Help with Fear (Paranoia/Anxiety)

In my opinion, paranoia is one of the worst symptoms of Lyme Disease. On a daily basis, thoughts go through my mind over and over and over again until a situation, interaction, or issue gets blown way out of proportion. The symptoms usually start with physical weakness, anxiety and/or putting off my detoxification. These thoughts include evil thoughts about my neighbor and how they are going to hurt me or are planning on hurting me. The thoughts get to the point where I am generating my arguments or plans against this person to do them evil with my tongue, actions or some other method. I start yelling out my arguments as if the person was there and then throwing things around.  My head starts shaking back and forth involuntarily during this time. But, through the grace of God, I have found ways to manage this symptom:

1. Call on the name of Jesus.   This might sound cheesy at first but when my mind is gone and I can't see through the darkness of paranoia, this is pretty much what I am able to do. I say "Jesus" over and over and over again crying out to Him for help as I isolate myself in my locked bedroom. He always answers. Then the light shines in the darkness and my mind clears a bit. The Lord also gently reminds me of my sins against Him. (Luke 10:41, Romans 10:13) .

2. Avoid confrontation.  Even after step one, I still feel this overwhelming urge to confront this person(s). I always try to justify my plans since the bible does allow us to rebuke our brothers. However, I try not to confront anyone when I am in this state of weakness because the bible also says to do so gently not in an out of control/lunatic manner (Galatians 6:1). Instead, I pray that God would give them life (if they in fact have sinned!). I pray this prayer again until I believe that He will do it as stated in 1 John 5:16.

If I still feel the need to confront someone, I ask myself if what I am going to say is:

1. pure,
2. peace-loving,
3. considerate,
4. submissive,
5. full of mercy and good fruit,
6. impartial;  and,
7.sincere.

(James 3:17)

3. Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand. Then, I repent of my sins by asking for forgiveness for slandering or hating my brother and trying to control them. At this point, I am able to breathe again and focus my mind again. It is important to focus on Jesus with all your mind, heart, soul and strength or the paranoia will come back. (James 4:11)

4. Do not allow the anxiety to take over again. I actually had a christian counselor tell me that the anxiety was coming from Satan. Well, it is either Satan, the world or the flesh so he has a third of a chance of being correct. I also explained to a friend of mine what was happening in my family and she also said that it was Satan trying to destroy my family. All that I know for sure is that God is sovereign and Satan is his lackey. But, Satan, the world and the flesh are powerful forces to fight against. This fight cannot be accomplished through my own strength (what strength?) but only through Him. I replace these anxious thoughts by memorizing scripture, singing hymns, and reading Psalms 37:8 (read the whole chapter). I fill my mind to the brim with Christ and then I read my post on anxiety and/or anger. Look at the Book

5. Keep your Eyes on Jesus. It is sometimes difficult to do step 4. But, if I put my whole mind on Jesus through prayer, bible meditation, sermons or music and not allow it to wander, I realize how great is His love for me a great sinner. I realize that this episode of fear/paranoia should never have happened and it is a great sin for me to fear something other than the Lord (Verses on Fear). The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and my mind slowly returns to me. (Psalm 16:8)

In conclusion, these feelings of paranoia can seem overwhelming and can become destructive.  I have used many different strategies but have found that only through the power of God am I able to fight off these feelings and clear my mind.