Can I actually be healed of anxiety?
Originally appeared online in the teen series Q&A - April 9, 2024.
Q: I have such bad anxiety. My whole life I’ve prayed about all my problems, but I don’t know how to pray about this.
A: I can totally relate. There was a time in my life when I was struggling with almost constant anxiety after my mom suddenly passed away. I grew up attending Christian Science Sunday School and had learned early on that I could turn to prayer to address any problem. In fact, prayer has always helped me get quiet and find greater peace and joy. But this anxiety was overwhelming, and I had trouble finding peace even through prayer.
So I called someone whose whole job is to pray for people—a Christian Science practitioner—and she got right to the heart of the matter. She told me that it was too late for anxiety to show up! What she meant was that my identity couldn’t change from something good into something bad. I was already made strong, good, and resilient in God’s image and likeness, just as the first chapter of Genesis in the Bible explains. Essentially, she was telling me that good was the foundation of my identity and the forever truth about me. She reminded me that, grounded in this spiritual foundation, I was safe. And this would never change, no matter what circumstances I faced. It was like she was pulling the reasons for those anxious feelings right up by the roots.
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