Anxiety – The Struggle Within by Joshua Adegboye
This drawing by 19 year old Joshua Adegboye depicts a terrified, trembling and frustrated man whose behaviour is strongly influenced by anxiety. The man is filled with fear, nervousness, apprehension, tension, and worried thoughts caused by unknown circumstances. There’s a lot of turmoil building up in his inner being. He feels incapable of coping with daily life and is exhibiting panic and agitation caused by intense stress and anxiety. Joshua was moved to create this drawing from a personal experience he had. According to him,
“What really inspired me to take on this piece was just the need to tackle and share a personal problem in which I have been a victim for a long time. The piece is just a reminder to everyone that there are people out there experiencing anxiety. It’s to remind them they are not alone and that they can surely overcome it.”
Anxiety can make a person imagine or believe that a condition or situation in their life is far worse than it is. It also prevents people from confronting their fears. It is a normal, sometimes unpleasant part of life caused by our bodily functions and affects people in different ways and at different times. Although natural, it becomes a condition when it frequently occurs without a trigger. The Cambridge Dictionary defines anxiety as “an uncomfortable feeling of nervousness or worry about something that is happening or might happen in future.” Unlike stress which comes and goes, anxiety can persist for longer periods.
When anxious or stressed, people often feel physical symptoms such as increased heart rates, increased blood pressure, nausea, muscle tension, dizziness, tingling in the hands and feet, and tension headaches. There could also be psychological and behavioural symptoms. There are different types of anxiety conditions some of which include – phobias (irrational fear of situations that wouldn’t normally trouble most people); social anxiety (also known as social phobia – fear of being the centre of attention in public, fear of public embarrassment, and a range of feelings such as stage fright); claustrophobia (fear of confined spaces); dental phobia (irrational fear of visiting the dentist); health anxiety; injection phobia (persistent, excessive and unreasonable fear of injections); panic disorder (sudden panic attacks); stress (a feeling experienced when the demands placed on a person are greater than his/her ability to cope); and toilet phobia (fears around toilets).
Some people find it hard to control their worries. Their feelings of anxiety are constant and can often affect their daily lives. In actual fact, the more we become uncertain about situations or the future, the more we become faced with anxiety that comes from within. However, we shouldn’t let situations overwhelm us. We should cast our cares upon Jesus by prayerfully telling him about our problems. Also, we need not worry about tomorrow or those things that cannot change. Rather than worry, we should trust in God and believe in his ability to change circumstances and make everything work for good.
Anxiety, enemy of man’s strength
Eats up our strength, makes us seem hopeless
It defends failure before us and gives us reason to fail
It fights us from within and tells us not to fight back
It grows gradually and when fully grown, overshadows our faith
And makes us seem like a frail baby with no strength
Anxiety! An enemy we must all conquer
Be courageous, your fears only challenge you to take charge
Not to run away.
– Joshua Adegboye
Artist’s Profile
Joshua Adegboye is a third year student of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Lagos. He loves drawing, painting, sculpting and model making. His passion for art goes back to his days in nursery school where he excelled greatly in his art classwork. His mom has been instrumental in motivating his artistic talents. He calls her his #1 fan. During his time at the MFM Teenage Church, Josh helped to develop artistic interpretations of bible passages and was active in the Teenage Church Art Club.
Joshua gets inspiration from boredom, watching instructional videos and lately, from his dreams. He is also a lover of basketball and soccer. Joshua hopes to inspire a world of change through his art.
It took Josh about 3 months to complete this drawing using materials such as graphite pencils, charcoal (vine and pencils), white charcoal, and alabaster paper. He leaves a message for young artists:
“As we see from the time it took me to complete the drawing, this piece took quite a while due to challenges, school and life events. Despite this, all I kept saying was, ‘don’t give up, keep going, it’s your own race.’ No Matter the situation, never give up.”
Connect with Joshua:
Instagram: @clutchprince_jay, @clutchyarts
Facebook: @joshua.adegboye
About Art Drive
Art Drive is a monthly online art exhibition of inspiring and edifying works of art by the MFM Youth Church Writers Club. It explores the dream world of artists and celebrates the richness and diversity of creativity.
We’re inviting artists from near and far to submit visual artworks – drawings, paintings, photography etc. on any theme with a positive and inspiring message. All artworks must include a brief description of the piece and a short bio of the artist.
Submit to mfmyouthwriters@yahoo.com
Don’t miss the next edition.