Wellness of
the spirit refers to our ability to cope with the everyday stresses and strains
of living our
life. Quite often, the
ability to cope overwhelms us, and if we don’t give sufficient time to the
wellness of the spirit, or soul, we lose our ability to function properly.
Today, the
evidence of that inability exists in the form of anxiety attacks. The attacks can range from extremely mild to
unbelievably severe. What is happening
to us when we experience anxiety attacks?
Our system goes into a form of shock.
I refer to as a sort of “soul shock”; nothing is physically wrong that
should cause us to become ill, and nothing is wrong mentally that should cause
us to experience the panic; it is within our spirit that we have lost control.
This loss
of control can be momentary, or it can last for years. The most debilitating part of the process is
the inability to function even in the most usual of routines. Short trips to the grocery store become
impossible, because of the panic they create within the person.
Having
experienced these panic attacks for a brief period of time, I can attest to
their reality. It is a frightening event
that only serves to add to the panic.
The person experiencing these attacks feels as if they have lost control
over their ability to function. They
cannot meet deadlines; they aren’t able to provide for their family, there are
a host of reasons that cause us to come to the place of loss of control.