How to Land the Anxiety Plane

Sitcoms enjoy using the plot strategy where people are on an airplane and suddenly the pilot is unable to do his job, or, the plane is in trouble, or even both. An amateur takes the controls and through great, funny writing, they land the plane and everyone is safe.

Recently I thought about where I am mentally and emotionally, and I felt like if I were a plane, tower control was on vacation and everything in the sky was madness coming straight at me. My mind swirled with the questions, how to fix it, strategies, what if’s, and anything else I could cram into my brain.

I even said to God, “I can’t land this plane. My mind is racing out of control.”

And it hit me.

I’m not supposed to be the pilot. Or tower control. If anything, I’m a passenger allowed to ride this flight called my life.

As I calmed down and surrendered my anxiety, I got thinking about ways I’ve found peace before, and what I should have done in this case when I chose to lose my peace first. I thought I’d share what I discovered, in hopes that if you feel like your life is an out of control air disaster, you too can have a safe landing.

1, Breathe. It sounds so silly and simple, but I realized as I entered the situation, I wasn’t breathing correctly, and I was grinding my teeth day and night. That’s not living in peace. I participated in some sessions where a counselor taught breathing exercises for anxiety and even though I wasn’t the patient, I’ve put those techniques to practice. They work!

2. Pray. I’ve been down adversity road many, many, MANY times. Most of those times I was walking in a relationship with Christ as a flawed person. I’d still choose that over not having Christ in my life at all. I don’t always go to God first, and it shows when I don’t. But praying and laying it all on the line, another term close to the word lamenting, is healthy. God knows all, so I spill it so we can get my thoughts out of the way and move forward. In prayer He has given strategies, and even tough talk I needed. Always with love. If you get tough talk that’s mean and condemning, that’s not God you’re hearing. Don’t listen.

3. Be on the lookout. When there’s turbulence, I’m vulnerable. I tend not to sleep well and want to eat my stress away. Those aren’t good choices, and like I said, the atmosphere is bumpy anyway. I need to pay attention to my surroundings. This isn’t when I want to be sharing with everyone I know. Some people aren’t in a healthy place themselves, and their negativity or toxic life can bring me down. I’m very sensitive with my surroundings and the verse about how words can bring “life or death” is real, and very real for me. I can’t listen to any old music. Lyrics get in my mind and they tend to grow thoughts. If I have horrible words mulling through my mind from movies, TV, music, or people, it affects me. I pay extra attention to what and who I listen to.

I don’t know how my current flight is going to land, but I know I can’t let anxiety take the controls. With these three things I’m implementing, I can tell that the best place for me to be is listening to my Pilot, who has way more experience than I do.