Alleviate Your Worries – The Torah Way Part 1

Source: pixabay.com

We face the world fighting our own internal and external battles. We have our intrinsic personal conflicts. It can be related to our everyday struggles such as jobs, human connections, aspirations, strive for bliss, and other individual musings. Undoubtedly, the world that we walked upon yields high levels of pressure, aggravated by stress and external factors. These factors will lead us to the formation of ANXIETY.

If you are wondering what you can do to mitigate your worries, here is what we call the Torah Way.

In Hebrew, “Torah” is literally the “law.” It comprises of the books in the Bible and applies its teachings to our lives. It consists of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

In the iconic line stated above, we can note that:

There is darkness before the light. It is clearly stated in the Bible about it. To make the light surface, it needs to be made first. It cannot flicker on its own. The light and darkness are made to be stuck together; then it had to be sorted out. Furthermore, the cycle of “one day” will be fulfilled only upon the inclusion of 2 factors-the light and darkness.

Source: pixabay.com

In several occasions, the Torah discusses anxiety. It highlighted some useful ways of facing your daily worries. Don’t let your anxiety fool you into thinking that you have to give away your presence and caring,” Steven C. Hayes Ph.D. wrote. Just a disclaimer, this is out of the context of skilled help and pharmaceutical interventions. Nevertheless, it is still helpful for the minor bumps that we encounter.

First Stage:

Hold It Back

We become overwhelmed with the ongoing circumstances, and we tend to overlook more and more significant problems that we do have at present. We tend to overthink our little issues, but if something arises that concerns the whole nation, we realize that it is nothing compared to the severity of the problems this world faces. We have to acknowledge that it is not just us who are undergoing difficulties, to mitigate its severity.

That is the art of holding back.

However, holding back your worries does not guarantee that the anxiety will leave us altogether, but it will help to lessen it, and later it will not haunt us. This is an integral part of the following phase. Without completing it, we cannot go on. “Anxiety will regularly prevent you from doing things that you want to,” Graham C.L. Davey Ph.D. says.

We move on to the next one.

Second Stage: 

Do Not Notice It.

Da’aga belev ish? Yaschenah. “If there is anxiety in the heart of a person, ignore it.”, a Talmud saying, is a way to express the meaning of ignoring your problems.

This is important and very significant.

Source: pixabay.com

Never that we let circumstances define who we are. Ever. It must not be about overlooking the situation but also dissociating yourself from it. We must not be contained and determined based on our complexities and trials that we face. When we separate ourselves from our difficulties and walk away from it, that would be time wherein we can redirect ourselves towards the light. Just delete the negative thoughts and consequently fill it up with something more uplifting. Susan J Noonan MD advises to “Manage your symptoms and as you do this try to regain control of your life.”

The Torah also speaks about Joseph’s experiences in life. It will be discussed more in the second part of this blog, which will be out next week.

Until then!