Untangling the Root Causes - Fear, Anger, Anxiety: Part 2

In part 1 we began our discussion. Fears are a legitimate issue, sometimes even escalating into phobias. Research suggests the top fears are:

• Snakes
• Spiders/Insects
• Scary Spaces (such as elevators, bridges, etc)
• Other People (Public speaking, eating, drinking in public, etc)
• Heights
• The Dark
• Thunder and Lightning
• Flying
• Dogs
• The Dentist
• Being Alone (Dying alone as well)
• Terminal Illness
• Failure
• Rejection

What do every one of those things on the list have in common?  They share root causes. Why is a person afraid of the dark? The root cause is a fear of torture, pain, and/or death. Perhaps it is even realizing that we cannot control the outcome of every situation, even though we desperately wish we could.

In the first part of this article, I mentioned my fear of snakes. I even had dreams of snakes attacking me. I'd wake up freaked out. Again, I chose to force myself to recall the dreams, then walk through them step by step and ask myself what I can do to kill the snake? Now when I have dreams of snakes, I kill them before it ends. I conquer my fear in my dream. That is huge. Do I still have the dreams? From time to time, but I always kill the snake(s).

Next is to deal with the deeper question. Why am I so afraid of snakes? Am I afraid the bite will hurt or is it a fear of death? So often our fears are actually rooted in fear of death. Whether death of our body, soul, spirit, rights, etc. Even anger is often a way a person expresses their fear of the death of their perceived rights, control over situations, etc. Maybe it is fear of what would happen to our children if we die, etc. Maybe we fear ridicule, being wrong, being unloved, etc.

See, we were created to choose life. Somehow, instead of choosing life, we spend more time trying to avoid the death of all the things that matter to us. We become like the servant who buried his talent in fear of something happening to it, instead of employing it with wisdom and increasing it. [1] If we were choosing life, we would have it more abundantly.

The thief lost power over our spiritual life the day we repented and believed in Christ Jesus as Lord. He cannot have that, but he still chooses to steal, kill and destroy us piece by piece in a battle for our minds. Sometimes the enemy is simply our own flesh. In any case, we have to recognize the roots of our fear, anxiety, and anger if we want to overcome it and choose life. Because once we know what we fear and why we fear it, we can learn how to choose life!

Reflect on this: "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love." [2]  (Remember, only Christ is perfect, we have yet to attain perfection, so the only perfect love we know is Christ Jesus.)

We will discuss this verse more in depth in the articles to come. 

Until then, choose life! Giulianna xoxoxox

References:

1. Matthew 25:18
2. 1 John 4:18

Untangling the Root Causes - Fear, Anger, Anxiety: Part 1

When we begin to deal with the baggage which holds us down, we sometimes find that there is a root that goes deeper than we had ever realized.

Let's talk about fear. Some people say FEAR means:

False
Expectations
Appearing
Real

or

Finding
Excuses
And
Reasons.

I am not here to say fear itself is ridiculous. God created our emotions for a purpose. Fear is one of them. Fear can save your life. When used appropriately it sets off our fight or flight response.

Let's say you hear a rattle, you look down, and you see a rattlesnake is not far from you. This discharges your sympathetic nervous system, which triggers adrenaline. Now you react with fight or flight, depending on how you perceive the danger and your ability to handle it. This is a legitimate use of fear as an emotion. It is a good thing. So let's not make all fear out as evil.

However, fear can also become debilitating.


Here is when fear becomes a problem. I have an organic garden which I love. It is dying from lack of water. I cannot go out and water it because I might run into a rattlesnake again. Is my fear legitimate? Yes and no. There is always a possibility I could run into a snake again, so it is not completely unfounded.

However, that organic garden gave me healthy food for my body and the joy of working hand in hand with God to make things grow. My fear is robbing me of joy and life. Something that protected me in a crisis has now turned on me and maimed me. It has paralyzed me. Guess what? This is a true story. I was bitten by a rattlesnake, in my own driveway. I have killed rattlesnakes when I was out in the mountains and there was a pair of them near me. Yet, to this day, I have never had one attack me in my garden.

Now what can I do? I can hide in my house the rest of my life, because there is always a possibility of a snake being outside. However, that robs me of my life and joy. When I live in fear, I am choosing death. And what is the root of fear? "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have [it] more abundantly." [1]

Do you know who the thief is? Who wants to steal, kill, and destroy your life? Who wants you to choose death?

Even legitimate fears can destroy our lives if we don't find a way to put them in check. God created you with a mind which is capable of great things, even creation of ideas and solutions.

A snake in my garden, what can I do? If I truly cannot get past this idea, then how about snake guards for my legs and leather gloves for my hands? Now I have on a type of armor as I go out in my garden and can enjoy the healthy joy and life it brings me. Eventually, I will probably not take the time to put on my snake guards, as I slowly overcome the fear step by step, unless snakes in my yard are truly a serious issue. For me, touching snakes did not fix the fear, only enhanced it. So work with a solution which your mind can accept. Often there is not one right solution for all people. We are individuals. I would like you to take a moment to figure out which things are destroying your ability to choose life and then join me for Part 2.

Until then, choose life! Giulianna xoxoxox

References:

1. John 10:10