Hey, guys, this is for you. For the ladies, you won’t mind one bit, because you all have at least one guy in your life that can use this. I’m busy packing for a weekend conference in Chicago, so this is my effort for the day. I’ll catch you soon.
Living With or Avoiding Anxiety
April 26, 2011
Anxiety is a common symptom of CF. There is anxiety from finances, whether or not something is going to make you sick, if you can get the meds you need in time and under budget, or if you can make it out of clinic without IVs or in the hospital.
I think there is a line chart that depicts anxiety in the life of a CFer. It starts low as a child in a healthy home environment, so long as their parents don’t pass on the anxiety they had when they found out. However, it’s high if you’re diagnosed later in life, but then diminishes once you realize it’s not the end of the world. Anxiety enters when trouble does. Sickness. Resistance to meds. Hearing the “T” word for the first time: transplant.
I’ll stop here for a second to pause and either remind or inform everyone that anxiety doesn’t do anyone any good. You can’t control the number of hairs on your head, your height, or the days of your life. There are some things that are always going to be out of your control, while others are under your influence by how you live and think. One thing is certain about all of these things: anxiety never changes the outcome. Since it has no positive bearing on things, we are advised “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Phil 4:6. It is okay to be concerned about things that press on you, but do not dwell on them and allow them to get a hold on your psyche.
