Many of the women I work with are LDS and experience symptoms of anxiety. It’s hard enough for these women to admit they struggle with anxiety let alone come in and seek help. They feel like they should have it all together and that they should have the answers because of their faith. These women share how much their faith means to them, and their spiritual beliefs bring them peace and happiness. They have shared their belief in Christ helps guide their actions and gives their life meaning. Their spiritual beliefs and religion mean so much to them, and it brings them so many other answers in life so why isn’t it working for their anxiety?
LDS women tend to go inward and blame themselves. This must mean they are reading their scriptures enough, doing enough services, or they aren’t filled with enough faith. They’ve heard comments from other well-meaning people around them say, “The atonement can help you overcome your anxiety”. This leaves them feeling like they aren’t doing enough, and if they have anxiety it must be their fault.
What I want my LDS clients to know about their anxiety
As a therapist, I want to give you some perspective on this topic and help you not feel so weighed down not only by your anxiety but help you realize it’s not your fault. I want to help you offer yourself compassion for having anxiety the same way you offer to other people. Anxiety is something everyone experiences regardless of their faith and beliefs. I try to challenge my LDS clients on is do these beliefs line up with what they believe about God. I would challenge you to ask yourself the same thing. Here are some things to consider about your anxiety.
Anxiety is biological
Anxiety is a natural response to stressors. The brain releases chemicals when it feels we are in danger. The issue with this is that our brain isn’t able to know what is a real or imagined threat based on the messages we give it. It doesn’t know speaking in public isn’t the equivalent of being attacked by a bear so it responds as if you were able to be attacked. The brain is doing its job and responding the way it was created. Keeping you safe is the purpose of anxiety. It responds because it’s a survival skill not because you aren’t praying hard enough.
Anxiety isn’t a result of having a lack of faith
People that have faith or spiritual beliefs can have mental health benefits and aid in the therapy process. It’s important to utilize faith in helpful ways. Believing anxiety is a punishment or as a result of a lack of faith is not helpful. Having anxiety isn’t a sin or something you need to feel guilty about having. In fact, feeling guilty and shameful about experiencing anxiety actually makes it worse. Anxiety is also not a punishment for not doing enough or retaliation for something you’ve done. It’s normal for anyone and everyone to experience anxiety to some degree. If you are experiencing severe anxiety, it has nothing to do with your faithfulness.
It’s ok to admit you have anxiety
Women that I work with are afraid to admit they struggle with anxiety. Fear of being judged or misunderstood stops them from opening up. Not everyone is a safe place to talk to about your anxiety but there might be people you know who would be able to be compassionate and kind. Dealing with anxiety on your own can be overwhelming. You would be surprised how many other women deal with anxiety You might not even know what you are struggling with is anxiety because it doesn’t seem bad enough to warrant being called anxiety. Anxiety is on a spectrum, and it doesn’t have to be debilitating to count as anxiety.
Trauma and negative experiences can create anxiety
The women I work with open up about the trials they are going through. As a therapist listen to this and recognize that the trials they are experiencing are actually traumatic events. Most women I work with regardless of their faith or spiritual beliefs don’t feel like what they have gone through is trauma. What you have experienced in your life commonly increases your anxiety. This is normal for all of us. It’s not a weakness or a lack of faith to have anxiety.
Anxiety doesn’t mean you aren’t worthy
This is the one that tears me up inside. When I hear my clients express that they feel they aren’t worthy because they are struggling with anxiety, I desperately want them to know it’s not true. You are worthy regardless of anxiety or what you’ve been through. You’re loved and your life has a purpose and meaning no matter what.
Anxiety and spiritual promptings are different
This is one of the hardest things to work with LDS women on sorting out. It’s hard to discern between a prompting and anxiety. All of us deal with thoughts and sometimes scary thoughts. We have intrusive thoughts around losing the things we value the most or something happening to the people we care about. Sometimes the women I work with fear this is a prompting that they need to act upon rather than just an anxious thought. I could write a separate post on this topic itself but I would challenge you to notice how you feel differently with spiritual promptings that you feel confident in versus what anxiety feels like.
Anxiety therapy can be a helpful tool.
There are many tools out there that can help you manage your anxiety, and therapy is a powerful tool in helping you utilize them. Therapy can be a place where we talk about some things that make you anxious and find ways to deal with them more effectively. The women I work with have often tried everything they can on their own and are discouraged about needing more help. Therapy can also help you recognize past experiences that might be contributing to anxiety and to help you work through them. I wish everyone would utilize therapy a lot more to cope better with their anxiety and get better faster.
Most of the women I work with struggle with varying degrees of anxiety and perfectionism, regardless of what has brought them into therapy. When anxiety gets in the way of you being able to do the things you want to do and show up for the people in your life the way you want to, going to therapy can make a big difference. I help women be able to feel less anxious and manage it better when it does get triggered.
Ready to start working with an anxiety therapist and located in Utah?
You don’t have to keep living in anxiety. You can find relief from your struggling through anxiety therapy. This Utah Counseling Practice has an anxiety therapist specializing in working with LDS women. To begin therapy, follow the steps below:
Meet with a therapist for anxiety in Utah
Begin managing anxiety better
Online Anxiety Therapy in Utah
It’s hard to make time for therapy and commit to traveling to a weekly appointment. I know it’s not the most convenient thing to do, and I also know how crucial it is to prioritize your mental health. This is why I provide online therapy in Utah. It’s secure, convenient, and just as effective as in-person therapy.
If you are located in St. George, Cedar City, Logan, Salt Lake City, Heber or more, we can work together in online counseling.
Other mental health services provided by Maple Canyon Therapy
Anxiety therapy isn’t the only counseling service offered at this Utah County Counseling Clinic. Other mental health services provided by Maple Canyon Therapy include eating disorder therapy, body image therapy, binge eating disorder treatment, birth trauma, and EMDR therapy in Utah.