No longer fear’s slave (Part 1)

This is part 1 of a four part series on fear and the connections I see between science and what scripture says about fear. The connections will delightful surprise you so make sure to stay with me for all four parts. In part 2 I will talk about  how science has found that the heart and brain communicate during experiences of fear so do not miss it. See you for part 2.

 

Fearing Fear

“Live courageous bold lives, take a risk,” for some like me this was nothing but a cute statement and nothing more. Fear can be crippling. It can prevent you from living a full life. It is no fun constantly being in fear. Do you know what that does to your brain? Knowing that your cognitive functions are incapable of functioning as it was made to do. It feels like being alive but in a vegetative state, where you are incapable of articulating your thoughts or act upon them but yet wide awake. It’s like an invisible limit is placed on you and you are incapable of removing it. This was my life until I got help.
The North American Nursing Diagnosis Association (NANDA) defines fear “as a response to a perceived threat that is consciously recognized as a danger.” The Bible in Psalm 23:4 also defines it similar when it says “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil…” it is a shadow, a perceived real threat but no need to fear fear. We have the ability to decide what to fear and what not to fear. Let’s no longer fear fear.

 

Scientific Evidence of the Effects of Fear on the Heart

Dr. Sarah Garfinkel at Brighton and Sussex Medical School did a research on how fear affects the heart and she found that there is a “link between the cycles of a beating heart and the likelihood of someone taking fright.” She said people are “more likely to feel a sense of fear at the moment when their hearts are contracting and pumping blood around their bodies-systole, compared with the point it is at in its regular cycle of contraction and relaxation-diastole.” What does this mean? This means that when a person’s heart is pumping blood the part of our brain referred to as the “seat of emotions” known as the Amygdala judges “fearful face as more intense than if we see the very same fearful face during diastole, when the heart is relaxed.” Dr. Sarah goes on to say that “our heart can also affect what we see and what we don’t see and guide whether we see fear.”

When I read this research I found it interesting because in reading my Bible I came across the Greek meaning of the word “heart” in John 14:27. One thing I must tell you before I proceed is that one word in English could be translated to multiple words with clearer meanings in Greek or Hebrew and one word in Greek or Hebrew could have multiple meanings in English. This is why I like to do a study of the individual words when reading my Bible to get a better understanding. For example the word “love” in English is one word, no matter what kind of love you speak of but in Greek the words: agápe, éros, philía, and storgē are all words used to express love based on the type of love you speak of. Eros talks about love within an intimate relationship between a spouse/lover and philia talks about love of family or friends. So with that understanding established lets continue.

Let Scripture Speak

In John 14:27 (amp) says “Peace I leave with you; My [perfect] peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. [Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge.]” So because I know that not because the Bible says heart it actually means a physical heart, so I did some research and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the word heart, which in this scripture in Greek is Karida (G2588);  in the Strong’s Greek Lexicon-Study Bible (Thayer) and the Strong’s Greek Lexicon (KJV)- Blue Letter Bible both have one of the meanings as “the organ in an animal body which is the centre of the circulation of the blood, and hence was regarded as the seat of physical life.” I was totally shocked because the research done by Dr. Sarah shows that our hearts influences how we feel fear and the scripture is telling us about the impact fear has on the heart. The Bible is telling us that in the midst of fear if we recognize God is with us, we do not have to continue to feel that fear, we will get strength and courage not to be afraid or be troubled. Also knowing that God is with us will help us to feel in control and not a victim with no chance of changing our circumstances. And this scripture goes on further to put a guarantee on it by saying you can count on this working at all times because this is not like the promises the world makes and not keep, I promise you perfect peace. This is powerful! It is not the research by Dr. Sarah or me reading my Bible that got me paying close attention to fear, but the deliverance God brought me through when intense fear literally rocked my world and almost took my life through depression. I did not go to a doctor to be delivered; I got delivered through faith in Jesus Christ and my determination not to let go of life even when I was suffering badly.  I encourage you if you are depressed and on the brick of no return and you feel there are no other options available to you; go see a doctor and never stop fighting for your life. In this series on fear I will show you that the Bible and Science are aligned on fear and what you need to do to be free of chronic fear.

Fear that Kills

 

I have battled an unusual level of fear for a long time, I am not sure when it began; but, I can pin-point specific incidents that have caused it to intensify. I grew up in a single parent home (mother only) with my older sister until I was eleven plus (11+) when my mother died. My older sister, who was just about nineteen or a little older, was left to take care of me. I lived in a ghetto area in a third world country. Shortly after my mother’s death there was a break-in at my house and I became so fearful that I stopped sleeping on my bed and started to sleep under my bed.  Even though I lay under the bed, I could only sleep when I saw that morning was about to break. So just imagine how stressful that must have been for my little mind.

One night my sister found me under the bed and I believe we relocated shortly after. This did not stop the fearful feelings from lingering; moving helped me to move on consciously, however, not seeing the place did not end my battle with fear. After a while I started to sleep again. When you are young you are resilient and I think I had just put everything out of my mind and started to live again. Not long after the incident that made me sleep under my bed, I developed eczema on my face. In those days, bleaching one’s skin was just becoming popular in my country and it was a shame to look like you were bleaching. The eczema made my face look like I was bleaching my skin and it looked especially awful when I had a break-out. I would have to constantly explain to people why my face looked the way it did. This added to the stress I felt but being the strong person I am, I just kept going.

To be continued….

This is part 1 of a four part series on fear and the connections I see between science and what scripture says about fear. The connectsion will delightful surprise you so make sure to stay with me for all four parts. In part 2 I will talk about how science has found that the heart and brain communicate during experiences of fear so do not miss it. See you for part 2.

References:

Meaning of fear-

Taylor-Loughran, A. E., BS, BSN, RN, O’Brien, M. E., BSN, RN, & Rangel, S., RN. (2007, January 11). Defining characteristics of the nursing diagnoses Fear and Anxiety: A validation study. Retrieved August 31, 2018, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0897189789800072

Cognitive functions-

1. (n.d.). What are cognitive functions? Retrieved August 20, 2018, from http://www.cereboost.com/cognitive-function/

Psychologist Susan Mineka/ Psychologist Basgolu (Article on the American Psychological Association)-

Dingfelder, S. F. (2006, March). Fear itself. Retrieved August 15, 2018, from http://www.apa.org/monitor/mar06/fear.aspx

Dr. Sarah Garfinkel-

Connor, S. (2013, April 8). Studies find heart can affect how we feel fear. Retrieved August 18, 2018, from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/studies-find-heart-can-affect-how-we-feel-fear-8563673.html

Smithsoninan Article-

Javanbakht, A., & Saab, L. (2017, October 27). What Happens in the Brain When We Feel Fear. Retrieved August 16, 2018, from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/what-happens-brain-feel-fear-180966992/

University of Minnesota Article-

Minnesota, U. O. (2016). Impact of Fear and Anxiety. Retrieved August 19, 2018, from https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/enhance-your-wellbeing/security/facing-fear/impact-fear

Ability to alter emotional responses-

Hartley, C. A., & Phelps, E. A. (n.d.). Changing Fear: The Neurocircuitry of Emotion Regulation. Retrieved August 26, 2009, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3055445/?xid=PS_smithsonian

Amygdala-

ScienceDaily. (2018). Amygdala. Retrieved August 18, 2018, from https://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/amygdala.htm

Salience-

Wikipedia. (2018, May 18). Salience (neuroscience). Retrieved August 30, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salience_(neuroscience)

How fear and stress shape the mind-

Johnson, L. R. (2016, March 08). https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/84/how-fear-and-stress-shape-the-mind. Retrieved August 17, 2018, from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2016.00024/full

Blue Letter Heart H382O-

Blue Letter Bible. (2018). Lexicon :: Strong’s H3820 – leb. Retrieved August 20, 2018, from https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?t=kjv&strongs=h3820

Hebrew Lexicon Heart H382O

Strong’s Greek and Hebrew Dictionary and TVM Definitions, & Brown-Driver-Briggs definitions. (n.d.). H3820 לב – Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon Number. Retrieved August 20, 2018, from https://studybible.info/strongs/H3820

Blue Letter Lexicon Heart G2588-

Blue Letter Bible. (n.d.). Lexicon :: Strong’s G2588 – kardia. Retrieved August 20, 2018, from https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?t=kjv&strongs=g2588\

Greek Lexicon Heart G2588-

Strong’s Greek and Hebrew Dictionary and TVM Definitions, Perseus Digital Library, Dodson, J. J., Strong’s Greek Dictionary, & Thayer’s Lexicon. (n.d.). G2588 καρδία – Strong’s Greek Lexicon Number. Retrieved August 20, 2018, from https://studybible.info/strongs/G2588

Meaning of love-

Wikipedia. (2018, July 31). Greek words for love. Retrieved August 30, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_words_for_love

Krznaric, R. (2017, December 27). The Ancient Greeks’ 6 Words for Love (And Why Knowing Them Can Change Your Life). Retrieved August 30, 2018, from https://www.yesmagazine.org/happiness/the-ancient-greeks-6-words-for-love-and-why-knowing-them-can-change-your-life

Eczema-

Healthline Editorial Team, & Sullivan, D., PhD, MSN, CNE, COI. (2017, January 4). Eczema. Retrieved August 31, 2018, from https://www.healthline.com/health/eczema#symptoms

Number of times fear is mentioned in the Bible-

Weber, K. (2016, April 30). Rick Warren: Why God Encourages Christians to ‘Fear Not’ 365 Times in the Bible. Retrieved August 31, 2018, from https://www.christianpost.com/news/rick-warren-why-god-encourages-christians-to-fear-not-365-times-in-the-bible-163029/

Implicit and Explicit Memory-

Cherry, K., & Fogoros, R. N., MD. (2018, August 27). Learn to Distinguish Between Implicit and Explicit Long-Term Memory. Retrieved August 31, 2018, from https://www.verywellmind.com/implicit-and-explicit-memory-2795346

Role of the Hippocampus-

Gnas, S., MD, & Cherry, K. (2017, September 26). What Is the Role Of the Hippocampus? Retrieved August 31, 2018, from https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-hippocampus-2795231

365 fear not or not-

Soul Shepherding. (2018). All Articles Fear Not: 31 Days to Freedom from Fear. Retrieved August 31, 2018, from https://www.soulshepherding.org/fear-not-31-days-to-freedom-from-fear/