Blog Fear undermines response, our health

Photo by Melanie Wasser on Unsplash

Recently when Keith and I had hair cuts, a third employee entered apologizing for being late. She told us, she’d been in a line at Walmart when some gunk in her throat made her cough. The lady behind her freaked out, grabbing her phone and had her finger on 911. She wanted this woman who coughed out of line and out of the store.

Frustrated, the woman turned around and said, “I merely coughed on my spit.” 

What people don’t understand is that summoning emergency personnel for what may turn out to be nothing, means these services may not be available for that car accident or other emergency situation where minutes may make the difference between life and death.

Trigger-happy responses stem from fear--not merely caution. Fear changes how our bodies deal with stress, actually lowering immunity and setting us up for illness. Certain hormones increase.

In the article “How Fear Impacts Your Health” Health Prep stated,, “... when these hormone levels are constantly being increased, they can have a very traumatic effect on long-term health.”

The article goes on to say fear weakens the immune system. “Another aspect of living in long-term fear is collateral health damage. Individuals suffering from extreme stress or the fear of something may abuse substances to cope.”

Fear leads to searching for escape. March 4, 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt took the oath of office as our 32nd president. After taking the oath, he delivered a twenty minute speech, a part of which has been repeated many times over the years. With the Corona virus making its way across the globe causing fear and panic, partly due to the drumbeat of some in the national media, it is time to remind ourselves of Roosevelt’s famous speech.

For those who might pass it off as something from a conservative side of the aisle, I’ll remind you that Franklin D. Roosevelt was a Democrat.“So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is...fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and of vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory.”

Roosevelt understood fear is dangerous. Make no mistake, fear can kill you. Fear increases stress to impossible levels, short-circuiting the protections the body usually has in place to fight off illness or even rational thought in some cases. (Ever been so afraid you freeze in place instead of running away?)

The Bible says the answer to fear starts with God’s comfort and strength as we turn our fear over to Him. 2 Timothy 1:7 KJV “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 

Isaiah 41:10 NKJV “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

We need to stop allowing the media or our own imagination to freeze rational thinking, replacing it with irrational fear. God is in control, but even if you don’t believe, look at the truth at how many are infected, how many actually die and how many--most--survive.

Use basic, sensible precautions, recognizing that with all outbreaks--this, too shall pass. You can get through this. Choose not to pass on either the virus or irrational, paralyzing fear.

© 2020 Carolyn R Scheidies
Published by the Kearney Hub 4/6/2020
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Blog 2007 Minneapolis Bridge Collapse and What We Can learn from Tragedy

MPR News

An aerial view shows the collapsed I-35W bridge Aug. 4, 2007.

Life goes off the rails of our plans often with little or no warning, Life happens. One of that horrifying and totally unexpected occurrences was the collapse of the 35W bridge in Minneapolis, MN.

After it happened and it made national news, most saw photos and viewed video clips of the massive 35W bridge that collapsed in Minneapolis and followed the search to account for all those who were traveling on the doomed bridge that afternoon. For all the tragedies, there were miracles as well.

My cousin Dwight Nelson lives in the Minneapolis area. He and his family regularly used what he called “perhaps one of the two most often traveled bridges in Minnesota.” August 1, 2007, the 35W bridge, with a 500 foot span that connected the downtown and southern areas of Minneapolis with the northern suburbs and the rest of the city, collapsed during heavy traffic. (The bridge was near where my Aunt Esther lived in a retirement situation.)

Dwight's son, Mark, regularly took that bridge home from work. About the time Mark should have been on the bridge, Dwight got the news of its collapse. For an hour, Dwight tried to raise Mark on his cell phone, but everything was jammed. To his great relief, he found a message on his computer when he reached home. "Heya, I'm alive." Because of road construction, Mark had taken a different route that afternoon.

That was just one of the miracles my cousin experienced that day. Dwight's cousin Dave should have been on that bridge. But that afternoon a co-worker dropped by and started chatting, and kept talking and talking. Dave missed the crossing and the collapse on a bridge he'd used earlier in the day.

Dwight wrote this about his own escape. “I just picked up Mandy, my daughter, at the airport. (She'd been on a mission's trip.) Since we were out looking for a quick snack, we ended up on a freeway connecting to 35W. I was tempted to take 35W home, which would have put us on the 35W bridge. At the last minute, I turned around and took a different freeway home, even though it was probably about 5 miles longer. I am not sure why I did that other than I knew traffic would be bad on 35W. Deep down, I also feel it was God's hand moving us to take a different route home.”

Mandy's friend escaped the collapse by a few minutes simply because she wanted to arrive at the Minnesota Twins ballgame early. Her friend, who realized she’d missed by minutes being on the bridge when it collapsed, was so shook up she left the game. Dwight also told of a stranger who stood behind him at the hardware store who said he would have been on the bridge. It was the way home. But last minute plans with his son took him another direction.

Dwight ended his post with, “I'm sure the stories will go on and on, so many people use that bridge. I am also sure that God leads and directs our lives in many different ways....” Sometimes miracles aren't huge. Sometimes God uses what might otherwise be everyday frustrations and circumstances to change our lives.

God is right here even during times of tragedy like the bridge collapse or dealing with a pandemic. He doesn’t promises roses all the time, but He does promise to be with us, comfort and guide us as we turn to, rather than away, from Him when we go through difficult circumstances.

© 2008, 2020, 2023 Carolyn R Scheidies

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