My mother is prone to anxiety attacks – even over mildly stressful situations. She would experience shortness of breaths and tightness in her chest. Then she would ask me to pray for her…to rebuke the devil in Jesus’ name.
“It is a spiritual attack,” she muttered as her forehead wrinkled in a frown. “I was just handing out flyers for a church conference. The devil wanted to take me down.”
I have her genes. A few years ago, I had frequent episodes where I’d have shortness of breaths and tightness around my chest area. One night, I thought I was about to have a heart attack so I checked myself into the ER only to be released a few hours later. I then went through a full cardiac workup just to be given a prescription for anti-anxiety pills. My copay was a measly $2. I filled the prescription as any good patients would, but I threw the little orange bottle away. I too believed it was the devil that did it; I was not going to put myself on any medication.
However, when rebuking the devil failed to work, my mother also ended up in an ER. But she wasn’t so lucky. What started as tightness of chest was diagnosed as a possibly clogged artery. (C’mon, this lady lives on seeds and beans!) Within days she was scheduled for a surgery, and a stent was inserted into her blood vessel. She was in so much pain and discomfort during her recovery. Until this day my mother still believed they made an incorrect diagnosis. I call it the woe of Medicaid patients. Free medical care could cost you.
Thankfully, I have not had any episodes in which I’d have shortness of breath or tightness of chest recently. But anxiety attacks could take on a different form, such as a sense of dread that overwhelms, heaviness and irritability, and tearfulness.
I was in that mental prison one afternoon. I kept myself busy. I washed a container of blueberries for the kids. They love blueberries, but not I. I grew up in Taiwan, a tropical island where you can find the most amazing selection of fruits. When I first saw this small, round, fragile, and purple fruit in America, I really didn’t quite get it. How many of them do you have to eat in order to feel you’ve eaten something?
But these berries looked so plump and juicy. I decided to help myself to a fistful. “Umm, they are good.” They were unlike any fruits I had before. I ate another fistful. “Oh, boy, I could get addicted to this.” Within minutes, I felt I was given a lift, and a sense of well-being returned.
Days and weeks later, I experienced the same lift again and then again after I had some blueberries. They were not a coincidence!
I have been buying blueberries every week since. As if that’s not enough, I also make mixed berry smoothies during the summer for the whole family. It’s a natural wonder, and an instant mood booster.
What happened to the SPIRITUAL ATTACK? Didn’t I just mention warfare against Satan? And now we are talking about eating a bowl of berries? What is the cause of anxiety and depression, then? I don’t really know for sure but I think we give the devil too much credit.
“Don’t blame ME for every bad thing that happened to you, Christians!” The senior Demon Screwtape would probably say. “I have nothing to do with your problems! Most of the time you did it to yourself. And thank you.”
My son loves tomatoes and any dishes that are made out of tomatoes. He can live on spaghetti with marinara sauce alone; he can easily chomp down a whole pint of cherry tomatoes in minutes.
One day I found bright red flakes inside the toilet, and it sent me screaming. I interrogated all my children about their physical wellbeing. I thought one of them must have internal bleeding…until I saw another pint of cherry tomatoes and realized where the red flakes had come from.
“The red pigment found in tomatoes, called lycopene, is a powerful carotenoid antioxidant that plays a major chemical role in boosting your mood.” (Courtney Livingston, “Five Fruits You Should Be Eating this Spring to Help Boost Your Mood”, 4/5/17)
My son also loves watermelon. Ever since he was old enough to hold food with his hands, he has been crazy about this crunchy, watery and sweet fruit. Not knowing any better, he used to eat the rind too.
“Watermelon has more lycopene than do tomatoes — up to 20 milligrams in each 2-cup serving. The lycopene in watermelon helps lower the risk for inflammation associated with dementia and possibly depression,” wrote Elizabeth Somer, a dietician from Salem, Oregon.
Honestly, I don’t enjoy lugging a 20-pound watermelon home from the supermarket. But I will do anything for milligrams and milligrams of lycopene!
My son has a mild manner and is generally happy and content. I like to think it has to do with how I raised him. But it’s probably due to the work of these tomatoes and watermelons. (This is where I would normally insert the emoji with two drops of tears and a laughing face.)
Whenever I feel we are lost in our ways in this postmodern life, I’d turn back time to the beginning when things were perfect by design. Say, in the Garden of Eden, what was plentiful and free? What did Adam and Eve eat? Fruits. I would think the majority of their diet came from fruits.
Fruits cost money though- there is no doubt about it. It’s especially true if you are the type that swears off all things non-organic. But I believe we CAN buy happiness.
It’s very unfortunate when we allow mood swings and depression to immobilize us. I refuse to live under the shadow of negative, unhealthy emotions.
Before we overanalyze and blame a chaotic home and messed-up relationships on some deep-rooted spiritual issues, try going to the market and bringing home some heavenly goodness – tomatoes, berries, watermelon, pink grapefruit, guava, and papaya! Serve them to yourself and your family every day. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables made up of all the colors of the rainbow!
You may read the last installment of the “Happiness” series below.