way in.
Some supplies for lettering scripture – check these out for creating your own artwork!
These Tombow duel-ended brush pens are the best for hand lettering!
This paper is great for holding marker ink.
I got these markers for my birthday and they became a fast favorite!