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173 | Women, Anxiety & Prayer with Dr. Rachel Rauch
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Dr. Rachel Rauch and Phylicia Masonheimer will talk about the relationship between anxiety and prayer: how to navigate the tension of physical and spiritual causes for anxiety, and how women can find peace with God.
Rachel Rauch, board certified as a traditional Doctor of Naturopathy and founder of Eiro Wellness, is a Christ-follower who recognizes that restoring health involves more than addressing the physical body. True healing also requires support for emotional, relational, and spiritual well-being. She specializes in brain and mood health, understanding that fatigue, digestive concerns, and hormone imbalances often coexist with anxiety and depression.
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Transcript
The Role of Faith in Addressing Anxiety
00:00:00
Speaker
There is sometimes shame associated with anxiety, you know, like somehow we're not trusting enough. A visual of placing ourself in into God's care. It's very difficult to maintain that shame along with God's presence. Like there's not room for them together. It's really a powerful place to start from.
00:00:27
Speaker
Welcome back to Verity Podcast, friends. I am so excited for today's interview. So as you know, we have been doing a series of interviews to wrap up this podcast series on prayer. And we talked about so many amazing things throughout the series, from deliverance prayer to whether or not the saints can pray for us, how to pray liturgical prayers, how to pray through anxiety. And now we're diving deeper into some of those topics in these final three interviews that are wrapping up the
Introducing Dr. Rachel Rausch: Expertise in Brain and Mood Health
00:01:00
Speaker
series. So today we're going to be talking to Dr. Rachel Rausch, a board certified traditional doctor of naturopathy and founder of Arrow Wellness. She's a Christ follower who recognizes that restoring health involves more than addressing the physical body. True healing also requires support for emotional, relational, and spiritual well-being.
00:01:26
Speaker
She specializes in brain and mood health, understanding that fatigue, digestive concerns, and hormone imbalances often coexist with anxiety and depression.
00:01:37
Speaker
So I actually met Dr. Rausch both online through Instagram, but also in person at a conference that we attended last year um where she happened to be present. And through that interaction, i was just so impressed with both her love for the Lord and her expertise that after i had Olivera and was beginning to experience postpartum anxiety, which I've struggled with multiple times in the past, Josh encouraged me to seek her out and work with her.
Personal Journey with Postpartum Anxiety
00:02:10
Speaker
um So I am one of her clients. Now that's not why I had her on to share with you. i am sharing her with you because I truly believe that she has some really great things to encourage my audience and a real heart for the Lord and also for helping women find the root causes of their anxiety and depression. And she's definitely done that for me.
00:02:34
Speaker
I didn't realize that having elevated levels of copper could actually cause hormonal depression, which is what I have been struggling with for quite a few years now, um but didn't have the words for it and didn't really know. And so through this episode, even though it's just a short little conversation, I hope that you're encouraged to understand both the spiritual and physical elements of struggles with anxiety and depression and how we can pray through those things while understanding that tension. So without further ado, may I introduce to Verity Podcast, Dr. Rachel Rausch.
00:03:14
Speaker
Well, friends, I'm so excited to introduce you to my friend, Dr. Rachel Rausch of Arrow Wellness. She is going to be sharing with us today about anxiety as it relates to prayer. We're going talk about prayer, anxiety, and the physical aspects of anxiety in the life of a Christian. So throughout the last few weeks, we've talked about prayer in many different angles, many different topics, and we're concluding this whole series um with several interviews that kind of deep dive some topics we addressed in the series. And so we get to talk about this on a deeper level with Rachel. So welcome, Rachel. Thank you so much for joining me on Verity Podcasts.
00:04:00
Speaker
Thank you. I'm excited to be here. So can you tell us, as we get started, a little bit about you and kind of the meaning behind Arrow Wellness? Like, where does that name come from and and what do you do um as you are coaching clients and and teaching men and women about, you know, how to understand their bodies and how to how to approach this both from a clinical and a Christian perspective?
Connecting Physical and Spiritual Health
00:04:30
Speaker
Yes, thank you. So like you said, i am a traditional doctor of naturopathy, and I work with women who are dealing with the effects of chronic stress, trauma, and then how it's showing up in their body as anxiety, as maybe digestive issues or hormone imbalances, or all of these physical impact of circumstances that were either out of their control or maybe it was in their control, but still what they were forced to deal with in the moment. um And so that's that's my passion. That's what I really enjoy doing. And I love walking beside women. It's just the opportunity to help them understand that they're not stuck
00:05:19
Speaker
and what they're feeling. There is a way out when you understand everything that has contributed to where they're at. Arrow wellness, um the name arrow, so spelled E-I-R-O, It's actually an archaic um word that comes from erine. So if you're familiar with like the Greek word peace, okay, erine is that Greek word. Arrow is an archaic form of erine. And it means God's gift of wholeness. So peace, erine is known, you know, as peace, wholeness. um
00:06:00
Speaker
So arrow is God's gift of wholeness. That's the origin of it. And it just felt like, the right fit because while I'm here to provide support, it's really God's work and, you know, the, the healing that he brings.
00:06:17
Speaker
That's not, it's not me. Well, thank you for sharing that. i've I know that through working with you, I've seen your heart both for the Lord and for scripture come through, but also the ways that you use your expertise and your skill to give real answers for understanding that tension of the physical and spiritual when it comes to things like anxiety and depression. And when we're talking about prayer, like we are in this series, you know, so many people are thinking,
00:06:49
Speaker
about how do I pray through something like anxiety, like depression? And I think a lot of our listeners probably have either been told this is just a spiritual thing. And if you pray harder, it's going to go away um or you don't have enough faith. And so if you just have more faith, then then your prayers are going to be heard or this is going to stop being a struggle. um Or maybe on the flip side of that, maybe more of how our culture kind of talks about it as purely physical and and not really recognizing the spiritual aspect. And so in working with you, I feel like you've really held that tension well and you really approach it with this fantastic balance that gives real answers while also um integrating, yeah, that whole picture, that approach of this is this is, we're after wholeness. We're not after separating out these different pieces, if you will.
00:07:44
Speaker
Yes, because the body is whole. It's not just physical. It's not just spiritual or just emotional or just relational or whatever. It's a um it's all of them together.
00:07:55
Speaker
And it's really important to acknowledge that balance um of all of it together because it's how God created us. So this brings me to my first question for you, which is from a Christian naturopathic perspective, how do you understand anxiety? So what's happening in the body and the mind and the spirit when somebody is anxious?
Understanding the Nuances of Anxiety
00:08:22
Speaker
Yes. So it's important to understand that there is no simplistic answer to anxiety. It is very nuanced. um There are many factors that go into anxiety. And sometimes a challenge comes when we try to make it all about one thing.
00:08:41
Speaker
That all anxiety is only spiritual or it's only physical or it's only emotional. We separate all of these things out. And we really can't do that because there's too many factors that that go into it. I believe that anxiety, purely as an emotion, is God created. Anxiety helps to um protect us in the sense of, you know, if something is wrong, that sense of impending doom is sometimes what helps us to react or respond in a way that could actually be life-saving.
00:09:18
Speaker
so So hypervigilance or that um that hypersensitivity is not always a bad thing. It's the way God created us.
00:09:30
Speaker
And we need to honor and respect that part of God's creation and not try to completely get rid of it.
00:09:41
Speaker
a I think that all of us have some element of anxiety that shows up at different times. um because that's how God created us to to take care of ourselves. um The challenge when that anxiety overrides everything else and and it seems like it starts to control our lives, you know, where everything goes through a filter of anxiety. And then we need to step back and look at the different aspects, like what all could be contributing to this anxiety from a physical response, things like low blood sugar. So just not eating enough protein, waiting too long between meals,
00:10:21
Speaker
ah Too much caffeine can contribute to anxiety. There is nothing inherently spiritual about low blood sugar and overstimulation.
00:10:33
Speaker
But it shows up as anxiety. Right. So and in that case, it's like you can pray all day about that. And the Lord, he could miraculously, you know, raise your blood sugar. But he could also have provided you groceries that you can eat to do that.
00:10:51
Speaker
Right. And just the understanding that, like, I shouldn't be eating more sugar. I don't want to reach for the candy bar when I have that slump in the middle of the afternoon because that's going to drive the um anxiety up. I need to be reaching for protein instead to help balance my blood sugar, um you know, in my body.
00:11:11
Speaker
ether So, yes, exactly. You know, Could God heal us from that anxiety in the moment? Absolutely. Absolutely. But that's still a physical response that is naturally part of how he created us. You know, he created us to um to have energy to thrive on a balanced diet, on, you know, these these different things. um Too little sleep can contribute to anxiety. Over-stimulation in the sense of technology.
00:11:43
Speaker
You know, I feel like all of our senses, to a certain extent, are overstimulated in our culture and world today. You know, we we have um screens always before us. There's lots of light. There's a lot of um extra sounds. um There's just, there's there's constant demands and expectations that leave us very overstimulated. And they're not always bad things, but it's too much. And the brain never gets some downtime.
00:12:12
Speaker
And that can create a sense of low-grade anxiety. you know And we begin to wonder, like well, maybe we're not trusting God or maybe you know whatever it happens to be, but it's just it's over-stimulation from the world that we live in.
00:12:29
Speaker
Well, that one's definitely relatable because i think that we don't even realize how much input we're having a lot of times. You know, it's just from so many sources and it's just such a normal part of our lives that we feel that sense of anxiety and we're asking the Lord to intervene and he wants to hear us. Of course, we're praying and and trying to connect with him. But at the same time, if there's all of these external factors that are playing a role And it's like I'm asking for spiritual solutions, but maybe the spiritual solution is actually a physical one in this particular instance, whatever that may be, if it's diet or reducing stimuli or or whatever, whatever the situation is.
00:13:12
Speaker
Right. Exactly. And sometimes our tendency when over-stimulated is to go to um social media or something to numb. And we don't even realize that we're just adding to it. You know, it's it's hard to even hear hear that that still quiet voice, you know, when we're constantly over-stimulated, you know, with...
00:13:35
Speaker
with too much technology or whatever it happens to be. We can also experience like nutrient deficiencies or imbalances in our body like methylation or insufficient neurotransmitters. Many don't realize that up to 90% of your serotonin is not producing your brain. It's producing your gut.
00:13:57
Speaker
So if your gut's not healthy, you can't produce sufficient serotonin to support your mood. That's wild. I think a lot of people, they have no idea about that and and think, you know, even maybe blame themselves, you know, where it's like, maybe if I just, yeah, reduced my screen time or I did eat my protein, then I wouldn't struggle as much. But you're pointing out that, yes, those are factors, but there can also be additional internal factors, too, that are contributing.
00:14:26
Speaker
Right. Even like hormones, um not just ah digestive issues, but hormones can factor into that. um Imbalances in our minerals. there There are so many different physiological factors that are going on inside of our body that can contribute. Low vitamin D. um Yeah, there's just there's a lot of them. And when we understand how that influences us, it helps us to make better choices, right?
00:14:55
Speaker
and how we address the anxiety. Well, I think that's really brings such relief. At least I hope so for those who are listening, because I think so often when you struggle with anxiety, it's almost like, oh, this is just going to be how it is just for the rest of forever. This is just going to be how it is. um Again, either it's spiritual or it's physical. There's no in-between or combination. And Um, it, when I started working with you, it gave me a lot of hope that the postpartum anxiety and postpartum depression, as we later found, um, was not something that was guaranteed forever. And you work with all different kinds of women, you know, not just postpartum, but, um, those who are are experiencing anxiety and depression outside of postpartum. um
00:15:44
Speaker
But I think that the the way that you look at all those different factors just gives so much hope that it's like it's not going to be forever and that God wants to be a part of that journey, whatever it looks like um for those who who are struggling in that area.
00:16:00
Speaker
So you kind of we kind of ah talked about this already, but what are some of the common physical contributors to anxiety that Christians often overlook? You kind of address this in, you know, talking about diet, talking about stimuli like phones and media, the news. um Would you talk a little bit more about those internal contributors? Because I think those are maybe
Integrating Prayer with Physical Health
00:16:24
Speaker
the ones that people are less aware of. So when you say internal contributors,
00:16:29
Speaker
um What comes to mind for me you know would be some of those imbalances that we mentioned already, like blood sugar or things of that nature. But I think the other part of the internal aspect is just how are how our body handles and responds to stress.
00:16:48
Speaker
So if we deal with a lot of chronic stress or if we've experienced trauma in the past, that can really impact um cortisol balance.
00:17:00
Speaker
inside your body, adrenaline, dopamine, and that is going to keep your body in in a state of hypervigilance. Or, you know, that hypervigilance is like fighter fight or flight, you know, where your body is moving into that state of anxiety in preparation to defend itself. But you can also move into a state of freeze, right?
00:17:25
Speaker
And freeze is when you shut down. Functional freeze is when you feel all the and the tension inside, all the anxiety inside, but you're paralyzed. You don't feel like you can really respond. You just shut down. You don't have the words or any reaction that you would expect. You're just kind of frozen.
00:17:49
Speaker
That can occur internally. And again, it's not a weakness that somehow we should be stronger or we're not trusting God enough.
00:18:00
Speaker
It's a stress or trauma response in the way that God created us. He created us to have this response to keep us safe. You know, it's i i I know that you won't share any of our conversations from, you know, my calls with you, but it's, you know, from my perspective, you know, my journey with this in working with you, I've learned so much about you how some of how God has designed our limitations in this way that you're saying, you know, this anxiety is maybe a warning or it's your body saying this is too much for me and really seeing those warnings and not maybe pushing past those. Now, of course, if it's constant alarm bells, that's an area where you're helping others.
00:18:47
Speaker
women work through that and, and bring their body to a place of wholeness. But, um, I think that in my own journey with this and in working with you, I've seen that there are times when I was either freezing up or like, I'm just going to push through this. I'm just gonna, you know, pray more, dig into the word. And those things have helped me and have stabilized me for sure. I would never stop doing them, but there's also an element of, um,
00:19:16
Speaker
pushing too far through that feeling and not respecting what what God designed in my body, in the season of life I'm in, in the things that I'm taking on, that there's a limit on those things. And that by trying to push past that, I'm almost, you know, I'm not actually allowing him to answer the prayer for help in a way.
00:19:39
Speaker
Right, right. Exactly. Because like I mentioned earlier, God created our bodies, like the anxiety response, as a way to communicate to us that something needs to be addressed. And sometimes that might be, you know, the fact that it's like we do need more trust. Right. or, you know, something of that nature. But other times it's the response of the low blood sugar, or it's the response of some type of, maybe it's a relationship that, you know, chronically creates a stressful response. And so in those situations, we need to step back and just be able to evaluate that objectively, not, not Look at it as just one thing. Like this is just a lack of trust or this is just low blood sugar or this is just that person.
00:20:27
Speaker
But understand that it can sometimes be a combination of things. But instinctively, God created our bodies to use anxiety as a warning sign that something is off.
00:20:42
Speaker
And he wants us to slow down enough, embrace those limitations so that we can hear. what he's trying to tell us or what our body is trying to tell us.
00:20:54
Speaker
That's so good. And and I think i keep coming back to the part that like in him, you either him speaking to us through the word or through his spirit or through the fact that our bodies are trying to say, I need help. That's all an answer to prayer in a way. You know, that's the Lord's using many different things, the common grace of his creation, our bodies saying in this fallen world, I need more assistance. I need more help in whatever way that is, whether that's, you know, eating protein or getting more sleep or stepping back from social media, drinking less caffeine or the so you know, supplements or whatever that is um to help support that.
00:21:40
Speaker
support your body. And then through that, the Lord is answering, answering that prayer in a way. So how would you integrate, we're kind of talking about this right now. So let's dive a little deeper into this. Like how would you integrate things like prayer, scripture, spiritual disciplines alongside the physical support for anxiety?
00:22:02
Speaker
Because I know a lot of our listeners are probably wondering, how do I combine those two things? Yes. So it's a good question. So I think something that's been really helpful for me over the years in dealing with anxiety um and just like the tendency towards runaway thoughts or, you know, those those racing thoughts um is to remember that God's grace is like manna.
00:22:32
Speaker
Hmm. he gave the Israelites manna for that day. There wasn't manna for tomorrow. Tomorrow, there would be new manna.
00:22:43
Speaker
But for today, there was only manna. And when I feel anxious, I have friends that will remind me, you know, there is grace for what is happening right now.
00:22:55
Speaker
But your thoughts that are racing ahead into tomorrow or the next day or next week, That grace will be there when you get there. But it's it's not there right now.
00:23:09
Speaker
Right. And that has been really helpful to remember that God is very present. he He hears and understands those fears, that anxiety.
00:23:25
Speaker
But he is providing the support. for today, for right now, for the next 10 minutes. It can be hard to stay in the moment.
00:23:37
Speaker
And when we get some of those other physiological aspects addressed, it becomes a little easier. But we still, i still have to be very intentional about praying about today.
00:23:57
Speaker
Praying and asking the Lord to help me stay in right now. Yeah. Because running the ahead
00:24:07
Speaker
isn't going to isn't going to help. And that sounds very trite. And yet there's so much truth. And applying the MANA principle when it comes to anxiety.
00:24:20
Speaker
i can I can see that in my own experience, too, where I'm thinking, you know, about 10 things that are in the future, whether that's this afternoon or it's this weekend or in a month and thinking, how is this all going to resolve itself? How is this going to work out?
00:24:37
Speaker
To the point that I'm no longer even living in my actual day anymore. Like the the tasks of today are actually overwhelming now because I've stacked tomorrows and next weeks and next months on top of today's. And now I'm drowning in everything that I'm worried about that needs to be taken care of. And just seeing that as, you know, I can actually...
00:25:01
Speaker
walk hand in hand with the Lord and depend on his grace for today and then tomorrow depend on his grace again, that he actually wants to help me with these things. So thank you for sharing that. um so when you're So when you are anxious, Rachel, are what does prayer look like for you? like Would you walk us through a little bit of of what that might look like if it in the actual moment?
00:25:29
Speaker
I think for me, it's it' staying present with God. um It's quieting myself enough, getting rid of some of those other distractions, you know whether it's technology or whatever it happens, social media, whatever it happens to be, and quieting myself enough to sense the Lord's presence. And even if I don't sense it,
00:25:58
Speaker
To trust his character enough to know that he is there and that he hears my prayers. um You know, sometimes sometimes there' there's a sense of his presence, but sometimes there's not.
00:26:12
Speaker
Yeah. I think I've also learned that my prayers in those moments don't have to be elaborate. Sometimes they don't have to be more than help me, Jesus.
00:26:23
Speaker
yes Because that's that's as far as what I can get. in that moment, you know, if the, if the anxiety is really overwhelming. Um, I think I, I think too, just,
00:26:40
Speaker
using prayer coupled with breathing. So being able to, I've learned to deep breathe, um you know, from from the stomach instead of the chest to help me relax, you know, to fill the diaphragm and to be able to breathe in you know, the Lord is my shepherd.
00:26:59
Speaker
you know And to breathe out, you know I shall not want, or whatever phrase you want to use, you know breathe in, be still and breathe out and know that I am God.
00:27:11
Speaker
um you know But to to use some of these, um the scripture and pray that yeah to the Lord in phrases coupled with breathing has been something very helpful um over the years to me.
00:27:28
Speaker
Thank you for sharing that. It makes me think in the evenings when I, that's when I struggle the most with intrusive thoughts or, or anxiety around, usually around my children.
00:27:39
Speaker
i think of this verse that says, Jesus, I'm paraphrasing, but Jesus says, you know, that I know my sheep, my sheep know my boys, no one will pluck them out of my hand. Um, And when I am trying to go to sleep at night, I often pray Psalm 23 and I picture myself actually laying like in the palm of God's hand.
00:28:01
Speaker
And that visual just makes me feel like it's it's so silly maybe or it's, you know, some people say it's trite like you said earlier. But tip for me to to just picture being in God's hand based on that verse, I'm And then quoting Psalm 23 just puts me in a a position mentally and emotionally to accept God's support and God's heart.
00:28:27
Speaker
I think I just am able to sit with that in in a in a way that I'm not just racing around with my mind. It just puts my mind on him and keeps me...
00:28:37
Speaker
in the truth of what he's saying versus the kind of like trying to white knuckle the scripture into myself in some way. It's just, i don't know, the visual has really helped me. So thank you for sharing that. um Because I think people who are listening probably want to know, like, how how can I practically walk this out? Like, what does it look like to pray when I'm anxious?
00:28:59
Speaker
Yeah. And I think like, what you said as far as placing your yourself in God's hands, in the palm of his hand, or I imagine like crawling up into his lap, you know, where it's like i have his protective arms around me.
00:29:12
Speaker
You know, I'm being able to pray from that place. I think that's visual those visuals are really important. Yeah.
Overcoming Shame and Embracing Holistic Health
00:29:20
Speaker
I think the there is sometimes shame associated with um anxiety. You know, like somehow we're not trusting enough. And a visual of placing ourself into God's care, the palm of his hand or on his lap, um it's it's very difficult to maintain that shame along with God's presence. Like there's not room for them together. Oh, that's so good. And so I think that's really a really powerful place.
00:29:50
Speaker
to start from in those simple prayers. That is so good. Well, as we're wrapping up here, Rachel, what would you say to Christians who feel guilty for seeking natural or medical help for anxiety because they've been told it's a lack of faith? Yeah. um I feel a lot of compassion for them because it's a um it's a misplaced guilt and shame.
00:30:15
Speaker
have i I really believe that, as already mentioned, the body, our spirit, the the physical, emotional, relational, you know all of these different aspects, they're all together. We cannot separate them out. We cannot make anxiety only physical or only spiritual or only emotional or relational or whatever. It is all of it. And when we can't accept that,
00:30:44
Speaker
When we can accept that, I believe that we're in a place for healing to happen in a way that it can't when it's just one of them. I think sometimes one of the biggest hindrances for women is this this idea that if I seek out healing, if I seek out help for the anxiety or whatever it is, that somehow I'm being selfish. I'm focused on me. But what I really encourage women to remember is that when you invest in your health, when you invest in um addressing that anxiety, that is an investment into your family, into those that you love.
00:31:21
Speaker
the It is not actually about you near as much as it's about everybody else that you are loving and supporting.
00:31:32
Speaker
That's so good and so freeing, Rachel. Thank you for sharing that. And thank you most of all for coming on and just sharing from your heart with all of Verity Podcast listeners.
Finding More About Dr. Rausch's Work
00:31:43
Speaker
Where can people find you if they want to follow along with your work?
00:31:46
Speaker
Yeah, you can find me online at arrowwellness.com. So again, arrow is spelled E-I-R-O. wellness.com. Um, I am on social media somewhat. I find that too much does create that extra stress and anxiety. So you are more likely going to find me if you, um, sign up for my email list, because that's probably where I'm most active as far as, um, sharing my thoughts. So you can go to my website and sign up there.
00:32:19
Speaker
And, um, Yeah, that's gonna be the the best place to stay connected. Well, fantastic. We will make sure to put all of the links to Rachel's practice in the show notes and you can follow along with her. We'll link her social media as well. And thank you again, Rachel, for coming on and sharing.
00:32:38
Speaker
Oh, you're so welcome. Thank you so much. It's been such an honor.