Overcome anxiety with peace
Published: Thu, 11/29/18
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When Houston energy worker Shawn Baker was laid off in 2015, she opened a new business that quickly became a “smash hit.” It’s a place for angry, stressed-out, or anxiety-filled people to take out their frustrations on inanimate objects. Inside the building are four rooms lined with thick plywood, all stocked with old furniture, dishes, burned-out TVs and appliances, out-of-date electronics, and even feather pillows Baker buys from junk dealers or used furniture shops. Customers get their choice of instrument—golf club, baseball bat, lead pipe, or sledge hammer. Then, after donning mandatory protective equipment, they close themselves in a room and smash everything in sight. Baker named her business Tantrums, LLC. Customers pay $25 to $50 for five to fifteen minutes of demolition. After a session, the room looks like a war zone, filled with broken glass, feathers, ceramic shards, and electronic innards. People from all walks of life flock to Baker’s business—mothers, businessmen, doctors, teachers, oil and gas workers, and even some therapists. Customers rave about how beneficial a session of smashing has been, enabling them to relieve stress in a controlled environment. Baker said, “I would have never thought I would be helping people like that.” It’s easy to understand the impulse that drives customers to Shawn Baker’s business. Anxiety is one of the defining symptoms of our times. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, anxiety disorders affect forty million adults in the United States, or just over 18 percent of the population. It’s a major factor affecting our general health; people with anxiety disorders go to doctors three to five times more than the general population.2 Some anxiety disorders are clinical in origin, springing from genetics, brain chemistry, or both; others are the result of life events and conditions. Whatever their cause, we know rates are rising among all ages, including children and teens. Younger and younger children are being diagnosed with anxiety, while colleges say rates of anxiety are higher than ever among their students. It’s not hard to see why—our world measures, grades, and judges everything young people do. Every social media post is “liked” or not, cyber-bullying is on the rise, and kids feel pressure to achieve like never before. Seeing the anxiety of those we love can increase our own levels of worry. Dealing with the normal stress of home, work, and life is already a challenge, but at some point we’ll face other pressures too: money worries, job stress, family conflict, traumatic events, addiction, caring for a loved one. Layered over these immediate concerns is the general sense that our world, our country, and our communities are increasingly unsafe, plagued by international conflict, political discord, rising anger and incivility, violence, and even climate uncertainty. When it comes to dealing with these fears and stresses, most of us realize that smashing a microwave in a safe room is not going to cut it. Behind this kind of therapy is the idea that our fears and frustrations build tension that can only be released through violence. Certainly, taking a sledge hammer to a TV set is better than taking our emotions out on others, but the theory that anxiety can be banished and peace achieved through the application of violence is simply not true. In His wisdom, God has provided support for those who need it through medication, counseling, and support groups. I urge you to seek help whenever you or your loved ones need it. A life in Christ does not remove us from the world; it sustains us in it. Thankfully, one of the ways Christ sustains us in this world is through the gift of peace. David Jeremiah, Overcomer: 8 Ways to Live a Life of Unstoppable Strength, Unmovable Faith, and Unbelievable Power (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2018). I have just completed a 10 Week Bible Study Lesson Series on David Jeremiah’s book Overcomer. It is available on Amazon in both print and Kindle versions, as well as part of my Good Questions Have Groups Talking Subscription plan. The idea is to invite each participant to purchase their own book. Topics include: Overcomer: Lesson #1 Overcomer: Lesson #2 Overcomer: Lesson #3 Overcomer: Lesson #4 Overcomer: Lesson #5 Overcomer: Lesson #6 Overcomer: Lesson #7 Overcomer: Lesson #8 Overcomer: Lesson #9 Overcomer: Lesson #10
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