This morning I questioned if I felt well enough to go on my morning bike ride. I did fine taking it easy pedaling yesterday morning but it would be within 48 hours of uncomfortable chest tightness and severe headache that put me to bed early Friday night and I just felt fatigued. But I also knew that this feeling needed to be faced head on in order to be silenced otherwise I may cave into unnecessary rest from self-pity. There’s no fever, there never was. It’s best to just try.
I took it easy. Before I realized I felt just fine and made my usual loop. In fact, I decided to press forward to a less shaded area. I’m so glad I did. Otherwise, I would have missed this treasure.
In the field of uncut grass a natural butterfly habitat enjoyed full activity. I stopped to observe, listen, and snap a few photos. What joy filled my being as the sun beat from above. The heat did not phase me because a greater happiness and peace surpassed it. But, I did need to safely bike home so I remounted and pedaled back past this:
Nice cliche, but actually spot on. Then why are so many church going people hiding in fear? Why are there so many Bible Studies and accompanying books on anxiety flying off the shelves? Could it be that fear is a great motivator and money maker?
I remember hearing men talk at church in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s about how good journalism was dying, publishing houses were being dissolved, and marketing with corporate management were taking over as the new world order in churches and non-denominational organizations.
Then in the mid 1990’s-early 2000 I landed a job in the pharmaceutical industry where I was taught to use fear of malpractice as a tool to convince doctors to write products that I represented.
But as I listened to the many medical meetings that I attended from the most humble to the grandest in San Francisco’s Convention Center I also heard that fear also mimics many a symptom or exacerbates a real condition to be worse than it is. To add to this I also heard about the prevalence of misdiagnosis complicated this further. Oh like that’s not a factor right now with this COVID-19 crisis???
Also there are variables like placebo effect. It’s well documented in asthma, depression, irritable bowl syndrome, pain, and sleep disorders all are known to have placebo effect. How is affecting COVID-19 patients? Especially when they are quarantined or treated with healthcare providers in stealth protective clothing. There are so many variables in why patients heal, stagnate, or worsen in their said conditions. So much so that a field of psychoneuroimmunology has emerged to study how the effect of one’s state of mind affects one’s health.
Balance is the key I believe. That’s why I wrote about it in my book
Then there is a time and place for:
So in closing, I encourage you to face your fears and underlying health issues. What is it that you really may be making worse by giving into self-pity and fear when you might be able to overcome and get stronger? Only you can ultimately figure this out based on what you have learned over the years about your body, family history, your faith, and what doctors and their myriad of tests have told you. But don’t let the latter be the only mandate. The best doctors listen to the patient in addition to performing a thorough physical exam (no telehealth folks). They know that what the patient feels, their history, and intuition has a lot to do with a good diagnosis. It’s not just what the cold inhuman computerized tests say. After all there are false positives and false negatives.
#Overcoming fear #Health #COVID-19fears