Does My Anxiety or Depression Invalidate My Christianity? (Part II)

Everyone at times in their life feels anxiety.  Sometimes it is a simple reaction to having to do or say something that we would rather avoid.  Other times it is a more powerful reaction that lingers and may even cause us interrupted sleep or a lack of focus.  These are feelings of anxiety.  They are common and they are solvable.  The big issue comes when the anxiety we face becomes a crippling and exhausting current of fear.  It sweeps us off our feet and pulls us away from our normal routines with an overwhelming riptide-like intensity. For some of us this anxiety can last for months, years or a lifetime.  For a Christian, the piercing questions that may rise from this are, where is my reliance on God?  Does my crippled response to this fear prove my faith to be nothing more than words?  Am I a hypocrite?  Hard question like these deserve strong and decisive answers and today we will find them! There is no better way to try and answer hard questions like these than to talk to someone who has personally walked the crooked and uneven road of anxiety. Kylie Odetta, a Christian and brilliant singer and songwriter has walked such a road.  We were able to catch up with her and listen to her story.  It was both captivating and revealing. Kylie's story Kylie’s story begins in the same place so many others with anxiety begin.  She had always been a sensitive person, feeling emotions very deeply.  She then went through a hard transitional experience along with some other family issues.  It was at this point the small and gnawing fears of life that had quietly collected over time all suddenly became real.  Each and every little fear now barreled to the front of her mind and planted itself in a life-altering position.  She went from being the creative, sure and outgoing Kylie to living in the trapped spaces of her fearful and overwhelming thoughts. This same pattern of experience is tragically true for millions and millions of people.  For many, when anxiety presents itself it systematically takes their lives as its captive.  Fortunately, there is great news about all of this as there are many available approaches and many kinds of answers.  As we listened to Kylie’s story develop, we  uncovered tools in the form of "anxiety-breaking building blocks." Check out our May 11, 2020 podcast, “Does My Anxiety or Depression Invalidate My Christianity? (Part II).”  We apply the learning and foundation received from Part 1.  We then combine it with the very practical and relatable building blocks from Kylie’s story plus Scripture here in Part II.  The result is HOPE.  Whether you yourself experience anxiety or someone you care about does, there is hope.  Whether you do or do not need medication in your struggles , there is hope.  Listen in, be fueled with this hope and then put it to work! Click here for Part III about depression and anxiety specifically in children.