In this global pandemic with COVID-19, FEAR is taking over our nation and our world. In my doctoral dissertation I intend to show that COVID-19 has become a Pandemic of FEAR. This includes FEAR of Contracting the Virus, as well as FEAR of Social Isolation, Financial Collapse, Mental Health Concerns, Losing Trust Among Neighbors, Travel Restrictions (unable to visit family members), Social Unrest, Media Madness and Losing Freedoms. I plan to conduct a survey of 1000 individuals to determine what people are most fearful of during this unprecedented time. You can help, as it just takes 2 minutes to fill out Pandemic of Fear Survey.
I want to offer hope by sharing the natural immune building lifestyle choices for those who report the majority of their FEAR being the fear of contracting COVID-19. I will also explore the simple yet effective ways that we can help people conquer the other long list of fears we are confronting during the Pandemic. The world needs qualified Health and Wellness Coaches to come alongside those that are living in FEAR and empower them to trust in themselves and their bodies to not just survive this Pandemic but thrive in it.
I look forward to embarking on this grand adventure and am very grateful for your prayers during this endeavor. Be assured of my prayers for all of you during this time.
Exploring the Pandemic of Fear and A Practical Guide to Overcome it (excerpt from this upcoming work)
Why am I writing this paper at this moment in history?
When I was literally dying from a mystery illness 12 years ago I spent the little energy I had left and more money than I’d like to admit going to every conceivable type of doctor hoping they could save me. We had 5 very young children at the time, and I was at home attached to an oxygen tank because my saturation levels would fall dangerously with any type of activity. One of the long list of diagnosis was discovered by having a tube with a camera shoved up my groin to my heart (not too much fun) and they found a hole in my heart called a Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO). The surgery recommended was fairly routine but not without risk, and we were ready to move forward when the surgeon told me he didn’t think it would actually resolve my symptoms!
Doctors kept telling my husband to expect the worse as I was declining so rapidly. We finally found ourselves exploring the uncharted waters of the alternative medicine world as we literally had nowhere else to go. Through God’s great providence and intervention, I found a Naturopathic doctor who literally saved my life. Dr. David Jernigan will always hold a special place in my heart. The previous year spent in desperately seeking answers were filled with fear, overwhelm and a sense of hopelessness. What Dr. Jernigan brought was hope as well as empowering me to work with my bodies innate God-given ability to heal. I have been on the path to learning all I can about this new world so that I can help others find their way to healing.
So why am I writing about the current Pandemic and specifically about the fear component? The emotions I felt during the darkest time in my own life included fear, overwhelm and hopelessness. And it turns out that these very emotions were a big part of the root cause and driving the train of my unhealthy state. Thanks to my years of research and ultimately deciding to pursue a Doctorate in Natural Medicine, I discovered the amazing power of the mind-body connection. The physical body may be exhibiting symptoms, but these are often simply messages regarding something you need to address emotionally.
Whatever health issue you may be challenged with, instead of trying to get a label or diagnosis, perhaps focus on what is preventing your body from doing what it was designed to do from the beginning of time and that is to heal on its own.
Contemplate that concept for a moment. It ultimately doesn’t matter what is wrong with you, your body and immune system are masterfully designed to heal and come back into balance from all of life’s many challenges. This includes such invaders as bacteria, viruses, parasites, toxins and even the physiological impact of your emotional state on your immune system. So rather than focusing as the general population is right now on avoiding the virus completely, we will be much better served putting our attention and energy towards ensuring our immune, digestive, and autonomic nervous systems are able to work according to the divine plan. What prevents our bodies from working optimally?
I have discovered that all too often the answer to that question is STRESS. How I am perceiving, reacting, expressing and experiencing each day holds the key to health both on a conscious level and subconscious. Stress can be a major roadblock to being in a state of homeostasis. And getting to this took a deep examination of the overall state of my body, mind and spirit with a trusted coach/guide to show me the path.
I finally realized before you see a new doctor or try a new program or add yet another supplement, that we can only make progress once we embrace the idea that health is an inside job. Fear is at the root of the current Pandemic and may be at the root of many of our health challenges. If you are becoming overwhelmed with what to do and what not to do during this current global crisis your thoughts about it may be adding to the problem exponentially. We know the saying “knowledge is power” but tuning in to the media or googling all the statistics can make you worse by filling your mind with possibilities that we can make into actualities. Let’s dive in to explore these concepts.
I’ve suffered a great many misfortunes, most of which never happened. Mark Twain
Fear and the Immune System
The people in the United States and the whole world for that matter are currently in an unrelenting stress, fear and panic cycle. Will I have a job tomorrow? Or what will I do now that I have just lost my job. Will I be able to still buy groceries, will I lose my car, my house? What happens if I catch the virus or someone in my family does? What is happening in my neighborhoods with crime up and all the social unrest? How do I deal with the bombardment of my psyche with nothing but doomsday messages on TV, radio, social media and every conversation we are having these days. The thought patterns and constant state of worry and fear is effecting our minds as much as the virus may affect our lungs.
There is a deep psychological and many physical consequences of enduring this kind of long-term Fear and Stress. It is completely normal to find ourselves in this mental health crisis while experiencing the traumatic events of COVID-19. This is our Autonomic nervous system doing exactly what it was designed to do and that is to protect us and help us survive in times of threat. However, this defense mechanism should be a temporary and short-term solution for a brief time. When we are in this state of fear and worry for extended periods of time, it will inevitably wreak havoc in our bodies. Countless studies have shown this correlation: how “chronic stress has a significant effect on the immune system that ultimately manifest in illness”.
According to Occupational Health and Safety news and the National Council on compensation of insurance, “up to 90% of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress-related complaints.” 1
Exposure to acute stress, trauma, and fear have been shown in both mice and humans to compromise immune function and impair lymphocyte function (lymphocytes are our white blood cells that fight viruses). Fear and stress make you more vulnerable to infectious diseases. (Mosley, 2020)
Experiencing emotions of fear (anxiety, unforgiveness, worry, hopelessness, bitterness, comparison, self-hate or criticism, jealousy, depression, etc.) has the following negative effects:
Lowers your body’s immune system and our ability to fight off viruses, bacteria, parasites, toxin, mold, etc
Weakens organ systems in your body which means these organs can’t do the work they were designed to do
Drives you into a Sympathetic State (Fight or Flight) so your immune and healing system is literally shut down to conserve energy for the fight
Shuts down the part of your brain that allows you to receive wisdom on how to handle what you are dealing with (Intuition and the inspirations from the Holy Spirit)
The bottom line is that fear actually blocks and prevents healing. Thoughts and emotions have the biggest impact on the biochemical reactions that are happening in your body. Your mind is the most healing tool you have unlimited access to God’s miraculous internal pharmacy. Each thought you think is changing your immune, endocrine, and nervous system every minute of every day. We don’t realize how many unconscious thoughts we are having that are putting our body in the state it’s in.
Click on over to the resource pages for COVID-19 for practical tips to help combat the fear/stress cycle.
