Do Not Be Anxious About Anything?
This past week, someone from our congregation posted a link to an article about anxiety. I found the title intriguing. “Anxiety is our new normal. Surrendering to it is not.” The author, June Silny, coaches people with ADHD. She has it herself. She has survived several difficult events including hurricanes. But she notes a pandemic is different. She writes: "I’m now accustomed to managing my anxiety from hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, tornadoes, school shootings, and terrorist attacks. But those are isolated incidents. After sadness passes, I can separate myself from those events. Now, there is no escape from the cloud raining down anxiety upon us. This pandemic has taken my fears global. Pandemics are not new, but never before has our society experienced anything like this. The range of emotions we feel is intense. Like traveling through the stages of grief, we experience denial, anger, bargaining, and sadness — all in an effort to psychologically and emotionally accept what is happening and figure out how we are going to get through it."