In this article, I share some words of encouragement for someone waiting for test results. It can be an anxious, nerve-wracking time which can throw your whole life off balance. So, here are 11 spiritual ways to manage your anxiety and help you regain faith, positivity and perspective. And to use your challenge to help you awaken on your spiritual path.
Words of encouragement for someone waiting for test results
This is an article I wasn’t expecting to write. On a seemingly normal Wednesday morning in late July, whilst typing up some session notes (Olympics on in the background) I was jolted out of my peaceful bubble. I got the call nobody wants from their doctor “we’ve found something in your blood, you need to go for an urgent scan”. My heart was in my mouth and my stomach immediately churned. In an instant, my peaceful state had done a total 180. I entered a state of panic, the likes of which I had (thankfully) never experienced previously. Well, at least not for myself!
The two weeks which followed were up there with the most anxious of my life. Having been fortunate enough not to ever need to go to hospital or undergo anything other than a routine medical procedure, this was a very scary time for me. Following my scan and reading into every little nuance of what the radiographer said (and didn’t say), I hit rock bottom. I spent the weekend on the couch, contemplating my own mortality. Trying to make sense of it all. I experienced what is known as the ‘dark night of the soul’. A time when you lose connection with the higher force which has provided so much support and comfort. A spiritual crisis in a way. Just at the time when I needed this connection the most.
Seeing the bigger picture
The waiting for my test results was, at times, excruciating. But deep down I also had this knowing that ‘this too shall pass’ and that there was a much bigger picture which was playing out here. I knew that this had come to awaken me even further. It had come to make me sit up and take note of my physical health, having focused all my energy until now on my mental and spiritual health. To realise that in order to carry out my work and my purpose, I need a healthy body.
I believe it had come to make me realise at a deeper level that we are meant to have both a spiritual and a human experience. And that one can support the other if we look to balance them and accept such experiences into our life. I know there is a deeper message for me or something I need to acknowledge and release. I am allowing that to emerge in its own time.
Equanimity and alchemy
Earlier this year I had written a short social media post about the topic of equanimity – the Buddhist idea of maintaining composure and anchoring ourselves deep within to a state of inner peace which remains during stressful or challenging times. I realised that the Universe had gifted me the opportunity to test out my ability to practice equanimity. And so, for the week which followed, I decided I needed to draw on my reserves and use this health challenge to strengthen me instead of taking me under.
I knew immediately that there was an article I wanted to write, whatever the outcome of my test results. I wanted to offer some words of encouragement and reassurance to others who were waiting for test results. To gently put out there the possibility that this has come to awaken you too. And to help you strengthen your connection to Source (in a way that can also be felt across all other areas of your life). By staying conscious and transmuting our suffering into awakening, I believe that we can all become alchemists.
11 spiritual ways to manage anxiety and bring encouragement when waiting for test results
So here I share with you some of the things I did to help me move from fear to faith and use the challenge of waiting for medical test results to awaken me:
1. Practice acceptance and surrender Instead of resisting what is happening to you, try practicing acceptance and surrender to what is. Acceptance that we are spiritual beings having a human experience and that can involve pain, discomfort and challenge. Acceptance and surrender does not need to be a passive state. Instead, there is a subtle but positive energy shift which you invite in when you accept and surrender. You relinquish resistance and connect with the higher vibration of trust.
2. Believe in miracles And believe that miracles can happen for you. No explanation needed as to how or why, just an unwavering faith in whatever divine higher power you believe in. This word came up for me several times as I was waiting which I took as a sign to believe in them. As I wrote in my journal, at the bottom of the pre-printed page it said ‘miracles are natural’. What have you got to lose in believing in them? It doesn’t mean that you don’t take action, just that you open up to the possibility of a turnaround, even if everything feels like it is pointing towards the worst case (as it was for me).
3. Intensify your practices Whether that’s meditation, yoga, prayer, mindfulness or walks in nature. Now is the time to step into them more fully. To lean into them for support. Even if (especially if) you feel like doing them less. There is such comfort and clarity to be found from quietening the mind and allowing higher guidance in. (And if you don’t have any practices, what better time to start one!)
4. Practice being present For me, this represents the biggest opportunity from waiting for test results, and also the most instant form of relief to help manage your anxiety. When we are truly mindful, we can connect with our inner self and with the peace that is available to as at all times. This really is a moment-to-moment practice. To check in with ourselves and notice what our thoughts are focused on and what tension we may be holding in our bodies. And then consciously choosing to change and release them. This is a real game-changer.
5. Feel the feelings Let them out, give your anxiety, your worry your darkest fears a voice. I believe this is an important part of the process of managing your anxiety. Rather than trying to put a brave face on or pretending that you are strong and brave, give this part of you an outlet. Journaling can be a really helpful tool for this. So many of my clients report a therapeutic benefit to showing up to a regular journaling practice. Write your fears down on paper and see what shifts for you.
6. Call in your Higher Self That fearful, anxious part of you is not who you truly are. It’s the fearful Ego Self feeling threatened, maybe disconnected and alone. Recognise that you also have your Higher Self to call on. The eternal essence of who you are who knows what this is all about. It can help ground and root you in a place of calm and trust. It can help you recognise that we are all connected and we are all having a human experience together, with all its struggles and its pleasures.
7. Be kind to yourself When you are going through the anxiety of waiting for test results, the last thing you need to be is hard on yourself. Consider what you can do which feels nurturing or uplifting. Whether that’s watching a whole box set on Netflix, having a lovely candlelit bath or listening to some of your favourite tunes. The weekend before my test results, I realised I had two choices. I could either tie myself up in knots for two days (which served no purpose) or I could enjoy the fun things I had planned and connect myself with the positive, higher vibration energy which I knew was more likely to bring about the result I wanted. I wanted to experience joy without the need for everything around me to be perfect or to be fully in control of things.
8. Align your vibration with the result you do want Just for a moment, imagine what you do want to have happen? What would a good result be for you? Amidst the anxious waiting, try to spend some chunks of time when you connect with the feelings of things going well. In your mind, run through the scenario of being given your results and feel the feelings you wish to feel before, during and after. Visualisation is a powerful technique which can raise your frequency so that you attract what you want (as opposed to spending all your time ruminating about what you don’t want).
9. Breathe
10. Try not to catastrophise It seems to be almost an automatic reaction for many of us to revert to the worst-case scenario when we are considering an outcome such as waiting for test results. I’m still curiously searching for answers as to why – as it serves no real purpose, other than to maybe protect us from the disappointment of the best-case scenario not occurring (or so we think). I thought I knew everything about my situation based on very limited conversations with two medical professionals. I read between the lines and assumed I had all the information to give myself a reasonably accurate diagnosis. I focused on the 10% chance of what could be as opposed to the 90% chance. Don’t let that be you!
11. Choose to believe that you’re stronger than you think For years (and I’m talking around twenty), I had a belief that when one of my worst-case scenarios played out, I would be a mess. It presented itself as a low-lying background anxiety for much of my adult life. What I learnt from when this did eventually play itself out was that I handled it in a much more accepting and courageous way than I ever imagined. So too with your potential worst-case scenario. I invite you to challenge your belief that you will not be able to handle it. And choose instead to believe “I am strong enough to handle whatever life presents me with”.
Final words of encouragement for someone waiting for test results
The night before I met with the consultant to get my test results, a deep inner calm came over me. I called in my Spirit Support Team and faced my darkest fears. As I was met in the hospital entrance by a kind volunteer and taken to my appointment on a buggy, I knew without question that my Mum was with me (she hated walking anywhere). I was filled with laughter and terror all at the same time. The two polarities of life dancing together in one moment.
My worst-case scenario had not played itself out. The joy, the relief and the gratitude I felt that day were immense. I felt like I had almost been given a second chance at life. A second chance to put life in a new perspective. To let go of the worry over things we have no control over and the ‘what if’s which can spoil our enjoyment of life. To become even more present and to put my physical health first.
I am now entering a period of healing. Things I had been putting off are now being made a priority. I am about to enter the treatment phase which also comes with some fears and anxieties for me to navigate and a journey into the unknown. But I feel strengthened by what has gone before. And, with the tools I have shared with you, I feel equipped to maintain the equanimity which I have been so fascinated by this year. I am now making a new commitment to my physical wellbeing.
Many months ago, I felt guided into taking time out from my coaching practice over the summer. I listened to that inner guidance, not knowing 100% why but trusting the feeling. It all makes perfect sense now.
I do hope these words of encouragement if you’re waiting for test results have brought you even the tiniest bit of hope or comfort. My heart goes out to you.
You will get through this.
Hello, I'm Rebecca
Life Coach & Career Coach for people on a spiritual path
I support mid-career professionals who are ready to make a career change, launch into a more purpose-led career or business or simply enjoy a more fulfilling or balanced working life.
I believe that we all have a purpose here on earth and that life is too short to be stressed, unfulfilled and playing small.
