Fear, worry, stress, anxiety, none of these produce anything we truly want in our lives.
When my recovery and relationship with God started over 11 yrs ago I remember being told that fear is a liar. I was told that the Bible says, “don’t fear,” or, “do not be afraid,” or something along those lines 365 times. Once for every day of the year.
I believed it. Up to that point in my life I had settled into a personal culture of fear and worry, so when I was told that living that way was no longer needed it wasn't hard for me to agree. I just wanted to know why. I wanted to know why fear was so detrimental, and how to stop living in it.
So I dug, and I prayed, and I searched until I got more clarity. And I found that fear has a intensely negative effect our our mind and body.
Check out this insightful 4 min video from Ted ED
As soon as the human body perceives a threat it begins to shut down functions not needed for survival. As a result eyesight enhances and blood is rerouted to flow to muscles so we can run faster.
A partnership with fear weakens the immune system and causes multiple issues with the digestive tract. Worry decreases fertility, and also damages the memory.
These negative repercussions leave us in an obvious state of being susceptible to overwhelming negative emotions.
That’s the Readers Digest version.
An often overlooked aspect of this reality is the need for a physical health transformation. After living in fear for an extended period of time our bodies need some restoring.
Here are just a few simple and beneficial things to consider. A good multivitamin, and possibly some adrenal support supplements. The simple and much needed reality of getting enough sleep, and getting some exercise. These suggestions simply scratch the surface.
If you are interested in checking out more of the needed health component that ties into recovery I would highly recommend checking out my friend Jeff Simone at Reaction Recovery.
The perspective I share in this 2 min video helped me change my life.
With this understanding my approach became simple.
I realized that my relationship with God was where my peace needed to come from, so my pursuit became getting to know this "Prince of Peace." My focus became the solution, not the problem.
If fear is slowly breaking down someone's spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional framework then intentionally pursuing the solution sounds like the next right step.
Here are a few simple, practical, and powerful things you can do daily to partner with God and His peace.
Start EVERY SINGLE DAY with reading, writing, and prayer.
It may sound like a lot of work, but it's really not.
I have found that starting every day with prayer, reading my bible, and some simple writing puts my mind in the right place. I don't know what the day is going to throw at me, but I know that when I start each day with pursuing the "Prince of Peace" I handle it much better.
Another practical and beneficial daily habit is to take five minutes of time three times throughout each day and close your eyes, breath, and slow your mind down.
I recommend to my clients to even set a reminder on their phone if need be. When I take the time to slow down, pray, and rest a bit throughout the day my mind is much more calm and focused.
One thing we all know is this, life is going to cause us some stress at times. The more I can partner my time, energy, and focus with God and His peace the more I position myself for less stress and continual success.
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If you or a loved one are having trouble getting or staying clean and sober, let's talk. We coach people from all over the world into healthy and sustainable recovery. Recovery is worth it, and WE DO RECOVER!
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