Anxiety

Studying Jacob may help you see how both deep sorrow and anxiety can coexist with God’s goodness.

I’ve become a firm believer in a gentle power that carried me through anxiety as a missionary in ways I’d never dreamed possible: family history.

A new school year can bring some big feelings with it, and sometimes, that includes some back-to-school anxieties.

Church leaders today are not naive to the exponential growth in the number of individuals around the world struggling with their mental health.

If you have experienced feelings of anxiety about gospel questions, you are not alone—and you can learn to diminish your anxiety and find peace.

When teaching indoor cycling, I’d always encourage my students to “empty their gas tanks” during every workout. Some days we have ten gallons in the tank; some days we have two. Just do your best.

if you’re feeling a bit down about the weekend slipping away, here are some ideas to help you beat those Sabbath blues and make the day more of a delight.

When depression and anxiety robbed my ability to feel the Spirit, I learned how to choose to trust God even when I couldn’t feel Him.

“Mental health challenges can impact anyone, regardless of education, geography, faith, calling, or family,” the Church’s website reads.

The new self-reliance course includes resources for developing healthy thinking patterns, managing stress and anxiety, understanding sadness and depression, and overcoming anger.

Now, more than ever, we need to keep talking about depression and doing things to help those who feel desperately alone. 

In a new video, Steve Young shares his personal experiences with anxiety and mental health challenges as a young man and as an athlete.

Not long ago, I was at Walt Disney World with family. We were in line for one of the more intense attractions at the resort—the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. This attraction is housed in a very creepy-looking hotel, full of ghostly sights and sounds. Following an elaborate preshow, you enter a modified elevator where you are strapped into your seat. At some point, in the pitch black and without warning, the elevator car plunges more than 10 stories to the ground, then accelerates up and down the shaft in a frantic motion. The experience is incredible, potentially terrifying, and one of my favorites.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has provided wonderful mental health resources in recent years. There is even an entire “mental health” section in the Gospel Library on the Church’s website. The content is excellent, and I encourage you to explore it.

Editor’s note: Dr. Debra Theobald McClendon is a clinical psychologist who specializes in scrupulosity, a religiously themed subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This is the final article in a series discussing McClendon’s thoughts on how anxiety impacts a personal faith crisis and how individuals can navigate their anxiety with faith. McClendon was recently a guest on LDS Living’s All In podcast. You can listen to the podcast and find more resources on the topic here.

Concerns about faith can be very painful, at times rocking the core of one’s belief system. Anxiety can further complicate one’s emotional landscape and add panic and desperation to the faith journey, creating a “faith crisis.”

Not all faith questions need constitute a “faith crisis.” We need not be afraid of our questions, but can journey with them as we seek to address them with honest intent.

When asked to return to Jerusalem and retrieve the plates of brass, Nephi responded in faith that he would “go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded” (1 Nephi 3:7). He later learned from experience that the Lord was true to His word, providing divine assistance to help him accomplish the task. As I talk with Latter-day Saints who struggle with anxiety or other mental health issues, they often look to the example of Nephi. If the Lord wants me to overcome anxiety, He will provide a way, they reason. But what is the way? How much am I supposed to do and how much will He help? It is a very legitimate question. We know the Lord will bless us with divine assistance, but He also insists we do our part. So, what is our part? Coincidentally, Nephi’s own life experience also answers that question.

I recently experienced a couple of events that taught me about why some trials persist even though we are working hard to defeat them. Before I tell you about that, I need to provide some background. First, you should know we currently have two children at BYU-Idaho in Rexburg. Second, you should know that we live in Vancouver, Washington, which is about 700 miles from there. Third, I should tell you that I enjoy indoor cycling, which is a specific type of stationary bike—some know it as spinning. Please bear with me while I explain how these things are related.

Our youngest son recently graduated from high school with plans to attend college in the fall. Because of a number of vacations and other summer plans, it hasn’t worked out for him to get steady employment during the time between graduation and college departure. As such, he’s kind of broke most of the time, but he has things he wants to do, some of which cost money. I will periodically get a text message saying, “Dad, could you loan me some money for [insert item here]?” When I get such texts, I usually have two competing thoughts. The first is I love my son and want to do everything I can for him. I want him to be comfortable and enjoy life. Just give him the money! The second thought is Hold on! He needs to learn to be responsible and that money doesn’t grow on trees. Make him work for it. Those thoughts duke it out in my brain for a moment, and then after consultation with my amazing wife, we usually arrive at a compromise that enables generosity combined with responsibility.

Anxiety can make our thoughts and feelings jumbled. But here’s the difference between feelings from the Spirit and feelings from anxiety.

“For many years I have been interested in the relationship between mental health and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Satan, with his clever and sophisticated attacks, has created great deception on this topic.”

Being at church has at times been a major struggle for me. My first major panic attack happened during a Sunday School lesson while I was in college, and the months following that experience I struggled with inexplicable intense anxiety in both church and other social settings. After some time and with the help of therapy, medication, and prayer, church became again a place of peace rather than panic for me. Unfortunately, that anxiety returned full force last summer.

I have often struggled with anxiety. To some, it might seem a little strange that a psychologist would have mental health challenges, like knowing a cardiologist who has heart disease. Regardless, my base nature is to worry. It has been a source of distress for many years but has also been an opportunity for growth and insight. One of my ongoing stressors has been concerns for the future. I find myself worried about our children, our finances, our livelihood—just about anything that is not within my direct control. Fortunately, my wife has great faith, and her steadiness usually counteracts my panic. Yet even then, I often get overly worried about what tomorrow holds and whether everything will still be okay.

"Getting the help you need is not a sign of weakness or failure. Heavenly Father wants us to be healthy, mentally and physically, and has given us many 'marvelous gifts' to help us cope with the mental and emotional challenges of mortality," writes Dave Clarke.

For many people the Christmas season is exciting and enjoyable as individuals engage in the hustle and bustle of varied festivities, and this is how we hope and want it to be. However, for some the Christmas season increases stress and can amplify feelings of sadness, depression, anxiety, loneliness, hopelessness, and even feelings of suicide. Oftentimes it is hard for those who do not deal with mental health struggles to comprehend why a time of year that is supposed to be uplifting and fun can be dark and empty for many.

Nate Clyde lost 18 pounds in the Missionary Training Center.

For daily gospel-based relationship insights, join Jonathan’s Facebook group. To submit a question for Jonathan, click here.

Suicide can be preventable, and learning what to watch for can save lives.

It was a regular Sunday morning in October 2015 as 19-year-old Jacob Pinkston sat with his family waiting for sacrament meeting to start. As the meeting began, his mom, Christine, leaned over to him and asked excitedly, “Do you know who’s on the stand?”

Anticipating problems can motivate you to perform at a higher level or help you plan ways of coping. But worrying should not take a significant toll. It shouldn’t cost you sleep, distract from work, or lower your self-esteem. If it does, you may be a chronic worrier. Consider the following ways to decrease worry and increase well-being.

After changing my major three times in college, I was sold on journalism as my career goal. However, while I was looking at the job salary for journalists, I realized that I would not be able to save much money in my newly chosen career. My anxiety rose and my mind started spinning. “Should I change my career goal? Is it too late to become a nurse or engineer?” While my brain was filled with fearful thoughts about the future, the advice I’d received from my therapist reminded me that I need to calm down and realize that it was my fear that was creating these doubts in my mind.

Working with a collaboration of Christan artists, Paul Cardall released music videos for a new Stone Angel album, Worth of Souls: Songs to Rescue & Restore Faith in Jesus Christ. Performed by over 10 contemporary Christian artists, the album features 13 beautiful songs to uplift and restore peace to troubled hearts.

Sunday is a day of rest and a day of worship. However, there are some misconceptions that might cause unnecessary stress and anxiety on the Sabbath. In Mosiah 4:7 it reads, “for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength.” Here are seven things that might make us run faster than we have strength and cause stress on the Sabbath.

If you’ve followed my articles and social media posts over the years, you know that my 19-year-old daughter Jadi has lived quite a journey.

I love a good nap. Though not always the most productive activity, it can be a nice rest from physical and mental stress. I remember almost weeping for joy when I read President Kimball’s counsel that naps could be an appropriate Sabbath day activity. Hard work deserves appropriate rest.

When Cole experienced crippling anxiety on his mission that kept him from sleeping, he began to pray and search for answers. During this time, he began to realize, "Sometimes, it's okay to accept what God gives you and to be humble enough to learn what He is trying to teach you."

We’ve all felt it—the nervousness, stress, and worry that come with anxiety. Anxiety, after all, is a normal and expected human emotion. In fact, it has become instinctual for us to avoid things that make us feel unsafe or uncomfortable.

What a powerful message from Alex and Kyle Whittingham: "If you or someone you know suffers from any type of mental illness, don't be afraid to get help. It could save your life, and theirs." "Please, never be afraid to open up. There's always help for you, and there's always people that care."

Latter-day Saints are promised blessings such as peace, strength, and increased spirituality when we attend church regularly and go to the temple often. But for those who live with some form of mental illness, such as anxiety or depression, it is not always easy or comfortable to attend church and go to the temple and feel the effects of those promised blessings.

Recently, the Deseret News carried a two-part story on Olivia Ekberg, an 18-year-old whose path to the Olympics led her down a road of psychological torment. But despite all she experienced, she still manages to find hope in Heavenly Father.

Mental illnesses and emotional disorders can be difficult to understand, especially for children who are still learning to identify and understand their emotions. How can parents and leaders help their children to become resilient and learn to cope with difficult emotional issues?

"It felt like having a baby flipped my world upside down. And that's when the darkness really hit me," Lindsay shares. After having thoughts that began to scare her, Lindsay knew she needed help outside of herself. She even began worrying that the Atonement couldn't work in her life because the anxiety kept her from feeling the Savior's love. But Lindsay found a way to discover the light in her life again. "I can always look back and see the hand of God," Lindsay says.

In honor of BYU's Mental Health Awareness Week, Tanner Mangum took to Twitter to share a brave but powerful message, one that will resonate with many members who have experienced depression or anxiety personally or through someone close to them:

Often when something goes wrong in our lives, we turn to God to fix it. When we have questions, we turn to God for answers. When we want to do more or be more, we turn to God to make us better. And while those are all incredible beginnings, we forget that's just a beginning.