I am about to the point of banning the use of the word “anxiety” in my presence . It is a pervasive mental health diagnosis….with many DSM variations on the theme. As I pray about and explore issues with women in recovery either seeking medication or on medication for “anxiety”, I am led again and again to see it for what it is….fear and impatience, worrying about things over which they have no control. They cannot have peace or contentment because they refuse to deal with the realities with which they are confronted. They are afraid of circumstances that may or may not ever arise or that consequences resulting from their poor decisions or conduct will become permanent obstacles to the things they want out of life. They want it fixed and they want it fixed now. They do not want to invest the time to learn how to give it to God, trust God’s will, allow others to speak into their lives to help them deal better with reality. If we cannot get them to settle down, apply themselves to learning to trust God and wait for God’s timing and redemptive work, then they (and we) will be distracted by their constant demands for medications to make them feel calm. Peace does not come in a pill, it comes through prayer and learning to trust God. Sometimes it is necessary to go through the storm to get there, but it will come when one seeks the presence of Christ in the midst of the storm. As the picture of the little bird in the storm says, “Sometimes you just have to bow your head and wait out the storm.”
Does the brain change in the presence of worry, fear, and impatience? Absolutely. Is a pill the only solution? No. The plasticity of the brain means that it can be untrained , just as it was trained to react with the physiological aspects associated with negative emotions. It takes time. It takes effort. It takes being teachable. It takes a commitment to Christ’s healing. In the meantime can medication be helpful? Short tem, yes, until the brain is sufficiently cleared of the fog of substance abuse and chaos and new coping skills are laid in place to creat new pathways of response.
Psychological dependence on a medicating chemical for relief from anxiety can be just as detrimental in rehab as the potential for or actual physiological dependence on a medicating chemical. If one believes that only a drug can give her peace and contentment with life and within herself, then she is not a candidate for the program at Titus 2. We often cannot discern that attitude of psychological dependency in the interview and intake, but by the time one is in the house and begins expressing her values and beliefs, going to healthcare appointments, and responding to teaching and the influence of mentors, teachers, and one another, it becomes more apparent that she is either receptive or not receptive to the kinds of non-medicating self-care and peace-giving lifestyle skills and attitudes of faith-infused recovery.
One’s attitude about medications and beliefs about what medications can or cannot do can be as important in the recovery process as the medications themselves.