Against anxiety, magnanimity

Carlos felt a tightness in his chest for fear of losing his job, such was his fear that he acted in such a way as to provoke his own dismissal. Magdalena imagined the worst scenarios if her husband was late in arriving; her mortification took her to the hospital thinking she was having a heart attack...after the crisis she returned home, she had experienced a panic attack. Jorge, a 13-year-old teenager, feared interacting with others, locking himself in his room most of the day. If he had to talk to anyone, his heart would flutter and he would be short of breath. He hated to feel this but could not control it, he lived in isolation. These scenes are repeated more and more every day. These are various manifestations of anxiety disorders which are the most common mental illness worldwide. Latin America reports that 7 % of its population suffers from it and only one in four people are receiving treatment.

Fear rules the mind and body

Anxiety is an adaptive response that our body uses to respond to threatening situations (real or imaginary), they are disproportionate responses, there is an excessive activation that comprehensively affects the life of the sufferer.

The anxious person is afraid of what will happen, imagines the worst possibilities and enters a loop of negative thoughts from which he/she experiences that he/she cannot get out. 

If you are suffering from anxiety there are some basic first aids that have to do with deep breathing, knowing how to stop negative thoughts by paying attention to the present moment (what I am hearing, seeing, smelling, feeling); a change of healthy habits (taking care of your sleep, doing some exercise every day, reducing alcohol and caffeine consumption, consuming omega 3...). Professional therapeutic care is of great help.

Faith, a firm rock in the face of anxiety

But all these efforts must be made on the bedrock of our faith, which is why it is advisable:

• Increase your knowledge of God's Word, exemplary lives that inspire, and
•  engage in a good cause worth giving your life for. 

No longer present in our belief system is a Good God who watches over our good. We do not read the scriptures that contain these words spoken by Jesus Christ: “Do not worry about your life, how you will feed yourself; do not worry about your body, how you will clothe yourself. Look at the birds of the air, knitting is not their occupation; nor did Solomon in his glory clothe himself with such beauty. Seek first the kingdom of God and his divine righteousness, and from his hand you will receive the rest besides.” (Mt.6:27-32).

The criteria of the world have drowned out the Divine Word and have taken away our peace. Where fear grows, there is no place for faith. Our confidence is placed in ourselves, and something is really lacking. It is not that a person of faith cannot suffer from anxiety, but when it comes, he knows how to give it its place, he questions it, confronts his fears with the Truth, and promptly frees himself. 

The saints with their lives remind us that the first activity of the believer is not the fight against evil from a negative attitude, but from a confident, creative and restorative attitude. In this way the believer, even if he suffers, builds peace and gives himself to a sacrificial path of continuous offering; only in this way can we free ourselves from the limits imposed by anxiety: by widening the heart.   

Magnanimity: the way to enlarge the heart

St. Thomas Aquinas made an excellent suggestion that today is supported by science. He said that anguish and anxiety make you feel small and lost. To change this and recognize your potential and value there is an attitude to develop.

The word “anxiety” comes from the Latin, anxietas, which means a state of agitation, restlessness or anxiety. It derives from the Indo-European root angh-ank, which carries the sense of tightness, pain or pressure (suffocation). This Latin root is associated with words such as angor and angus, while the word angustia also comes from Latin and means narrow, strait, difficult. 

Its opposite is the exit door!

To confront this paralyzing sensation, St. Thomas Aquinas proposed cultivating the magnanimity which is a broadening of the spirit, means that you can go out of yourself and give yourself to something great, that overcomes you and pushes you. To think of doing a greater good and to undertake it.

Martha's testimony

This is how Martha healed her anxiety. She was afraid of everything, that the child would fall, that she would damage the food, that there would be an accident if they used the car; if she was invited to collaborate with something she felt that she would not do it well, she constantly thought that others would see her in a bad light. She feared she might have thyroid or hormonal problems. She had check-ups that were fine but she doubted the results.

One day she met Almudena, a good friend from her youth who invited her to join a social cause: supporting pregnant and homeless women and defending unborn babies.

Martha accepted with fears included, but when she convinced a young mother to receive her baby, she felt her heart expand. She felt the joy of having saved a life, accompanied this young woman through her pregnancy and met the little baby girl who almost didn't make it. She felt she had done something valuable. During this time she had no time to feed her fears; she said to herself: this fear will not prevent me from doing good for someone else today. Magnanimity!

You are as big as the things you care about. Be victorious: look high, think noble, act brave!