In 2000, the Canadian Medical Association Journal published a tongue-in-cheek article suggesting the characters of Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne all suffer from mental illness. Pooh’s obsession with honey is indicative of an eating disorder, Eeyore’s bleak outlook on life suggests depression and Rabbit’s orderly and obsessive care of his garden evokes signs of OCD. Perpetually bouncing Tigger exhibits the classic signs of ADHD, while Owl’s belief that he is wiser than everyone else demonstrates narcissism. A perpetual worrier, Piglet’s favorite phrase “Oh, dear” implies a generalized anxiety disorder. All the animals feed off Christopher’s changing moods, hinting that he suffers from schizophrenia. (Sarah E. Shea, 2000)
Of these characters, I identify most with Piglet. I am a mother who suffers from Chicken Little syndrome when it comes to my children’s mental, physical and emotional health. It does not matter how picture-perfect the sky is, it will eventually fall. As Max Lucado puts it, “It’s not so much a storm as the certainty that one is coming. Always … coming. Sunny days are just an interlude.” (Lucado, 2017) While we often associate anxiety with fear, they are “cousins, not twins.” As Lucado explains, fear sees a threat, anxiety imagines one. I am fearful that darkness will envelop my children, but anxiety conjures images of the monster who will devour them.
According to Forbes Health, about 31 percent of adults will suffer from an anxiety disorder at some time in their lives. (Booth, 2023) Another article explains that our brains are wired for safety and function like a flow chart. Lived experiences allow us to answer “yes” when faced with moving forward in similar situations, but “no” when there is a lack of familiar scenarios to draw upon. The unknowns require more energy, thus exacerbating our anxiety levels. (Plum, 2020)
When my youngest son was in the fifth grade, he began calling me at the end of the day to make sure I was coming to get him. I had been taking and picking him up from school every day since kindergarten, so I was flummoxed as to why he needed reassurance. Except for a handful of times caused by circumstances beyond my control, I prided myself on punctuality. It made no sense. Years later, my mom’s “coulda-shoulda-woulda” brain made the correlation between his behavior and an anxiety disorder. If my mom’s telepathy had sensed this disorder then, would it have spared him the repercussions of it later in life? My brain wants to take the blame, but my heart knows better.
Anxiety also affected my brother with devastating consequences. At the age of 15, I welcomed a second brother. He was unplanned, a “tater” slip as my dad’s golfing friends joked, but his addition to our family brought us unimaginable joy. Brock committed suicide at the age of 42 when the ravages of anxiety and bipolar disease became unbearable. I still carry tremendous guilt that I did not do more to help him. But at the time my worldly commitments to my husband, children and work left little time to deal with his problems. To this day I regret my impatient desire for him to “snap out of it.” After facing mental health struggles with my children, I know now that this was not an option for him. But through growth and maturity in my faith I recognize my inculpability and that this was, as hard as it is to understand, part of God’s plan.
Anxiety was prevalent even in biblical times. Jehoshaphat was the fourth ruler of Judah and one of the most successful. He struggled with anxiety when making decisions on behalf of his people, but he always went to God in prayer before making them. When an enormous contingent of his enemies threatened to attack, God assured him that the battle would be won, and it was. His trust in God assuaged his anxiety. (Chronicles 20:15-22)
Anxiety is a thief of time and a pilferer of peace. The longer we languish in the future and lament the past, the more we miss opportunities to embrace the goodness of today. This quote causes me to reflect on the futility of anxiety: I have to remind myself all the time that being afraid of things going wrong isn’t the way to make things go right. (Unknown)
Jehosophat found the answer to anxiety that Pooh could not by heeding the promise of Philippians 6:7: Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. When the sky does fall, if we follow Jehosophat’s example, God’s umbrella of protection will shield us from the deluge.
Michelle Page is a married mother of three adult children and one recently gained daughter-in-law. A retired kindergarten teacher, she enjoys crafting, volunteering and cooking. Faith is instrumental in managing the curveballs of life, and she writes of her experiences on her blogsite www.gracefromgrit.org.
