Tag Archives: anxiety

Successfully Recognize and Overcome Anxiety in Homeschool

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This article shares about how you can overcome anxiety in your homeschool journey.

One of the things that you may not often see homeschool families blogging about is their struggle to overcome anxiety – both for parents and for children. This is part of the ugly side of homeschool. People don’t like to talk about it openly because it shows that we are only human and that we need God’s help, just like everyone else. If you have weakness, how can you maintain that “Super Mommy” image?! LOL 🙂

The good news is that God loves being our Super Everything. Leaning on Him is the only thing that has helped us to successfully recognize and overcome anxiety in homeschool. And I am good with that: laying aside all pride, I have surrendered to the Lord to guide my parenting and homeschooling.

OUR BACK STORY – STRUGGLE TO OVERCOME ANXIETY

Our family struggled with overcoming anxiety for years. When I say struggled, I mean that we didn’t recognize what it really was, AND didn’t deal with it well. One of my children had major issues with anxiety that pushed my patience to the limit. My inability to deal with it in my own strength, as a professionally trained therapist, left me feeling helpless and hopeless.

But that is a very good place to be because it forced me to seek Father God’s help. This challenged me to learn how to be better for my children’s sake, not in and of myself, but in Christ by renewing my own mind. Allowing the Lord to transform me from the inside out in a whole new way has changed the whole atmosphere of our marriage, parenting and homeschool learning.

RECOGNIZING WHERE YOUR HELP COMES FROM

I am grateful for my local church and excellent teachings by my pastor on how to take authority over your emotions from a grace-based mindset.

Grace = undeserved and unearned favor and help from God; no condemnation because of Christ’s Sacrificial Blood; unconditional and non-judgmental love – He takes us as we are right now

I am also grateful for prayer and accountability partners, and for the AOP homeschool devotional called “Daily Focus”. All of these have helped me to daily remember who I am and whose I am.

God has come alongside of me and supported me through His Word and through His People. He has not come down from Heaven and sat beside me in flesh form to help me deal. He has sent me all of His Ever Present help in all of my time of need. I embrace and welcome His Help in whatever way He chooses to send it.

In our case, we didn’t get to the point of seeking medical help this time (we have sought pro therapy help in the past when I had post-partum challenges), but for some people, this may be a part of your journey. If that is something that you need, then by all means, get the medical help that you need for yourself or your child.

AN ENCOURAGING WORD FOR YOU

Looking back on the very challenging and sometimes overwhelming times of high anxiety for myself or for my children, I am amazed that this is now rarely a struggle for us. I can look back now and see how our trust in the Lord has grown. This transformation in our mindsets basically boils down to daily (and sometimes hourly) remembering this promise from His Holy Word:

There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love’s complete perfection]. 

~ 1 John 4:18 AMP

This scripture has come alive to me in recent months more than ever, even though I have been reading and hearing it for years. It helps me remember that because God loves me AND I choose to truly trust His Love for me, I have nothing to fear or worry about ever. I know that He does not miss any details and never leaves or forgets about me. He has all of those bases covered.

That truth has set me free emotionally from bondage/slavery to fear so that now I just live, love, learn and have fun with my husband and children like never before. What a feeling!

Now these changes have empowered me to set a better example for my children in this, too. I am truly amazed at how the Lord is helping them to learn how to turn to Him for help when fear or anxiety starts to rear its head. They calm down faster now and are more teachable. I am also overjoyed at the increased peace in our household which helps our homeschool learning progress better and faster.

HOW AND WHERE TO GET SUPPORT FOR HOMESCHOOL

If you would like support as a homeschool parent, here are ways I recommend that you can get support online and locally in Atlanta:

God bless you and your family.

Shalom!

(This means “total peace/wholeness” from God so that you have nothing missing nor broken in any area.)

~ Donna, The Mommy Butterfly