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Truly understanding what ails us helps us contend against it effectively in wisdom...
What's the difference between fear and anxiety? Why is knowing the distinction so important to overcoming them both? Is fear just an emotion or does it truly have an impact on your physical health as well? Is anxiety preventable and if so, how?
The interpretation of language is important to understanding context. There’s a huge difference between knowing what a word say’s and knowing what that word is saying. Learning what fear and anxiety are will help us not only recognize them but defend against them appropriately. Though these words are used interchangeably sometimes, they are not the same.
Defining Fear & ANxiety
Anxiety is an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes like increased blood pressure.
People with anxiety disorders usually have recurring intrusive thoughts or concerns. They may avoid certain situations out of worry. They may also have physical symptoms such as sweating, trembling, dizziness, or a rapid heartbeat.
Anxiety is not the same as fear, but they are often used interchangeably. Anxiety is considered a future-oriented, long-acting response broadly focused on a diffuse threat, whereas fear is an appropriate, present-oriented, and short-lived response to a clearly identifiable and specific threat. (American Psychological Association)
In short, fear is what occurs when you perceive an immediate threat of harm. Anxiety is our imaginations' overactive portrayal of a future event that has the potential to cause us harm. Fear should be a healthy emotion that activates our ability to fight and triumph or flee for safety. Anxiety is a type of self-inflicted bondage. It’s just a waste of time and energy that Philippians 4:6-7 speaks against:
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus”
Diffusing Threats
How do we understand and register warnings? Our brains are masterfully predictive machines that calculate anticipated and probable outcomes within seconds of receiving information. So how do we perceive threats? How do we diffuse a threat? Why is understanding what a threat is and being able to correctly label it important?
Labels are necessary for clarity, organization, and proper acclimation. Because climates and conditions change, and can do so rapidly and without warning, learning how to adjust effectively serves our survival. Being disciplined enough to convert what we understand into what we apply is critical to our conversion of terror to triumph.
Terror can be an extreme fear or a troublesome annoyance. Terror is an abstract perception, a subjective assessment. Trauma, personality, experience, and preference are all contributing factors to whether someone or something can intimidate, terrorize, or agitate a person. What may be a mere annoyance to one person may be a life threatening circumstance to another.
In either case, when encountering any type of threat, an advisory procedure immediately transpires in our brains. What triggers the amygdala to create a fear response is called a threat stimulus. Stimulated by the sense of danger, the amygdala activates several functions. Our motor functions kick in, promoting our ability to fight or flee.
Furthermore, our sympathetic nervous system forces the heart to pump faster, sending more blood and oxygen throughout the body where needed. This occurs so that we physically become more capable of following through on our fight or flight mode. Stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol are released from the adrenal gland. Adrenaline supports breathing and muscle function while cortisol helps repair body tissues.
In a stressful situation, these functions occur in seconds so that we can triumph towards safety but it all begins in the brain. Though it is the brain that carries out these activities, it is the mind that interprets when and how to initiate these bodily functions. What is the difference between an unpleasant encounter and impending danger?
The alarms that sound, warning us of what we perceive to be danger, begin in the mind with what we understand and emphasize. Unraveling potential threats is nothing more than predicting a forecast based on evidence, probability, and the anticipation of supplemental conditions. Knowing what is truly harmful and what is not is the baseline for what we perceive to be emergent threats.
A warning is a heads up that should initiate preparation for protection or proaction. A healthy outlook will stimulate the proper perspective and proaction. However, an unhealthy outlook will provoke toxic behaviors. Anxiety and terror may cloud our judgment, which in turn distorts our input and output. The illusion of an immediate threat where there is no harm present is a forecast for disaster.
Rather than misdiagnosing a circumstance or ignoring the proper warning signs, we must learn how to appropriately diffuse threats. A healthy outlook allows for courage and wisdom to influence the perspective of our predictions and probability assessments when facing potential harm. Remaining calm in high-stress situations permits us a level of confidence that insulates our ability to think clearly through proactive steps.
Creative contemplations are strategic options that incorporate reason, experience, and foresight with the application of wisdom. Wisdom itself, is the application of knowledge, so how we execute a plan should be set at a healthy baseline. When the adrenaline and cortisol get released, we can fight, flee, or freeze. A methodical and calm demeanor may be the difference between whether we tower up in triumph or tremble in fear.
Setting A Healthy Baseline
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 sets a healthy baseline for us to focus on regardless of what fears and anxieties present themselves to us:
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.”
During this season of thanksgiving, let us practice this kingdom principle. Now that we can appropriately define the difference between fear and anxiety, we can effectively develop a strategy against both. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 gives us a great starting point to do this strategy.
To rejoice is to delight in the Lord’s favor, knowing that even in unfavorable circumstances that we are still currently experiencing God’s unfailing grace and favor. As we rejoice with consistency, our focus won’t be on what can harm us but Who will protect us. Our prayers should also be continuous, exchanging ideas with the Lord that imparts faith in our daily walk.
There’s no room for entertaining physical threats or scarcity mindsets when we constantly give thanks to God, our Protector and Provider. Regardless of our circumstances, we must focus on the goodness of God. When we feel afraid, we can trust in the security of the angels our heavenly Father dispatches against all threats of harm. When we’re anxious, worrying about how our needs will be met, we can trust that the King of the Universe will meet all our needs out of His riches in glory.
To, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances” is God’s will for us in Jesus Christ because He takes delight when we glorify Him by seeking Him out. Whether life seems good or bad, we should be glad that we have exclusive access to our loving Father in heaven. It’s through Christ that we can even have such a beautiful relationship with the Father. So let us be grateful that we have been adopted into such a wonderful kingdom family, swaddled daily in the confidence of divine security and provision.
Thank You and God Bless!
Thank you for reading this blog. Your support and contribution is treasured here. Please continue to share this content so that God may work through us to be a benefit to others. I invite you to leave a comment and stay tuned in for the next blog. I pray that this blesses you and honor’s God. Let’s continue growing together as kingdom citizens in Christ. Show love, be kind, and trust in God. Thank you and God bless.
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