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Fear is meant to warn us of impending danger. This is a survival mechanism and is directly related to the fight or flight response, as our bodies produce adrenaline, noradrenaline, and cortisol in response to perceived danger.
Unfortunately, fear is contagious, so you may become anxious about danger that is not immediate, with no one to fight and no physical place to escape to.
This is the problem that the current situation in the Middle East poses for many people in the United States and other parts of the world, and this is no coincidence. As a terrorist group, Hamas uses fear for control and fear to generate power and influence.
Fear feeds on not knowing what will happen next or what can be done to prevent or control it. (St. Petersburg)
Although Israel is trying to find effective ways to respond, it has not yet been fully successful in confronting Hamas head-on, launching an invasion to retrieve hostages, or stabilizing the region. do not have.
The evils of Hamas that we have seen weigh heavily on all of us.Here’s how to deal with it
As the humanitarian disaster in Gaza grows, so does the world’s uncertainty, creating more fear. This is exactly the result terrorists are trying to achieve. In this sense, Hamas is winning.
People used to live in fear. In World War II, the Manhattan Project here in the United States famously defeated the German army in the race to develop the atomic bomb, and the world narrowly avoided defeat at the hands of the Axis powers. In the wartime United States, many were deeply shaken by the attack on Pearl Harbor but relieved by the distance the Pacific provided from Japan and the Atlantic from the war in Europe.
Then the nuclear age arrived, and I remember growing up feeling a sense of foreboding every time I had to hide under a desk at school during air raid drills. We wondered if we could grow up without a nuclear bomb going off. My wife also grew up in the Soviet Union and experienced the same nuclear horrors. In the Soviet Union, many buildings, including hers, were equipped with air raid shelters.
We managed to survive the Cold War, but our national psyche was shattered after 9/11 by what has been called the first attack on our homeland. It’s important for all Americans to feel safe at the border, which is one reason why the current porous border with Mexico is so troubling to so many. And because of technology, the physical separation that the ocean affords us becomes less reassuring.
But however dangerous we feel, it is greatly exaggerated compared to what the Middle East is experiencing.
Our experience here does not match what is happening in Israel. In Israel, entire citizens routinely hide in air raid shelters to evade rocket attacks and have to react in a matter of seconds. Now that they no longer have a secure border, Israelis feel even less safe. Or in Gaza, where there is no food, no clean water, no electricity, and brutal terrorists surround you and conquer you.
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This is what it means to live in fear.
Fear is directly connected to instability and uncertainty. It is caused by not knowing what will happen next or what can be done to prevent or control it. This is the direction the world may be heading now, trapped in a cycle of deepening anxiety.
At this time, it is more important than ever to strengthen family bonds and friendships, practice kindness and forgiveness, and find courageous and confident leaders to guide us.
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Rational thinking and risk assessment will not overcome times of great foreboding and instability. Our brains aren’t designed to tolerate fear, but more positive emotions can replace fear.
Building a network of faith, support, and courage will help you survive these uncertain times.
Click here to read more about Dr.mark siegel
