Leaning On Your Anchors In Withdrawal Healing

When a person thinks of a ship trying to keep its place amidst turbulent waters, what allows for that? The anchors. In the same way that a ship’s anchors allow it to remain steady in rough waters, you can find your stability in a given week by clinging to your “anchors” day in and out.

What are your anchors? They are the things in your life that help you to feel secure and grounded in times both good and bad. They are the things you can come back to over and over again to help cope with difficult emotions, scattered thoughts and discouraging days. They help you to remember who you are, allow you to feel supported and empowered, and yes help you to find a greater sense of normalcy in a healing process that can seem very abnormal some days.

Here are some examples of helpful anchors in healing:

1) Your Support System. A support system might look a little different for everyone, but we all need one. Your support system consists of the people with whom you can talk when you are feeling scared and confused. They can help to reassure you, but also help to provide you with healthy perspective when yours seems lost. Some people might have a broad support system made up of family, friends, co-workers, coaches, therapists, and pastors. Others might just have a brother or sister who is solid and true.

No matter if you have many people or just a few who make up your circle, rely on your support system for emotional support and mental redirection. A little time spent with someone you love and trust can help the day to feel a little more uplifting and yes more normal.

2) Physical exercise. There are few things as helpful for coping with difficult thoughts and emotions as physical exercise, especially when done outdoors in fresh air. Even a short jog, bike ride, walk, or session of pickleball helps to clear mental cobwebs and reduce fear in order to bring our thoughts back to more clear and productive places. Even a short session on the elliptical can help to reduce anxiety and thus fear-based “what if” thoughts that can clutter the mind. Also, if you can stick to an exercise routine (say three or four days a week at 1 p.m. or 6 p.m.), this lends a much-needed sense of normalcy to your week by creating structure.

3) Time with God. When everything else seems out of whack (and/or when everyone else in your support system is unavailable for some reason), there is always a reliable source of stability to which we can turn in God. The Old Testament is full of His promises to be reliable and ever-present for us. For example, Deuteronomy 31:8 says: “The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged.”

And the New Testament is full of Jesus’ promises to provide us with stability (i.e., normalcy) no matter how crazy the rest of life is. Matthew 7: 24-25, for example, says: “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.”

There are many anchors that you might lean on to find security and a comforting sense of normalcy in your days right now, but your support system, physical fitness routines and spiritual life are three important ones. Stay close to the such things that are true and helpful for you, and keep moving forward in your healing process this week!

Michael