The Anatomy of Anxiety, Part 18: Bob Newhart Counseling?
Bob Newhart's "Stop It!"
Note: For previous posts in this blog mini-series, please visit: 1: http://bit.ly/aHstk, 2: http://bit.ly/20R01P, 3: http://bit.ly/HAoxI, 4: http://bit.ly/1I6XmF, 5: http://bit.ly/19Jdqt, 6: http://bit.ly/19vCXx, 7: http://bit.ly/21wPLg, 8: http://bit.ly/m50On, 9: http://bit.ly/4vhNIt, 10: http://bit.ly/1ClPr4, 11: http://bit.ly/2Sb2Ec, 12: http://bit.ly/2xv4BV, 13: http://bit.ly/baNuS, 14: http://bit.ly/UFIy1, 15: http://bit.ly/31fQYo, 16: http://bit.ly/3mmTm4, 17: http://bit.ly/7kmOo2
Purpose: Does worry, doubt, or fear get the best of you sometimes? Do you wonder where anxiety comes from and how to defeat it in your life and the lives of those you love? Then we need a biblical anatomy of anxiety. We need God’s prescription for victory over anxiety.
Here’s How Not to Do It: Bob Newhart Counseling!
Conquering enslavement to fear is a discipleship process, not an exhortation event.
Here’s what I mean.
Some so-called “biblical counselors” would quote, “Be anxious for nothing, but by prayer and supplication let your requests be made know unto God.” Then they would exhort godly behavior. “So, quit sinning. Start trusting.”
That’s not biblical counseling. That’s lazy counseling. That’s Pharisaical counseling.
That’s Bob Newhart counseling. In the classic Mad TV skit a counselee sees him because she has a phobia about being buried alive in a box. His two-word counsel. “Stop it!”
To see how not to counsel phobias, go here.
The Rest of the Story: The Ten Dynamic Elements of Victory Over Anxiety
Often I learn best from what not to do. So…don’t do what Bob Newhart does. If you are, then…“Stop it!”
What do we do instead to overcome anxiety and to help others to have victory over anxiety?
Biblical counseling for anxiety is a Christ-centered, comprehensive, compassionate, and culturally-informed relational process of changing lives with Christ’s changeless truth so we move from stuck anxiety to courageous trusting and bold love.
Over the rest of this blog series, we’ll see that it involves ten dynamic elements:
1. Spiritual Guiding: Dancing to the Heartbeat of Redemption
2. Social Guiding: Enjoying Healing Conversations and Connections
3. Self-Aware Guiding: Soothing My Soul in My Savior
4. Mental Guiding: Replacing Condemning Lies with Grace Truths
5. Motivational Guiding: Choosing to Live and Love with Courage
6. Emotional Guiding: Managing Moods by Becoming Emotionally AWARE
7. Physical Guiding: Living as Jars of Clay
8. Life Situational Guiding: Getting Off the Merry-Go-Round
9. Life Style Guiding: Practicing the Spiritual Disciplines
10. Commencement: Experiencing Ongoing Victory Over Anxiety
