What is anxiety? How can it manifest itself physically and mentally in someone? Mike and Chris discuss their personal experiences with anxiety and emphasize the importance of seeking support from a local community, whether it be friends, a church, or a small group.
They also discuss practical steps for managing anxiety such as time management, setting priorities, and taking care of one’s physical and mental health. They highlight the power of Scripture in finding peace and comfort during anxious moments.
Leave us a voicemail online and send us your story and your thoughts to info@notquitethereshow.com
Visit nqtshow.com and visit here to see all available platforms this podcast is now available on!
Anxiety is more than worrying too much — it’s a real physical and mental struggle that Scripture speaks to directly. In this episode of the Not Quite There podcast, Mike Mobley shares his own story: a panic attack he mistook for a heart attack, the two-year journey through counseling and doctors that followed, and the biblical truths that carried him — “do not be anxious about anything” (Philippians 4:6–7), “God gave us a spirit not of fear” (2 Timothy 1:7), and “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). Along the way: why anxiety isn’t a faith failure, how diet, alcohol, exercise, and overcommitment feed it, and how to walk well with someone who struggles.
Anxiety Is Real — And It’s Not Just “Worrying Too Much”
Mike opens with honesty about his old attitude: he used to tell anxious people to “just stop thinking about it.” Then, about eight years ago — young kids, a full-time job, and a church plant move to Austin on the horizon — something misfired in a staff meeting. Racing heart, sweating fingertips, and total certainty he was having a heart attack. The ER ran every test; his heart was fine. The diagnosis was an anxiety attack, and it launched a two-year journey of counselors, doctors, and Scripture. Symptoms vary widely from person to person — racing heart, dizziness, migraines, temporary paralysis, even “brain zaps” — which is why writing anxiety off as weak faith or weak will misses what’s actually happening.
The Counselor’s Reframe: Maintenance, Not Fixing
The turning point came when a counselor told Mike he was asking the wrong question. For two years his goal had been “why is this happening?” The counselor’s point: no one asks why a ninety-year-old breaks a hip — bodies are broken; Scripture makes no separation between broken bodies and broken minds. Both live under the fall. The better question is how to be content in the Lord and walk through each day whether the anxiety returns or not — maintenance versus solving. That reframe moved Mike from chasing a cure to renewing his mind (Romans 12:2) and trusting God through the seasons.
Jesus Sympathizes With Mental Struggle
Hebrews says we have a High Priest who sympathizes with our every weakness — and Mike takes that to include mental struggle. Jesus sweat blood in Gethsemane under the weight of what was coming. For anyone pacing the house at 2 a.m. mid-attack, feeling isolated and convinced no one understands: the Savior does. There were nights Mike read Scripture through blurred vision, and nights when all he could pray was the name of Jesus — and found real peace there, the “peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” guarding heart and mind (Philippians 4:7).
Practical Steps: Exercise, Diet, Alcohol, and the Calendar
Anxiety has physical levers, and Mike is blunt about them. Exercise matters for the brain, not just the body — skip it for a week or two and he feels the difference. Diet matters more than we like to admit. And alcohol was the biggest surprise: working with doctors, Mike learned that even one ounce of whiskey took his brain roughly three days to fully recover, depleting serotonin in ways that leave a person primed for attacks — the very drink people reach for to “take the edge off” is often loading the spring. Add an honest audit of the calendar (overcommitment, no free nights, constant phone use) and, where appropriate, medical care — Mike is candid that medication was part of his path, with a plan to taper. He hasn’t had a full attack in about a year.
How To Walk With Someone Who Struggles
Lead with empathy, not solutions. In any coffee shop, Mike estimates well over half the room is carrying some version of this quietly — part of the enemy’s lie is “it’s just you.” So take every person seriously, ask questions, and don’t write anyone off. There’s healing power in simply saying out loud “I’m struggling with anxiety” to trusted friends or a small group — the Bible connects confession and healing (James 5:16). And if you don’t struggle yourself, patience and presence — “holding their hand and walking with them” — help more than pressure ever will.
Scriptures From This Episode
Philippians 4:6–7 · 2 Timothy 1:7 · 1 Peter 5:7 · Psalm 55:22 · Romans 12:2 · the armor of God in Ephesians 6:10–17 — the sword of the Spirit is the one offensive weapon we’re given, and most of the armor is a set of reminders of what’s already true in Christ.
Go deeper: Scripture on Fear · Scripture on Thoughts · Scripture on Comfort · Understanding Spiritual Warfare · 3 Steps To Find Rest
Full Transcript — Not Quite There, Episode 4: The Struggle With Anxiety Is Real
Chris: Okay, all right, so uh so Switzerland, huh? Switzerland indeed. We uh we’ve heard from Switzerland. Hey, uh you know, that’s that’s a nice little uh ad to the week that uh the podcast has reached Switzerland, so we had a message from a a Caroline. Uh, from Switzerland saying, you know, thank you for the podcast. And it’s I like thinking about Switzerland. What about you?
Mike: Sweet Caroline. Uh Did the song Sweet Caroline come from Switzerland?
Chris: It did. Sweet Caroline. Bum bum bum bum. Emailing from the Switzerland. So good. So good.
Mike: So good. I wanted to see how long you were gonna do that. Uh what is Switzerland, Caroline? I we mean no offense by this because we were really encouraged by your message. for you listening, just an encouragement on the podcast in general and uh thanks for sending in messages and continuing to send those in. But no offense. Switzerland, is that the home of Swiss cheese?
Chris: Yeah, it would be Swiss cheese.
Mike: What else is Switzerland known for? Chocolate. Chocolate. Oh yeah, that’s right. Yodeling. Yodeling. Watches. Who yodels again? Is it the Okay. Well, uh, what are we talking about today, co-host Chris?
Chris: Uh we are talking about anxiety. Ooh. Are you anxious? No, I feel good actually. Good. Okay. Because we’re going to uh just find out a little bit more about uh what it means to Deal with anxiety on a regular basis. It’s a hot button word these days. It is anxiety.
Mike: A lot of people talk about that.
Chris: It is. And I’m glad we’re talking about it because I’m that I’m really seeking some more understanding on it. It’s it’s not something that I would say that I deal with in a um uh from a medical standpoint or from a you know a diagnosis standpoint. There have been times where I feel anxious, of course. Um this week, I would say, even with uh somebody who parked a little bit too close to me and I Oh, uh does that happen? Well, I was going to uh see if they c might be able to move their their car and so when I went around to see if the driver was there because the car was definitely uh idling. Yeah. Um Uh nobody was in the driver’s seat, but there was a passenger there and so I was like, I’m not gonna talk to the passenger about why do you want to talk to the passenger?
Mike: I was gonna see if they could let me um on passengers if they’re not like the driver. I don’t speak to passengers to the drivers.
Chris: I just thought, you know, I could wait here or there might be another solution than asking the passenger to get into the driver’s seat and drive away. That was, you know, yeah, that was just my strategy. So what so what did the driver never show up? The driver showed up right away and I asked if he might be able to uh move over so that I can get in my vehicle, you know, kinda nicely. And then what happened Uh he he said that I parked like a uh I won’t repeat the word and was uh pretty uh pretty uh pretty abrasive there. And so um Yeah. That’s intense. The only thing I could think to say back was uh was nice. Did you ask him if he was struggling with anxiety? About uh the fact that somebody can, you know, say something like that to a stranger and Oh yeah. Um though that’s kind of the world we live in today. And it caught me by surprise. Made me a bit anxious, Mike.
Mike: What what so when you hear anxiety then, like what what comes to mind? How would you try to define it? Without looking it up, don’t cheat I want to do it justice, but uh I’ll tell I’ll I’ll I’ll give my version. Go for it. Give your version. So I have a version of what I thought it was and then I can tell you more what well now what I know it is from struggling with it. So I used to think this is gonna sound really offensive, I used to think if someone said they were struggling with anxiety Let’s say they said, um, hey, I’m I’m have anxiety over this test coming up. I would just look at them and just be like, Well stop thinking about the test so much. Like just stop stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Stop thinking about it. And then when people are like, Well, I really struggle with anxiety, I’m like, stop thinking of it all the time. Like, what’s wrong with you? So I I thought that’s what anxiety was. What do you think it is?
Chris: I think it’s what you said.
Mike: You’re making me anxious right now, asking me for the definition. Well, well actually hold on, hold on. Let me let me interrupt you. An expert Uh at least he claims to be an expert on anxiety is walked into the room. Christopher Walken, everyone, has come into the space. Hello, gentlemen.
Chris: I hear that you’re talking about anxiety and I really think people out there need to understand Stop worrying.
Mike: Life is too short. Christopher, I think that’s the wrong that’s the wrong take.
Chris: As my friend Bobby McFerrin said in his song, don’t worry. Be happy. Oh dear.
Mike: You gotta get it together. Okay. Thanks for thanks for stopping by. Chris, if you can s uh see him on the way out, just go ahead and shut the door behind him. That is a bad example of anxiety, everyone. So don’t do what Christopher Walken does. Yes.
Chris: Gosh, I got it. Not quite there, kind of.
Mike: He is not Oh, we’re making not Not uh we’re making not quite their jokes now. Okay, I see. Yeah. Okay, so maybe maybe to help it give a little bit of context. So it’s interesting we’re both talking about this. It’s coming from a side that has struggled with it. And then on your side, you know, not really just really hasn’t been there for you.
Chris: I’m heartless about it.
Mike: Christopher Walken is heartless, but not you. So Uh I guess I’ll guess I’ll give a little context just for me, a quick quick part of my uh intro into anxiety, where now my answer is a lot different from telling someone to just stop worrying about it. So Uh, for those of you at home, a definition of anxiety is talking about a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease. typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome. So that’s a like a book version of anxiety. So for me, um about seven or eight years ago, there was a lot of things going on in my life, getting ready to move to Austin, help plant a church, uh had my full-time job here in DFW. Our kids were really young. And I think there was a lot of activity going on in my life, which actually doesn’t always lead to anxiety. I’m just kind of recapping kind of what was going on. But I had a moment I was uh in a staff meeting and it felt like it it felt like something misfired in my head is the only way I can kind of describe it. And I immediately turned to my boss at the time and leaned over and was like, hey, I need to go to the hospital Right now because I’m having a heart attack. Oh, it must be scary. And I’m not the kind of guy to say that. I’m you know, some people were like that. It was my heart was racing. I’ve never felt this before. It was like an explosion happened. And I was convinced. I genuinely was convinced. I’m texting and calling Joelle and genuinely texting like goodbye text. Um it was It was terrifying. So they hooked me up to EKG, they do all the stuff. I mean they it’s amazing when you go in and say you’re having a heart attack, how fast a hospital staff. They did. They did everything, they ran all the tests, and then a doctor came in and said, Well, you’re Your heart is perfectly fine. It looks like you’re having an anxiety attack. And to my definition of worrying too much Uh I got pretty upset with the doctor and I was like, that’s not true. I’m having a heart attack. In fact, I feel like I’m having another one right now. And I was experiencing what I now know are kind of waves of an anxiety attack. where they kinda calm down and then maybe they come back.
Chris: So for our listeners here, just to describe it a little bit further, um, you do you feel tightness in the chest? Are you sweating? What what are our what are the symptoms?
Mike: So I’ve I’ve so I’ve learned over time kind of what mind were everyone’s a little bit different. So it’s it’s interesting because it it can manifest itself in different ways. I went down the rabbit hole of counselors and talking with people. Some people can’t move their legs. They kind of get paralyzed. For me, my fingertips and toes get sweaty and then my heart is racing and it just it feels like a what I believe what a heart attack would feel like. Just just kind of crazy. I mean, I don’t know. We’re super fast. But I’ve heard other people they lose the ability to like move an arm. Seriously, legs can go out. Some people get um migraines, really bad migraines. And then uh I’ve also talked to some people who kind of lose their vision a little bit during an attack. So it’s pretty wild on what can take place. So long story short, I I learned through that hospital trip, okay, there’s this thing called anxiety. And it can cause these physical reactions in your body. And at the same time that your body is speeding up and telling me something like, oh, you’re having a heart attack, you’re also not having a heart attack. And so I have never experienced something like this. outside of uh drinking or just drugs. So it’s like, you know, if you take drugs or if you get drunk, obviously you’re like, okay, I feel all weird and crazy because I took something. This was like a natural I did nothing and it this is happening to me.
Chris: Do you feel outside of your body at this point?
Mike: Just um I mean it’s it feels yeah, it’s it feels like I’m racing a million miles an hour. And so That to me was the beginning of, okay, when people really talk about anxiety, this is a much deeper thing than just worrying about something a little too much. So uh went down the rabbit hole there. I I got counseling. I went and saw doctors. Um I had some some really good biblical equipping. It took about I want to say two years of kind of this dominating the subject of my life to learn how to cope and move through it and still struggle with it. Um but just learn the signs of it. Yeah.
Chris: How much warning do you have, would you say, just in your your experience here of knowing it’s a starting or beginning.
Mike: So now well now I can recognize the signs a little bit faster. So typically My heart will start racing a little bit or maybe the fingertips will kinda start sweating and this I’ll I’ll kinda step back and and take a breath and I can recognize this sooner. You know, going back because everyone everyone struggles with a different aspect of it. This is what this is what I’m learning. You know, mental health, our technology use, um, honestly, alcohol. That’s a whole nother rabbit hole I went down to learn how that affects, you know, the brain and anxiety. There’s so many of these things we’re doing every single day that’s kind of keeping us almost in a perpetual state of, I would say, right on the edge before something like that hits you. So I learned Um sa saw a counselor, he made a really good point. He basically said if you’re coming in here trying to figure out why you’re having the anxiety, which is what everyone does. He just said you’re asking the wrong question, which kind of piqued my interest because my number one my number one goal for two years was why is this happening so I can find out the reason why. Yes. So I was like, okay, that’s interesting. So what do you mean? And he said, Well, if you think about a ninety year old person breaking their hip, you know, we don’t really I mean, that all makes sense to us. We don’t question that. You know, we have sinful bodies, they’re gonna kinda break as we get older, that’s what happens. But he said, but when a twenty-year-old’s brain is broken and there’s issues with that, we tend to go like, ooh, you know, what’s you know, that’s interesting. Like, what’s wrong with that person? Kind of a thing. But biblically there’s no separation of our bodies or our minds. Um, they’re both broken. And so some of this is also learning, I think, as a culture. And the more we learn in medicine that there’s mental illness is a real thing. It’s not just a fad that I mean some people are gonna use it for that. But our brains are just as broken. And so he just kind of helped counsel me through how can you be content with the Lord and move through your day-to-day? Regardless if you continue having anxiety issues or not. So it becomes more about maintenance versus solving or fixing. that would put that would lead me through the seasons, whether they go up and down. Like not not necessarily even how to take care of the anxiety. It’s just who can I, who and what can I focus on? uh to get through day to day. Um and it really started opening my world to a lot of a lot of scripture that talks about renewing your mind
Chris: Yeah, certainly we we have a savior who um identifies with us and uh went through some very hard difficult times and conversations with Uh God, I think of the Garden of Gethsemane and um you know, just the the condition he had, um I know there’s a name for it, but just you know, bleeding profusely because um of uh dealing with what was ahead of him. And so um how does that comfort you um just to know yeah being able to identify?
Mike: Yeah. And so I mean one, my heart goes out to anyone who struggles with it now. It’s Maybe it’s a little ironic. I mean, I don’t want to call it ironic. It’s probably just what the Lord has had had for me on the guy who uh would question everyone on worrying so much had to go through years of anxiety issues himself to turn right around and, you know, wouldn’t you know it in a place like Austin and just kind of all over, what’s almost the number one thing everyone’s struggling with is anxiety. And so I was immediately able to have empathy in a way that I just couldn’t before. And so m so that, you know, to any of us struggling with it, it really is debilitating in the moment. And so, you know, you asked like kind of what would encourage me. You know, there’d be times in the middle of the night, I’d be having attacks, I’d be pacing through the house. uh my wife would be, I mean, perfectly patient with me, you know, not not to be like, you know, what’s wrong? What’s wrong? Because I mean that’s the worst thing that someone kind of going through the attack could feel. You gotta give them space. But I would go read scripture and I mean the words are blurry or shaking. It’s just in the moment, in the actual moment, I mean you’re really being convinced. You know, I’m I’m I think I’m gonna die. Or um no one understands what I’m going through, you kind of feel isolated. And so I stuck with a lot of scripture talking about, you know, we have Jesus who can sympathize with our every weakness. He’s had some version of that mental struggle, you know, w we don’t know to what extent. But if the Bible says he can sympathize with our every weakness, well, this is part of it. Right. We don’t always think about that. You know, we think about him being tempted in the desert or or some examples like that. Um but to anyone who stru who has or who is struggling with mental health, I mean Jesus sympathizes with that weakness you for you as well
Chris: Right. How comforting that is just to know that uh you do have a savior that identifies and that um you know often time the name of Jesus uh can be so calming as well. Certainly been times, you know, where, you know, I’ve woken up in the middle of the night and I’ve had a lot of things on my mind and you know, maybe not to to a point where I felt like I was dealing with anxiety, but I’m definitely anxious, but where the just saying Jesus’ name over and over again. Oh yeah, there’s power in that. Help to to get me back to where I could, you know, fall back asleep again. Um But this sounds like it’s something that, you know, is something you’re constantly aware of and that you’re you’re staying um in tune with yourself and making sure that, you know, if you start to feel that way that, you know, there’s a plan in place and Um so well again, let me just interject there.
Mike: I also am not gonna call your version not anxiety because everyone has different levels of it. You know, ev some people have more vicious attacks than others. But yeah, maybe that was some anxiety to some extent. I don’t think you have to have the uh a crazy attack maybe like I’ve had You know, obviously there are people out there who are gonna claim anxiety when it’s not anxiety. But that goes for every label, everything. They’re gonna claim to be Christian and they’re not Christian. They’re gonna claim to be an alcoholic and they’re they’re like barely even drink that people are just gonna claim weird labels. Um I I had to learn that A lot of there’s practical things you can do too. I mean, obviously, if you’re working seven different jobs, that’s not helping, right? If your diet is bad, well I mean our body ha does have reactions to bad food, believe it or not. I mean, I want bad food all the time. You know, who doesn’t want bad food all the time? I mean, I mean right now, I mean I could go for like a Maybe afterward. Maybe a burger. Yeah, maybe we’ll do that. Um, but you know, your your diet matters. Alcohol is a massive thing. I mean m more massive than you would think. Where You know, I’m a whiskey guy, or really kind of was a whiskey guy, but I I went down the rabbit hole so much to figure out what was going on and talked with the doctors. I got it down to You I mean you’d be shocked about this. An ounce of whiskey. So one ounce. So think like a I don’t know, shot glass. Okay. One ounce would take my brain three days to recover to get back to normal mode That’s significant investment. Because most people go, well, I’m not drunk, so it’s fine. It’s like it doesn’t it doesn’t matter if you’re not drunk. One ounce of alcohol depletes your serotonin levels. And then as your brain reproduces that serotonin, lots of people are prone to anxiety attacks. So if you think the average person, maybe every few days or every weekend having some drinks, you are constantly at the on the edge.
Chris: So it’s actually counterproductive there to where you think that you’re doing something to help calm you down or to take the edge off.
Mike: Yep. And that’s actually what a lot of people run to. And I totally get it. They run to it to help them in the moment to feel better, but it’s actually shooting them in the foot. But if you go around and tell people, hey, if you have an ounce of alcohol, that’s three days of a commitment right there. No one’s talking about that. No one wants to hear that. And I totally get why. I totally understand why. But it can be that sensitive for someone. So there are practical things you can do. You know, I t I take a little bit of a dose of medication each each day, uh, today. The plan is to taper off of that. And uh I haven’t had an attack in a long time, which is like, praise God for that. It’s been uh about a year ish. And then the last couple of times I’ve even had one, they lasted maybe ten seconds. So and I’m praise God for that. And it could happen in the next five minutes too. But it’s just learning how to be content. I had I had to camp out on a lot of different scriptures. So just to give you some scripture ideas. Yes, please. Philippians four, six through seven. And s and some I think some people will be uh familiar with this, but do not be anxious about anything. But in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. So obviously, not trying to make it sound too simple, but how often are we praying and Giving, casting those anxieties over to the Lord, right? And then talks about the peace of God. It’s interesting that it’s the peace of God that surpasses all understanding. So all of our understanding, all the understanding in the world. can come it can completely obliterate all of that knowledge that’s comforting and give you peace. And that really is there for you. And there’s a lot here. I mean 2 Timothy 1 7, for God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self-control. 1 Peter 5. 7, casting all your anxieties on him because he cares for you. Right? Last one for now, Psalm 55. 22. Cast your burden on the Lord and he will sustain you. He will never permit the righteous to be moved. Yeah, very nice.
Chris: Promises from Scripture there. So if I’m walking with somebody who is um dealing with anxiety at a level to where, you know, they really can see some physical reaction to it. They they um might not be able to function as well. What’s your advice as far as being able to walk with them and walk with them well?
Mike: Yep. So if if I’m let’s say I just let’s say I met you and you’re you’re struggling with that as an example. One, I am really gonna try to have empathy for you and go, man, I’m I’m so sorry you’re feeling this way. Um you are Not alone. In fact, if you look around, let’s say we’re at a coffee shop. We look around the coffee shop, I bet sixty to seventy percent of people in here are struggling with it. But a lot of us hold it in and we don’t talk about it. Part part of the lie of anxiety is that it’s just you. And that’s part of the lie of the enemy anyway. Any of our sins. I think the Satan just comes at us and says It’s just you, you’re a terrible Christian. I can’t believe this. And so there’s a real value in your community and talking with people about it. And it is a journey. And so s I don’t want to overwhelm someone about it. You know, you we go one day at a time. That’s all we’re called to do And it’s everyone’s own story on, okay, you know, do you want to see a medical doctor? Do you want to see a counselor? Uh if to me, I’m gonna arm up with the biggest team I can get. Because I don’t think I’m gonna hurt myself by doing that. But do I have trusted friends? You know, do I have my local church relationships in there just to talk about it? There’s a lot of power in just looking at someone and saying I am struggling with anxiety right now. Just getting that out. You know, the Bible talks about the the power of healing with confession. And sometimes I think we take that to mean, okay, I’m in a confessional booth, and here’s my deepest darkest sin, so now I’ll experience healing But sometimes just talking about what is actively going on, it gets it out there. And I I think some some healing takes place with that.
Chris: Right. And then you As far as having other people identify with you as well if they are going through that, or if um they’re just identifying with the fact that, hey, Mike’s being vulnerable here. He’s being transparent. That means that I can do that as well. Yeah, I’ve had people look at me.
Mike: I’ve had people look at me and their eyes light up because they’re like, you know you know what I’m feeling. That’s that’s almost like all sometimes what someone needs. It’s just, okay, you understand. Yeah. And then from there, it’s totally different per person. You know, it’s And I and I would caution people too. And I had um I I I think I had some people tell me this. I don’t remember. I kinda wish more people maybe cautioned me in the past on how flippant I was about anxiety. Where You know, I would just caution it you you want to take each person’s each person seriously who’s claiming it and just be there, ask them questions, don’t write them off. If you don’t understand it, that’s fine. Just just talk with them Most of the time you showing patience and almost like holding their hand and just walking with them is the most helpful thing. You know? If you come at them and you want to kind of suppress them, well, wait like what do you gotta do? You gotta go to the hospital? Like what do we gotta do? That’s just gonna make the anxious person like Their head’s gonna explode. That’s not gonna help.
Chris: Yeah.
Mike: So it’s just say it’s just trying to be patient with others.
Chris: So being patient with others, yes. And then uh just from a a maintenance standpoint, are there things that uh You just have come to know, okay, that that’s just a situation that I’m I’m I know it’s not going to be good for me, so I’m going to look to a avoid that, or do you have to work through it and say uh in order to handle this well then I’m going to have to face that situation regardless.
Mike: Well what’s your take on this? That’s good. That’s a good question because that’s That’s really gonna be dependent on each person. So for me, so I’ll answer my w what I’ve learned and hopefully someone can relate with that. And it may not be everyone’s kind of situation. So for me, I uh a couple practical things So one, you have to exercise. And I I’m actually just gonna say that for everyone. Your physical body needs the exercise, but your brain needs the exercise. A lot of this is a mental situation. Um, it needs that ser those serotonin levels are are really important. Our gut actually, you know, is connected to our head more than people think. And so your your diet and exercise actually matters. You don’t have to be perfect. I’m nowhere near perfect on the diet or exercise. But if I don’t do it uh if I go through m multiple days not exercising at all. Yeah. I I can feel it creeping up. And then if I go like a week or two, if it goes that long, it’s that’s a bad situation.
Chris: You’re not telling anybody to Not eat fajitas or no, you should be eating fajitas every day.
Mike: No no it’s so you don’t have to have it perfect, but there’s practical things like that. Um You gotta you gotta look at your time management. You know, are you taking on too much? You know, what’s your situation? Do you have kids? Are you spending enough time with them? Or do you have three different jobs going on right now? Um, do you have a free night during the week? Have you overcommitted on your calendar? I mean, there’s clearly that rest that we actually need. uh we’re learning is well like what do you know it’s good for our bodies, it’s good for our minds. Are you on the phone all the time? I mean there’s kind of kind of a huge list of just are you are you just on the go? every two seconds. And it it takes a really it’s hard. It it takes a you gotta really take a good look at your calendar and your priorities. And how are you spending your time and what are you putting in your body? And and that’s not including seeing a doctor or anything like that, because some people do have just straight up chemical imbalances as part of part of mine, not as severe as others. But and then sometimes you need a supplement. But the but the practical things make a massive, massive difference for this.
Chris: Yeah, that’s um uh just remembering you walking through, you know, at least the initial stages of trying to figure out what was going on. You know, I I remember listening to you outside of uh our church here and you know, you’re describing uh, you know, um it’s like I have some vertigo. I’m I’m just uh I don’t feel like I am uh on solid ground here my equilibrium fills off and so just knowing that it can happen at that kind of physical level and there are certainly things that go along with that. And that could does that cause some anxiety as well, knowing what can happen uh to you physically uh during that time, does it impair you at all? What uh
Mike: Yeah, that’s good. That’s that’s another good question. You know what’s funny? Is the thought of it happening? No. But what was happening during that time, I actually forgot about that, was I was really dizzy a lot. So, you know, there’s different symptoms we talked about at the beginning Some of those for me was dizziness, not being able to kind of stand up straight a lot. So when I was dizzy, like you would go, oh no. And like now you’re like in this questioning anxious zone. But like if I think about it right now, it doesn’t it doesn’t bother me, it doesn’t make me anxious. One of the conditions I was having, and this is legitimately what the doctor called it. This is gonna sound like I’m making it up. Uh he said, Oh, you’re suffering from brain zaps. Brain zaps. Brain zaps. Which uh kind of got me to laugh in the office. I was like, oh uh we’ve clearly haven’t thought about another term for this medically, so I guess some people were in a boardroom like, what are we gonna call it? Like we’re calling it brain zaps. It’s brain zaps He said, It feels like a zap in your head. So what I would have is this feeling of a zap and then dizzy. It’s so the second I would feel it my brain would go, okay, it’s happening. Now here comes some of the anxiety. So when the physical things have taken place, yeah, there’s there’s a moment, there’s like a fight or flight moment that kind of happens there But this is where it’s different for everyone. Some other people, uh right now they could just be hearing this episode, frankly, and it could trigger them into a potential attack. But it’s also worth it to talk about it and to hear this topic and talk about it with others to encounter it to move through. How can I trust the Lord through a struggle like this, you know, even today, kind of a thing.
Chris: Yeah. And don’t go about it alone. And so that would be one of the action steps here, I would say. Yeah. Um what other action steps would you give uh
Mike: Yeah, that’s good. I think I think yeah, on the way out I would say, um, are you part of a local community? I mean that that and I know sometimes that gets thrown out like, oh, everyone’s gonna say local community. But I mean, do you really have friends? You know, we we are pretty bad at making friends these days. Just real friends, not surface stuff. But do you have people that you can call, text, go see in person and go, hey, I’m struggling. I need to talk about it. And you need that. And and they’re out there. I know they’re out there. And we know they’re out there because lots of people are looking for friends and they and they don’t have them. So there’s availability. But it does take a little it takes some guts. It takes some courage to step into whether it’s a local church, a small group. a place to initiate, but it’s totally worth initiating and just kind of opening your hands and praying to the Lord to God, can you bring some people in my life? You know, who can you can just really walk in me? And I I I feel like I really can promise you that will happen if you take those steps and allow the Lord to establish that. So having local uh community talking about it. Just take an honest look at how are you taking care of yourself. You know, if you uh don’t listen to anything I’m saying, test test the waters, test anything we talk about on here to scripture And don’t just take our opinions for it. But here here could be a challenge. Look at what you eat over the next couple weeks. If you drink it all. And again, this is coming from like Mr. Whiskey guy. Okay, I get it. Don’t drink for a couple weeks. Just watch. Like just test the waters. Why not? What do you have to lose? You know? And look at the potential clarity that comes there mentally and physically. Um and then from there, and it’d be hard to go into it here because we don’t want to give like medical advice. Everyone’s at a different place. There are there’s a place for seeing a doctor, and there’s a place for seeing a counselor and I think you and I both would encourage that for anyone. Absolutely. Um it’d just be hard for me to say, you know, hey, do this practically. I definitely think you can do those other things as a start and start Memorizing and looking up scripture that talks about anxiety. A quick Google search of scripture on anxiety will go a long way for someone.
Chris: Yeah, I think um the scripture that you shared. here earlier. Um, you know, that that’s a great place to start to have those ready and available. Uh whenever you do start to feel anxious or And then you just m start to wonder uh about things then, you know, not going well, or you know, maybe you have something at work the next day and you’re thinking that if it if you tank that presentation that it’s gonna you know, just mean bad news from here on out or the you know, whatever whatever it is, whatever whatever you have in front of you. Um that’s scripture, um, being able to just trust in that truth and being able to look and see what God has to say about handing that over to him.
Mike: And and there really is something I’ll just say one more thing on the power of scripture I think is underestimated. And I don’t want to go off too much on a tangent on this, but You know, scripture talks about we have the armor of God that we can put on. And then the Bible is the sword of the spirit. It’s our only offensive weapon. And there’s lots of stuff, and there’s probably here for another episode too on spiritual warfare and attacks. But there is talks of the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, the shoes of readiness, the shield of faith Those are all defensive weapons. That’s a lot of armor, by the way. If you think about strapping all that armor on going out in a field, like that’s a lot of defense. It’s a lot of armor. And then you have one offensive weapon, which is the sword of the spirit. That’s the Bible. We typically live our day-to-day walking out into a field. No armor, no sword, walking out into the battlefield, not just a field. We get pummeled with things, including mental struggles. And then we’re like, wow, wow, why is this happening? And I don’t mean it to sound like it’s easy, but there’s a lot there on If we put on that armor and then yield uh wield a sword like that, we are much better prepared to handle the day-to-day. And most of the defense are our reminders. Helmet of salvation about our salvation in the Lord, right? Shield of faith, the faith we’ve placed in Jesus to extinguish flaming arrows like that. The belt of truth, that the truth we have. in what the Lord says. The shoes of readiness, we’re ready at all time. Right? The breastplate of righteousness. We’re we’re righteous in in Jesus, covering our like our heart, like our vital organs. Then the sword of the spirit, which which is not just words in a book. Like it’s a living and active When you read the Bible, things actually are changing within you as you were actively reading it. It’s not just a book. And I it’s tempting because it is it is inside of a book. I get it. But when you read that and you are struggling with something, you can experience that peace that surpasses all understanding in in those seconds you’re reading it. Like you said, actually, middle of the night. You’re just calling out Jesus’ name. You don’t even read scripture. You just say in the name of Jesus. That he is powerful enough. You just say, Jesus. Like Jesus, help me. Boom. you can experience like a he uh that type of healing right there. The promise is that he will.
Chris: Yes. And he does. And just reminded again as you you know recount all the armor that we do have, all given a free gift. It’s it’s given to us. Um and we have it available to us and uh let’s use it.
Mike: Yeah. Yeah, so tell us, you know, y you you out there tell us if If you need to talk about something like anxiety, um, if if there’s someone locally you can connect with, a a local church, small group friends. shoot us a message, right? We have our email address uh info at notquitethere show dot com. Um uh go online go on social media stuff message us on spot you can leave us a message I think on Spotify now Um anything it takes to get it out of your own head, start processing with others. And then for the for those of you who don’t necessarily struggle with the actual thing of anxiety. You know, hopefully even this is just a little bit of an example of how you can walk with someone who does. And I promise you there are people around you who does. It isn’t it’s it is an epidemic. Epidemic is a fun word we like to say these days, but it is crushing right now as a culture.
Chris: There won’t be any shortage of uh opportunity.
Mike: All over. And you’d learn patience and empathy along the way, so it’s a win-win.
Chris: Well, thank you, Mike. I really appreciate you you know walking through that and what your journey has been. Um and then you know the things that we can take practically to to help out. And what’s Christopher Walken doing back in here? Oh
Mike: It’s it’s c Christopher, okay. We told you not to come. Oh jeez.
Chris: All you gotta do is try to be there if you’re not quite there.
Mike: Oh, okay. Stop worrying all the time. All right.
Chris: Young people.
Mike: Okay. It’s time to say goodbye, everyone. Stop it. Okay. There we go. Yay!
Outro: Thanks so much for joining us. Please consider rating and reviewing our podcast and hitting subscribe on whichever platform you prefer. Remember to keep moving forward. Because we’re not quite there.
