Panic Attacks

By: Peter Stone

Hosea 4:6 ‘My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge’ (NIV)
1 Peter 5:8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (NIV)

Panic or anxiety attacks are one of Satan’s greatest cons. Unfortunately many people do not know what a panic or anxiety attack is, nor how to deal with it. God’s people are indeed being destroyed by this lack of knowledge. Yet as the Bible says in 1 Peter 5:8, Satan prowls around like a roaring lion. That is so true with panic attacks. Even though they can totally cripple someone, in reality they have no actual power. A few Biblical truths with some practical applications can render panic attacks completely powerless. I have written this fictional article to help people deal with this problem or help others who suffer from it. Please note, however, that the article is based on my own life. Before I knew what they were, panic attacks could cripple me for hours or even days. Now that I know what I have presented in the below article, I can almost always dismiss an attack in a matter of seconds.

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"Ah, come in Danny. Thanks for coming at such short notice.” Danny was one of the pillars of our twenties plus youth group.

"Hi, Pastor Michael," said the young man as he sat on the edge of the sofa.

"Do you know why I asked you to see me today, Danny?"

"I can guess."

"Your fiance rang me this morning. She is rather distressed - said you broke off the engagement by e-mail and won’t take her calls. Is this true?" I said gently.

Danny averted his eyes, "Ah, yes that's true. God told me to break off the engagement and it was the hardest thing I've ever done."

I was surprised, "God told you to do this?"

"Yes." Danny replied with conviction.

"How did He tell you this?"

"The same way He always talks to me when I'm about to make a mistake. He took my peace away while I was pondering the approaching marriage. I fought it at first - for a whole week, but my peace would not come back. My every thought was on the marriage and that it was a mistake that God wanted me to avoid. When I finally relented and sent the e-mail to Jessica to break off the engagement God returned my peace to me immediately."

"Who told you that God takes His peace away from us to guide us?"

"He's always done this - my whole life."

"That's not what I asked you, Danny. I don't doubt this experience has happened to you repeatedly but I want to know who told you it was from God?"

"My father said that if anything in our life becomes more important to us than God, then God would test us by taking our peace away until we gave up that thing and chose Him instead," he answered with assurance.

I chose my words with care. "Danny, it may surprise you to know that the Bible does not say that. In fact, it says the exact opposite."

Danny looked at me in confusion, "I don't understand, Pastor Michael. My father is a minister. He knows what he is talking about."

I shook my head sadly, "Sorry, Danny, this is going to be hard for you to hear, but let us see what the Word of God says on this topic."

"Okay," Danny ventured unsurely.

"Jesus is the Prince of..."

"Peace?" he answered with a hint of doubt.

"Let's look at John 14:27. Jesus said 'Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. Do not let your hearts be troubled.' Does it say 'My lack of peace I give to guide you?’ We need to make our decisions with wisdom based on God’s Word – and do so while dwelling in His peace.”

"I don't know where you are going with this, Pastor Michael?"

"What does John 14:1 say, Danny?" I prompted,

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in Me," he answered.

"When you are about to make an important life decision and you lose your peace, would you say that your heart is troubled, Danny?"

His face was a mask of uncertainty. "Um, yes, I guess so. But you're making me so confused! This has happened to me all my life and it has always worked. Every time I did what it said and gave up something precious my peace came back. I thought it was God's voice!"

“We must test all experiences with the Word of God. If you are troubled whenever about to make an important decision you can rest assured that this is not from God. In fact a lot of Christians make this mistake. When something happens that they have no control over, such as you losing your peace, they incorrectly think that God is responsible. I'll be honest with you, Danny; this is not going to be easy. One of the foundation stones that you’ve built your life upon is this erroneous assumption. Now you are going to have to unlearn it and establish new thought patterns based on God’s word.”

“I’m still not convinced, Pastor Michael.”

“When you lose your peace, Danny, do experience any of these symptoms as well? Insomnia, exhaustion, no interest in eating, giddiness, muscular pain, racing, missed or palpitating heart beats, nausea, sluggishness of mind or obsessive thoughts that seem to go in an endlessly repeating cycle?”

Danny sighed, “Yes, I suffer from pretty much all of those when I lose my peace. How did you know? It feels like my mind is bogged down in miry clay - the more I debate the topic in question the harder it becomes to think clearly. What is wrong with me?”

“I believe you are suffering from a common psychological disorder that afflicts millions of people worldwide. It is called a panic or anxiety attack. Have you heard of this?”

Danny shook his head, “Sorry, no. So I’m having some kind of attack? This is so embarrassing. I thought it was God guiding me.”

“Yes, I believe so, and your father probably suffers from it too. The problem is often hereditary and people commonly develop the condition in their young to mid twenties. These attacks are often triggered by stress, though at other times in response to fears that occur completely out of the blue with no obvious trigger.”

“Does this mean that every time someone is troubled they are having a panic attack?” Danny asked, frowning.

“No. Your heart can be troubled by a great number of things. For example you may agree to take on one too many jobs with the result troubling you so much that you cannot relax or sleep or function properly. In this situation you need to use wisdom and reduce your workload. This is a case of listening to your mind and body’s warning signs and taking appropriate action. At other times when you are troubled it could be due to having a wrong attitude which needs to be addressed. But these experiences you are having are not like that, are they? Would you like me to explain how a panic attack works?”

“Yes please, I want to understand what is happening to me.”

“Panic attacks are a vicious fear-flight-fight cycle. This means that they begin with a fearful thought such as the stress of making an important decision - though the fear that triggers an attack may seem to come out of nowhere. The typical response to these fearful thoughts is to either flee from them or fight them. In both cases the nervous system floods the body with negative adrenalin, which of course makes the sufferer even more anxious. A lot of disturbing physical and mental symptoms are caused by the adrenalin such as those I mentioned before,” I explained.

“Can you help me with this problem, Pastor?”

“Can you come for counselling once a week for a while?” I queried.

“Of course, Pastor.”

“Excellent, because counselling can be very effective,” I encouraged him, “primarily by teaching the sufferer to change problem underlying thought patterns. The Bible is full of great truths we can base our thought life upon. Since you now know that this experience is not God’s voice but a panic attack the Lord can set you free from it. I can teach you how to respond when an attack starts and what to do during one. Quite soon you should be able to throw off a panic attack within seconds of its onset. When you get home today I would like you to meditate upon Galatians 5:1. Write it on a card and keep it in your pocket. 'It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.' Let’s get you set free Danny."

“Yes please, I would love to be free of this problem. Seems every time I’m about to take a step forward in life I am hampered by these ‘attacks’. I can’t grow. It is so frustrating. But before I go today, can you please give me a hint on how to respond to the next panic attack that hits me?’

“Of course. We will examine this in much more detail in your next counselling session, but basically, when a panic attack starts the first thing to do is to recognise that you are having a panic attack and label it as such. Jesus Himself said the secret on what to do next - ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled.’ Of course someone suffering from panic attacks cannot do this by force of will, but this Bible verse has a practical application. And that is to make a conscious decision not to fight against or fear the fearful thought but to accept it instead. Accept that you are having a panic attack, and accept that the fearful thought will reside in the back of your mind for some time, almost like background music, and just leave it there. And because you are accepting instead of fleeing or fighting your body will not flood with adrenalin and the attack and its symptoms will fade away.”

“Thanks for your help today, Pastor Michael. My future suddenly seems promising, like a blue sky filled with sunlight. But tell me, what does this mean about my breaking off the engagement?”

“It means it was fear and not God telling you to break it off. Marriage is a big step and it’s natural to feel uncertain,” I reassured him. “You and Jessica need to decide through discussion and prayer whether or not to marry. Your decision should be reached together with God’s wisdom and not broken off suddenly due to fearful thoughts.”

"I understand. I'll ring Jessica as soon as I get home and tell her what I've learnt today - if she’ll talk to me."

"Of course she will. She's the one who sent you here, remember?”

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All verses from NIV.

John 14:1 Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Isaiah 9:6 And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Galatians 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Article Source: http://www.articles.narrowisthepath.com

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