“Cast all your anxieties on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)

Anxiety is something that I have struggled with my entire adult life. I wanted to not feel feelings, so I resorted to alcohol, medication, and other distractions to obtain this. I didn’t like who I was or how I felt when I was alone, in the silence. I’m a cradle Catholic, so it was like I began to lose my way, taking the unholy, rapid response path, but I didn’t even recognize that at the time. When I was growing up, we did not view mental health issues as allowable and something that can be managed. It was looked at as needing to be fixed, as if something was “wrong” with people who suffered in this way. So, now, when I talk to people of all ages about anxiety, depression, etc, I explain that ‘manage’ and ‘fix’ are different words, with different definitions. They are not words that can be interchangeable, especially when we discuss someone’s mental state. (I have always been an advocate for using words properly.) 

This entry is also not meant to be a feigned attempt at being an expert. I know what I experience and I know what I have done to manage. I have also been able to help people via my experiences. My personal past is imperfect, but it is all directly related to my mental state. The only way we can understand these issues are by discussing them, understanding them, and being empathetic. Then, as Catholics, we can better understand what Christ and Mother Church have to say on the subject and what tools they have to help us. At times, secular society and organized religion need to work hand in hand to better protect and help people.

Just take a look at some facts before we continue, because anxiety disorders are a reality for many people throughout the world. The American Psychological Association (APA) defines anxiety as “an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes like increased blood pressure. Anxiety is considered a future-oriented, long-acting response broadly focused on a diffuse threat, whereas fear is an appropriate, present-oriented, and short-lived response to a clearly identifiable and specific threat.” (via https://www.apa.org/topics/anxiety) Some people see anxiety and fear as the same emotional states. They are not. Growing up, I heard adults using these words interchangeably, so it’s no wonder that there’s some confusion still. The APA did a recent poll on anxiety from a sample of more than 2,200 adults, which can be found at https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/news-releases/annual-poll-adults-express-increasing-anxiousness. The survey shows “in 2024, 43% of adults say they feel more anxious than they did the previous year, up from 37% in 2023 and 32% in 2022.” There are factors like the economy, identity theft, and gun violence that have made adults more anxious in the last couple years. They continue with their findings, “When asked about a list of lifestyle factors potentially impacting mental health, adults most commonly say stress (53%) and sleep (40%) have the biggest impact on their mental health…Despite the increasing anxiety, most adults have not sought professional mental health support. In 2024, just one in four (24%) adults say they talked with a mental health care professional in the past year.” Stress and sleep are major factors that will affect our overall health, and can be a symptom of anxiety and depression AND a cause. (It’s truly a vicious cycle.) They are often seen as normal adult issues and not something that needs to be treated. I don’t know about you, but I grew up hearing “deal with it, we all feel this way”. Clearly that thought process hasn’t helped us much. The Anxiety & Depression Association of America (ADAA) shows these results:

So, what do we do as Catholics? Throughout Sacred Scripture, we hear messages like the one mentioned above:  “Cast all your anxieties on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7). We are flooded with cute phrases on t-shirts and mugs like “Blessed, not stressed”, but a phrase doesn’t change how you are feeling. You can’t see a t-shirt and be healed. For me, the worst part of managing anxiety is decision making during a bout of panic. We all know that we should not write in anger or make decisions in moments of some heightened-emotional state, but when you deal with anxiety, panic attacks, and the roller coaster of thoughts that come with it, it’s difficult to function logically. Even our current Pope has spoken about this. “Needless to say, anything done out of anxiety, pride or the need to impress others will not lead to holiness. We are challenged to show our commitment in such a way that everything we do has evangelical meaning and identifies us all the more with Jesus Christ.” (Pope Francis, Gaudete et Exsultate, 2018) To someone with anxiety it seems like he is almost admonishing the disorder. But, it’s more saying that these things thwart our best judgment, which we already know, and that we need to learn to focus and ground ourselves toward the ways and words of Jesus. Anxiety is not a sin, nor are anxious people sinning by being anxious.  But when we are suffering from anxiety it is easy to give into things that are sins such as bad habits related to self-comforting, lashing out at others, or becoming too self-focused. That is when we need what Christ has taught us and given us to help further, in tandem with counselors/psychologists and maybe even medication.

Our ultimate goal is obtaining heaven because we believe that life doesn’t end when we’re put in our earthly graves. So anything we do here on earth will be judged and accounted for, including the decisions we choose to make that push us away from God. (That alone sounds anxiety-inducing, doesn’t it?) Again – it’s about management. When we are managing anxiety, we first must discern when we are feeling that way. Recognition is key! When we can recognize that state, we can do what we need to ground ourselves and attempt to refocus our minds. This is where a good therapist or counselor is helpful. You CANNOT do this alone! It is a skill that is learned through practice and awareness.

But, in turn, that self-awareness requires each one of us to also recognize where we are in life, good and bad, and bring it all to Christ. We do this by choosing prayer, our only way to converse with God because we can’t call or shoot Him an email like we can our earthly therapist. Yes – I realize that prayer has become a negative word in secular society. The lack of belief in the power of prayer has caused a stigma around the action and idea. Yet as Catholics, we need to trust and believe that God is always there, always listening. It’s not an immediate fix, but it is heavenly therapy. In a world where everything is at our fingertips, prayer as a way to manage anxiety makes us feel impatient because it’s not instantaneous. Coming to God as you are, coming to Christ at the Foot of the Cross with all your faults, tears, racing thoughts, and anxieties will be the only way we can become holy and spiritually healthy. Even recently, I had a bout of anxiety that caused a full out attack. I grabbed my rosary and held it. Not even praying the prayers, but just held it to my body and continued on. I worked through, grounding myself the way I have learned how to, and clutched my rosary, begging God to help me and Mary to intercede for me. Once we are comfortable with true prayer, we can make it part of our daily routine. Praying each day will become part of our management of anxiety.

We also need the sacraments. Each sacrament gives us graces that we need in life. We truly need to guard our hearts and minds from Satan and all the bad that enters them, which keeps us from God. Through the sacraments, we are able to get what we need to survive this world in a holy, Christ-like way. The Eucharist is always the number one way. Coming to Mass, we are both praying and receiving Christ’s Body. Jesus becomes part of us. However, we tend to forget about the Sacraments of Healing: reconciliation/confession and anointing of the sick. Anxiety disorders are illnesses, and both of these are great ways to help. Note that they shouldn’t be taken advantage of and overused, which can lead to the sin of scrupulosity, or obsessive concern with one’s own sins and compulsive performance of religious devotion. We want to gain eternal life in heaven, and the sacraments are the best ways to help us get there. Finally obtaining that peace of Christ will be the only way we can have a feeling of healing.

When we are struggling with anxiety, it is not healthy and it’s not holy. It’s allowing worry over peace, and that peace can only be given to us in a full, non-superficial way, by God. But, know that we’re not alone! There are saints who have personally dealt with anxiety and are now revered by the Church. St. Thérèse of Lisieux, whose feast is tomorrow – October 1st, lived a short but holy life. Yet, she struggled with anxiety, via the sin of scrupulosity. It is not uncommon among people of faith and is essentially a form of obsessive compulsive disorder. St. Francis de Sales saw the struggles of anxiety disorders via another saint, St. Jane Frances de Chantal. Francis was her spiritual director, and she suffered with anxiety and depression her entire life. Francis was able to assist her, teaching her to work through her struggles and pursue holiness. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton suffered from a constant feeling of loneliness and melancholy, so profound that she thought several times of suicide. St. John Vianney couldn’t manage to see his own relevance before God, and lived constantly with an intense inferiority complex, considering himself to be useless—a symptom of  depression. All these holy men and women are great intercessors for us and are a place for us to begin looking at in our pursuit of becoming mentally healthy. Part of our management of anxiety needs to be prayer and the sacraments, ultimately gaining us eternal life in heaven. “Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:6-7)