Have you ever experienced a season in your life when you were being smothered by a Cloud of Fear but couldn’t necessarily give name to the experience? You perhaps had an awareness that something was askew, just a bit out of balance, but you wouldn’t choose the word fear as a descriptor. But as the feelings begin to linger, as conversations led to You Too? moments, you began to realize that the Cloud of Fear was not a figment of your imagination, you did have a Habit of Attentiveness to what was happening around you, but you’d been trying to convince yourself otherwise.

In the discipline of health and human performance, one of the ideas regularly addressed when discussing psychological or mental health is the concept of stress, in particular how the body physiologically responds to stress. Often, our stress levels are connected to an underlying cause such as concern or fear. Therefore, it is important for us to recognize the difference between healthy and unhealthy concerns and fears. Healthy helps, whereas unhealthy harms.

So, that leads me to ask where is the line that moves the concern/fear from healthy to unhealthy? A global concern over the dangers of a spreading virus morphs into fear of human contact. Valid concern over physical safety evolves into what Jonathan Haidt explains as Safetyism. Concern over protecting core values and beliefs leads to enacting a Cancel Culture. A concern over the risk of traveling solo grows into a fear that prevents someone from enjoying a Godly Adventure. A cause for concern progresses until it becomes a Cloud of Fear. So, how do we address this conundrum? When fear pelts us with questions, most of us desire to gather information so we can make wise decisions. Answers, and the leaders we seek those answers from, should lead us to hope, especially in a faith-based community.

In an episode of Call the Midwife, Mature Jenny shares, “Sometimes, life is shattered in an instant and all our certainties are savagely stripped away. Questions become our weapons. Answers are our only hope. Without them, Fear Engulfs us. Love and each other can be all we have.” But what happens when the need for answers to Tough Conversations leads to a fear of being cancelled? Rather than being able to engage in Appreciative Inquiry to discover the best path forward with a concern, a Cloud of Fear leads people to remain quiet, afraid that even Civil Discourse will cause them to have a target on their back. And when this occurs, people go into Survival Mode, which can be healthy for a short period of time when dealing with a crisis, but when the cloud lingers too long, it begins to smother and cultivates a culture of fear.

So, what can be done to prevent the accumulation of a Cloud of Fear? How can administrators, leaders, teachers, coaches, pastors, and others of influence maintain the healthy balance between concern and fear? How can we Value the Past experiences of others, honor the teachings of Scripture, and be transparent that life is full of Hard Things that must be grappled with and worked through with respect for those who have been Fearfully and Wonderfully Made in the image of God?

Mary Blowey offers “What has helped me tackle [fear] is trusting God and riding the storm with his sheltering umbrella over me…Fear stunts growth and keeps a person stuck in negativity. After acknowledging the fear, I Let It Go.” What suggestions do you have that help you move out of fear and into hope? Would you consider sharing those ideas in the comments below?

References:

Blowey, M. (2018, May 11). Letting fear go. [Blog post]. Heartandsoul974. Retrieved from https://heartandsoul974.wordpress.com/2018/05/11/letting-fear-go/

Haidt, J. (2024). The anxious generation: How the great rewiring of childhood is causing an epidemic of mental illness. Penguin Press.

Harris, P. & Thomas, H. (Executive Producers). (2012-2024). Call the midwife. [TV series]. Neal Street Productions.