Mental Health England, in a seminar last week, listed events in 2022 which are driving people into a state of hyper-anxiety and indeed into mental illness. It goes like this:
- lockdown New Year
- confusion over Omicron
- sole focus on 'Covid' suddenly switching to 'Ukraine'
- people getting Covid themselves (and some becoming mentally ill afterwards)
- news of inflation and energy/food price hikes
- travel restrictions which cancelled many summer holidays
- 'killer' heatwave
- National Health Service in deep trouble - difficulty getting doctor appointments
- Queen's death, her funeral and a new King
- a second elected PM (this year) brought down
- threats of nuclear war
- sitting in the cold facing higher taxes and interest rates, no trains, 'work until you drop', no post on Saturdays or for Christmas
- Bird 'flu threatening Christmas turkeys and 'rationed eggs'.
Underlying it all, is still the dubious work of the Covid 'Nudge' campaign which intentionally created exaggerated levels of fear. This was led by Governments and the media and it was never reversed nor explained, unlike a hypnotist who clicks his or her fingers to release a subject from a trance. The result is that people have not just floating anxiety but real difficulty in risk assessing whether something is really a threat to them (or more likely not).
As a result, there is a general 'hunkering down' in the population, a refusal to return to the workplace or even to go out. Their 'still point' has vanished or has weakened, whether it was the Queen, the family, culture or the church which itself seems to be falling apart. Trust and nervous systems are in disarray - and yet the 24/7 global news machine keeps ploughing on, day after day, seeking the next mesmerising headline.
States of fear diminish people, economies and societies. Fear hampers risk- taking and deters talent. But there is a quick, effective remedy! It is the "Fear not" and "Fear God" (alone) texts of Scripture which abound. Here is just one of between 100-365 of them (depending on your Bible translation) below:
"When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose Word I praise. In God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal men do to me?"Psalm 56 3-4
That just about sums it up. Meditating on a "Fear Not" text with the morning coffee will effectively counter 'the terror campaign out there'. So what, if you are cancelled on Twitter when the Bible says this:
"I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side" (Psalm 3)
After all, what can Man do, when set against an eternal perspective and His power to deliver. As for society becoming atomised, which seems to be the aim, what text can equal this one which says when you feel alone - you are in the Best Company:
"And Lo! I am with you always even unto the end of the world"Matt 28.18
There is a Higher Power and insight than media insight, which cannot see beyond next Tuesday. We are urged, nay commanded, not to fear or to be anxious about anything because believers need to get out there and share Good (not bad) News - with a terrorised world.
Thank you Annis. This is such a true observation. We have stopped listening to the radio news at meal times and feel much the better for it. We gave our TV away too. Clearer headed. Bless you both.
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