Fear is our survival response

We experience fear as a response to our survival(Zachary Sikora, clinical psychologist). According to Northwestern Medicine(2020), fear is experienced in our mind, but it triggers a strong physical reaction in our body. This happens when some parts of our brain are revving up and others are shutting down. It results in the amygdala sensing fear, and the cerebral cortex (area of the brain that harnesses reasoning and judgment) becomes impaired. Hence, it becomes difficult to make good decisions or think clearly. If this is the case, what should we do?

Some lessons from the Scripture where St. Paul reminds us why we were created; “For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and love and self-discipline” (2Timothy 1:7). To overcome fear, we have to utilize our spirit of power, love, and self-discipline. As human beings, we have the power to make decisions. What decisions should we make about our lives? It is possible to decide to love people first so that we can influence them to love what we do. This influence can be sustained by our self-discipline to stand for what we believe in.

Thus, CALISCO envisages the possibility of families utilizing their power to make decisions of lovingly enhance self-discipline among their members. Together, let us use our fear to keep those whose well-being we care about.