God's ways are not our ways, said the psalmist.
After a difficult struggle with PTSD, Panic Disorder, and General Anxiety Disorder, my doctor decided it was time to ease off using one of my anti-anxiety meds. Unfortunately, one of the withdrawal symptoms of this particular drug is nightmares or vivid dreaming. Nightmares it was. And as much as I'd pray to not have nightmares, they continued as I decreased my medication. No supplement helped, either - Melatonin, Valerian - you name it. It was starting to get difficult for lack of sleep because I avoided going to bed to face those nightmares. As I wondered what particular saint to ask for intervention, having been praying to St. Dymphna for many years, St. Raphael, the Blessed Virgin, and St. Anthony, I was at a loss as to who to turn to for this particular problem.
Oddly, though, God sent me an unlikely saint: St. Maximilian Kolbe. Not only is he the patron saint of prisoners but of drug addicts. And as this was a drug dependency related problem, I asked for his help. He was waiting for his cue in the wings, one might say, because he intervened immediately and I have had no nightmares or alarmingly vivid dreams from the first night I asked for his help. I sometimes think we overlook the root of the problem, having got caught up in all the effects. I'm definitely going to focus more on the cause of an issue from now on before I get caught up in the overwhelming storm. Like global warming.
