Affirmation: I Am Courageous

Ending this affirmation series for Mental Health Awareness Month with a *bang*. So let's talk about anxiety, shall we?

"Becoming fearless isn't the point. That's impossible. It's learning how to control your fear, and how to be free from it, that's the point." Roth, Veronica.

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Affirmation: “I am strong, firm, courageous”

This affirmation is personal. Fear and I have never been strangers but how it has affected me has changed throughout the years. Fear is a liar and a thief no matter what form it takes.

I grew comfortable, complacent to my fears because it was all I ever knew. Oh, I'm just over-preparing so I can feel in control. But this desire to at least ~feel~ in control was detrimental-from panic/anxiety attacks and other physical issues to all sorts of mental distress. This need to feel in control and be safe was never healthy or satisfied no matter what I did.

I never fully understood or acknowledged it was such an issue because how do you know it's unhealthy if all you have ever known, experienced is sickness? Until two instances did I finally acknowledge I had an actual problem- a trigger changed and I was freed from a festering panic disorder (at church from the pastor intentionally praying about those with anxiety).

It's not normal to be nervous every single day you walk into high school? And not like a few fluttering butterflies but an impossibly tightened stomach, nervous ticks, and the endless desire to ~flee~?

It's not normal to feel on edge every single moment and be one second away from a breakdown all the time?

Can you relate?

But where did all of this come from?

Somewhere, sometime the lies were planted in your brain and you let them grow...

I am anxious.

I am weak.

I am inconsistent.

I am a coward.

I am stuck in my ways and can’t change.

I am in danger.

I am never prepared enough.

I am not in control of anything.

So I need to control everything.

I don’t trust myself and/or others.

But that's simply not the truth about you.

I am strong.

I am secure.

I am brave.

I am present.

I am calm.

I am capable.

I am determined and steadfast.

I am in control of myself and how I react.

I have confidence in myself and my decisions.

I have peace.

I let go of my need to control everything.

I trust myself and others.

I see the best in myself and others.

I started using the affirmation "I am strong, firm, and courageous" when I went through that season of heightened panic and anxiety. Every time my nerves fired and my heart sped up along with my chaotic breathing, I spoke these words to myself, sometimes out loud. Until the panic settled. Until I believed them. Until the panic was no longer dominating my life.

I understand anxiety is a beast and not easily thwarted. If you struggle with anxiety, I suggest you try multiple avenues to help you until you find what's right for you. But I firmly believe you cannot conquer anxiety until you tame the true monster-

Your mind.

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"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6

"Remember that I have commanded you to be determined and confident! Do not be afraid or discouraged, for I, the Lord your God, am with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:6-7

"My heart, O God, is fixed,

my heart is steadfast..." Psalm 57:7

"You will keep in perfect peace

those whose minds are steadfast,

because they trust in you." Isaiah 26:3

The Lord is my light and my salvation—

whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life—

of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1

"Though the mountains be shaken

and the hills be removed,

yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken

nor my covenant of peace be removed

says the Lord." Isaiah 54:10

" Jesus said, 'Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?...Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:25-27, 34

"Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.

If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” - Psalm 91

~M.M. Bylo