March 18, 2020 – read time 5 min.
Submitted by Joyce C Wood, chhc & Laura Morano, RN
Hello and Thank-you for tuning in.
We are champions in Living!
Those of us that get up every day to face our lives- We are winning!
We each have a purpose for being here right now and We are capable of overcoming all obstacles in our path!
The biggest challenge in my opinion is, “The FEAR Virus”
Are you experiencing it?
The symptoms:
- It can keep you in a panic state- full of anxiety-excessive worry.
- The inability to eat or sleep well- lack of pleasure.
- Overreacting and stockpiling toilet paper or afraid to leave your home. (*_*)
- Physical symptoms:sweating-hot flashes or chills- pain or tightness in the chest.
- In severe cases shortness of breath causing you to FEAR you have caught a deadly virus..
A self-generated fear in its acronym…
- F. E. A. R: false evidence appearing real. It appears real, even though it may have no real substance, arising when we feel threatened or undermined, which makes us cling to the known and familiar. Such fear creates paranoia, worry, nervous disorders, and apprehension. .. Sound Familiar? Experiencing these conditions can contribute to more health dysfunction and lowering our natural defenses against invading viruses…
What is the antidote or cure? It’s all within ourselves…We simply need to choose to recognize FEAR in the face and STOP allowing it to control us. Choose to become Strong!
“Become the Master of our Minds and not allow our Minds to Master us” -Nichiren Daishonin
There are many ways to achieve this but, it does require effort. Just like becoming a master at anything; Study, practice and never giving in to defeat.
I was listening to a Doctors podcast today and he talked about one reason we feel fearful or panic is usually based on the fact that we don’t understand the issues well enough. So studying can help. Listen to people that may have more knowledge or experiences with what you are fearful of.
Explore ways to become strong. I have plenty of resources throughout this site. Please explore.
The strong enjoy taking risks– they may feel the Fear of challenging something but the difference is they do it anyway… There’s a quote and several books written on this topic:
- “ Feel the fear and do it anyway” by Susan Jeffers.
This can be found in both hard copy and on audible.com – through Amazon, found on the resource page here on choixdvie.
If you want to listen on Audible let me know, I can send you a book for FREE.
I have dealt with feeling fearful most of my life and know how debilitating it can be. If you want to talk directly , Please contact me-
I do care and could offer more choices.
Today, I have the pleasure to introduce you to a wonderful lady- Laura Morano, RN, writer, who is sharing her perspective on choosing to find Confidence in living. Click below to read.
I hope you enjoy it…
Blessings always… Joyce
Written by: Laura Morano, RN, MA, CPN, PCMH – CCE & Storyteller.
Translated to : RN-( Registered Nurse), MA, (Masters of Arts,liberal studies), CPN- (Certified pediatric nurse)
PCMH, CCE-(Patient centered medical home certified content expert.)
How many times a day are you thinking about COVID-19 lately? Ten times a day? More than ten? At least once a day? I don’t know about you, but when I think about it, I’m not always enjoying carefree, happy thoughts.
For the few minutes it takes you to read this blog post, I propose we try an experiment.
I propose we wander back in time, before anyone ever heard of COVID-19…before elbow bumps and social distancing, before fear of not having enough toilet paper, before a nearby cough or sneeze was the source of downright panic. Let’s give ourselves this little gift and step into that reality. Maybe you’re picturing yourself approaching an unsanitized supermarket shopping cart without fear or hesitation.
Or perhaps you are simply driving the carpool for your children and their friends to go to soccer practice. You might even remember how it felt to look forward to a long overdue vacation, counting down the days with anticipation. Ah, the good old days…someday we can tell our great-grandchildren about them.
When I consider this not-so-distant past, what strikes me most is the way I cruised through the day without jerking to a complete stop anytime I heard anyone say the word “virus.” I didn’t wince as the news anchor delivered the headlines, and I didn’t actively avoid checking my 401k. OK, maybe I always avoid checking my 401k but that’s just denial on my part.
The biggest difference between then and now, is that I’ve unknowingly allowed an unwelcome guest to slip into my life. And its name is not COVID-19. Its name is FEAR!
In one way or another, we are all familiar with this particular villain. We’ve learned about it from our spiritual and civic leaders. We’ve seen the face of fear in fairy tales, movies, and novels. (See a few of my favorite quotes below) We may even recognize it in real life as another person’s prejudice, bullying, or cruelty. But sometimes fear is more insidious. It can creep into our lives and settle in quietly, whispering half-truths and kernels of panic as we try to face our new reality.
Ask yourself this: Were you at all concerned about the amount of toilet paper in your house before you heard that other people started stockpiling it? Did you consciously determine that you really needed toilet paper too? Or did some invisible impulse propel you into your car, with your trusty Costco card in hand, ready to endure the ridiculously long lines for your share of toilet paper?
I know I seem a bit fixated on toilet paper here, but I sincerely find this phenomenon fascinating. It’s a parable for the influence of fear in our lives. Rational people from all walks of life, all across the country had the same sudden desire. “Must….buy…toilet paper!!!” I know this because I was one of them. Did I drive to four stores in order to buy more toilet paper? You bet I did. I wasn’t about to be left out just because I didn’t understand why everyone was so worried about toilet paper. Fear told me that I needed to be worried about it too. And I willingly gave up what could have been a relaxing afternoon because I listened to and acted on my fear.
When I think about it, that’s not really how I want to live my life. It’s too exhausting and disheartening this way. I want to get back to the way things were. Not because I’m just not coordinated enough to carry off an elbow bump, but because I want to make decisions based on my core values.
In order to do that, I have a big step to take. Perhaps we all do. I suggest we close our experiment today by holding on to that feeling of life before COVID-19- related fear. Let’s pack up that unwelcome villainous guest and order it to leave. We can take what it taught us and make safe, responsible, purposeful decisions with compassion, kindness, and love as our guides.
After all, COVID-19 will likely be with us all for a while. We have to face this new reality and accept the responsibility to do what we can to prevent further spread of the virus. But we can choose our traveling companions on this long road ahead. Let’s choose wisely.
Favorite quotes:
“Courage is the power of the mind to overcome fear.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
“If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can smile and blossom like a flower, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace.” – Thich Nhat Hanh, Being Peace
“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” -Star Wars
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” – Dune
References for more information about Coronavirus and how to manage COVID-19-related anxiety:
Thank-you for the comments. I used Bluehost for the creation.