How do people call you again? Servants of the Almighty, followers of Christ, disciples of Jesus, Jesus freaks – these and other names are connected to but one cluster of people, Christians. At this juncture, you might be having problems being a person who professes to know and believe in Christ. Just like a soldier who must conform to the ideals of his superior, so you are supposed to be “transformed in likeness of the Master.” Being like Jesus. No more, no less.
However, this is where the problem comes in. No matter how rigidly the military presses conformity, no amount of continuous encouragement and persuading could push you to reach your ultimate goal. You have tried it all but no matter how you convince yourself– it's just preposterous. You end up doing nothing because you think it's impossible. Far fetched, even.
If you share the same sentiments, well, without a doubt, you are having performance anxiety. This distressing feeling of fear, worry and apprehension can take away the real joy of your pursuit – conforming to the character of Christ. Biblically speaking, all humans are created “in the image of God, not necessarily the physical looks. With this, it's just but normal to say that being Godly isn't that much of a problem because we are created as such. Chronic fear and anxiety brought by the wrong notions will not help you from “hitting the mark.”
Paul, which is one of the early apostles, had his share of performance anxiety. He openly admitted that he had a “thorn in the flesh.” This was described to be a struggle or an overwhelming fear. A paradigm that no matter what he does, he's just not enough and will never be like Jesus. But he was determined to get ahead this faith-challenging obstacle as he “chose to suffer for Christ.” He too understood and experienced those fear and anxiety related predicaments in following Christ.
He was shipwrecked a couple of times, jailed and stoned like an atrocious criminal because of his beliefs. However, just to get ahead of any hint of fear and anxiety brought about by his condition, he just put in mind that, “he is a prisoner of Christ and no longer live for himself.” In this light, he was never bothered by any threat or obstacle believing that no amount of threat could further enslave him.
Ultimately, even after a series of performance anxiety blocks, he managed to utter this proverbial Christian quote, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ.”
It's but normal for a Christian to feel inferior because, in comparison to Jesus' image, we are but “a fleeting memory.” However, we are urged, no matter how hard, to live like Christ. Just keep on pressing on to reach that mark. It's tediously arduous, however, like Paul, let me say this last thing. “I am not telling you these things because I already have reached perfection, but by the grace of God, I keep on pressing towards the goal to win the prize.”
Showing posts with label performance anxiety. Show all posts
Showing posts with label performance anxiety. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Saturday, October 16, 2010
A Depressed Mind Equals A Depressed Head
The words “mind over matter” are more than just three words randomly strung together to make something that sounds somewhat sensible. “Mind over matter” is more than just a myth, because there are times when a person's state of mind has considerable effects on matters of the flesh. Performance anxiety can make someone do a sub-par job on physical activities, like missing critical free throws and over-extending left jabs. Mental health can have an effect on a person's physical performance, with certain issues having more noticeable effects than others. As an example, there is the connection between depression and sexual impotence.
Impotence is one of those problems that an increasing number of men have difficulty coming to terms with. It takes a significant amount of courage to even consider talking to a physician about the possibility of a problem. It can even be harder to admit to others that the problem is there, whether they are undergoing treatment for it or not. Sexual impotence as seen as being highly damaging to the measure of a man, by modern socio-cultural standards. Fear of failure and extremely stressful situations can wear down a man's ability to “get it up,” but very few can make the problem as long-term as depression can.
In what might be the worst possible case of “mind over matter” than any red-blooded male can imagine, depression can effectively cripple a man's ability to function sexually. The emotional problems caused by depression can have serious effects on the hormones and biochemical transmitters that the body uses to signal or initiate an erection. Obviously, if a man can't attain a proper erection – or has difficulty maintaining it long enough to be of any importance – then he's going to be classified as impotent. Sadly, if the problem is left untreated long enough, there's a very good chance that the condition would just worsen.
Once a man begins to believe he has entered a state of sexual impotence, he may actually become even more depressed. This is because of a psychological loss of gender identity as dictated by socio-cultural factors. With equal rights and women's liberation, men have lost the part of “manliness” that involved being the sole provider for one's family and loved ones, forcing a socio-psychological focus to rest on that other aspect that supposedly defines masculinity. Essentially, society has made men think that to be classified as men, they have to be virile and sexually potent. Once they lose that critical part of their gender identity, then life just starts to go downhill that bit faster for them on a psychological level. This, in turn, not only worsens his relationships but also makes it harder for him to overcome his impotence.
There are drugs to help fight impotence, but those drugs are often best suited to treating men who have problems rooted in the body. Lack of proper circulation, damage to muscle tissue, and a variety of other physical ailments can also cause impotence. Implants and corrective surgery can fix those issues, but they are likely to do little for a man with problems deeply rooted in his own mind. For that, physical repairs may have some appreciable change, but they won't have the same impact that they normally do unless the mind is also given proper treatment and care.
Impotence is one of those problems that an increasing number of men have difficulty coming to terms with. It takes a significant amount of courage to even consider talking to a physician about the possibility of a problem. It can even be harder to admit to others that the problem is there, whether they are undergoing treatment for it or not. Sexual impotence as seen as being highly damaging to the measure of a man, by modern socio-cultural standards. Fear of failure and extremely stressful situations can wear down a man's ability to “get it up,” but very few can make the problem as long-term as depression can.
In what might be the worst possible case of “mind over matter” than any red-blooded male can imagine, depression can effectively cripple a man's ability to function sexually. The emotional problems caused by depression can have serious effects on the hormones and biochemical transmitters that the body uses to signal or initiate an erection. Obviously, if a man can't attain a proper erection – or has difficulty maintaining it long enough to be of any importance – then he's going to be classified as impotent. Sadly, if the problem is left untreated long enough, there's a very good chance that the condition would just worsen.
Once a man begins to believe he has entered a state of sexual impotence, he may actually become even more depressed. This is because of a psychological loss of gender identity as dictated by socio-cultural factors. With equal rights and women's liberation, men have lost the part of “manliness” that involved being the sole provider for one's family and loved ones, forcing a socio-psychological focus to rest on that other aspect that supposedly defines masculinity. Essentially, society has made men think that to be classified as men, they have to be virile and sexually potent. Once they lose that critical part of their gender identity, then life just starts to go downhill that bit faster for them on a psychological level. This, in turn, not only worsens his relationships but also makes it harder for him to overcome his impotence.
There are drugs to help fight impotence, but those drugs are often best suited to treating men who have problems rooted in the body. Lack of proper circulation, damage to muscle tissue, and a variety of other physical ailments can also cause impotence. Implants and corrective surgery can fix those issues, but they are likely to do little for a man with problems deeply rooted in his own mind. For that, physical repairs may have some appreciable change, but they won't have the same impact that they normally do unless the mind is also given proper treatment and care.
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