From the presidential debates to the mood on the streets; from our natural response to the current uncertainties and disruption of life, to the stock market’s volatility, it’s easy to see how fear, anxiety and anger threaten to steal our peace and joy these days.

Personally, I have chosen to remove myself from social media and TV news shows, making the “headlines” channels on my satellite radio my only source of news during the months preceding the presidential election. Not that I’m not interested in politics, by any means. I am very much a believer in the importance and privilege of taking part in the democratic process. Rather, I chose to avoid the constant stream of information because of how it affects my emotions.

Anger. Resentment. Fear. These are natural responses when something or someone threatens to harm us, or when blatant lies and injustice surround us.

“A tranquil heart is life to the body, but passion is rottenness to the bones. King Solomon, Book of Proverbs.

“A tranquil heart is life to the body, but passion is rottenness to the bones.” Proverbs 14:30 @AJC #mondayMotivation #MondayDevotional
Click To Tweet

According to an article published by the National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavior Medicine (NICABM), science proves King Solomon’s wisdom to be true. The Hebrew word for “passion” in this proverb can also be translated as “envy, zeal, torment, hurt, and jealousy.” Science has concluded that these emotions are proven to generate a myriad of hormonal responses that, in time, create long-term damage to the health of the human body.

Among all negative emotions, anger is the most harmful one. According to scientific findings, anger can change your brain.

Among all negative emotions, anger is the most harmful one. According to scientific findings, anger can change your brain. @AJC #mondayMotivation #MondayDevotional
Click To Tweet

The first trigger of anger activates an organ inside the brain called the amygdala, activating the hypothalamus, which signals the pituitary gland, releasing a hormone that affects the adrenal gland’s stress hormones: cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline.

High cortisol levels cause a loss of neurons in the prefrontal cortex of one’s brain, which affects the proper function of that part of the cortex, known to help us make sound judgments and good decisions. Likewise, elevated cortisol levels kill neurons in the hippocampus, thus weakening short-term memory. High cortisol levels also decrease serotonin – the “happiness” hormone. The effect on serotonin levels generates an increase of anger, emotional pain, anxiety, and depression.

The long-term effects of these triggers are known to many of us. Stress hormones increase our heart rate, blood pressure, arterial tension, blood glucose levels and thyroid function. It increases the likelihood of the incidence of cancer, digestive, and metabolism problems.

Indeed, anger triggers a downhill snowball, wreaking havoc in its path.

I can’t help but think about how cultivating hostile feelings toward others has affected my life in the past and still affects many people I know. I could blame it on my upbringing – surrounded by hot-tempered women; my environment certainly gave me plenty of examples of heated, overly emotional responses to life’s circumstances.

The truth is – you and I can always find an excuse for our anger. We can go as far as to say we are surrounded by reasons to act in rage these days.

But at some point, we must choose whether we will allow others or circumstances we cannot control to dictate how we respond. And only we can determine that.

The truth is – you and I can always find an excuse for our anger. But at some point, we must choose whether we will allow others or circumstances we cannot control to dictate how we respond. @AJC #mondayMotivation #MondayDevotional
Click To Tweet

What we cannot do is to continue the route of unforgiveness, anger and resentment, and think that our bodies can find a way to raise cortisol levels in our brains naturally. Science and the “wisest man who’s ever lived” agree. It won’t happen. These “passions” will eventually “rotten our bones.”

Sure, we can take prescriptions to help elevate our “happy” hormones. We may take “chill” pills to help us cope with people we can’t stand. And I am not against medications to help us overcome a personal crisis. I’ve taken them myself. But there comes a time when we must dig deeper and seek healing to those things that provoke our anger, lest we become lonely, bitter and sick human beings.

We cannot help what happens in the world, nor can we change the way people treat us. But we indeed can and should find ways not to allow these external interferences to dictate how we respond. That is the only thing that we, with God’s help and by his grace, are able to control.

This article was originally published in Patricia’s column for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Saturday, October 10, 2020. Click HERE to read it on the AJC’s website.

LINKUP PARTY opens on Wednesdays at 6 am!

Christian Bloggers, come share your Blog with our audience below:

1. Add your Link.

2. Visit the blogger before or after and encourage them with a comment.

3. Share on social media. Click below to share on Twitter that you are joining us! We would love to have you follow the ministry on Twitter and Facebook as well: Soaring with Him FB Page

LINKUP party is open! This week, a study on the effects of negative emotions on the human body sheds light on the danger of cultivating anger, unforgiveness and envy. Join us and share your blog!
Click To Tweet

The post LINKUP! How Anger and Bitterness Affect Your Health {The Atlanta Journal-Constitution} appeared first on Soaring With Him Ministries.

Quoted from the memorable blockbuster film “Dead Poets Society,” these were the words I recalled when I heard that one of the funniest men on earth had died. His characters made me laugh, cry and remember to keep life in perspective. Whether in “Mrs. Doubtfire,” portraying the hilarious father who didn’t spare extreme measures to reunite with his children, or as John Keating, the unorthodox, free-spirited English teacher in “Dead Poets Society,” Robin Williams’ endearing personality conquered Hollywood and gave the world countless moments of joy for almost four decades.

I was thinking about Williams’ death while walking in the park this morning. I noticed a gentleman I often see there. He sits on the same bench and looks at the horizon, as if contemplating something that no one else can see. His demeanor is somber. His eyes, always sad. I have never seen a smile, even as regulars greet him. Because of his demeanor, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone told me he suffers from severe depression. Indeed, there are people around us who cannot hide their sadness.

Conversely, the news surrounding Williams’ suicide shocked the world because we, his fans, believed the smile. We believed those laughing eyes. We believed that the glamour that surrounded his life was enough to feed his spirit. We believed that the joy he portrayed while performing extended to his personal life.

However, no matter how many journalists and psychologists speculate about the reasons for his depression, one truth remains: Robin Williams felt hopeless. Hopeless enough to take off the mask, turn off the camera and put an end to his life.

His suicide brings hope and joy into perspective in a society where wealth, fame and status are synonyms with success and happiness. It reminds us that there is more than what meets the eye in the cover of magazines and under the limelight. We see famous people’s happy faces and we believe them. We watch them parade their smiles, perfect bodies and mansions and we buy the propaganda – that material possessions bring happiness.

“There is a hole in man’s heart that only God can fill.” In 1670, Blaise Pascal introduced this concept in his book “Pensées,” written as a defense of Christianity. The concept of the “God-shaped hole,” however, has taken on a life of its own and has been used by various theist authors to refer to that perpetual thirst in man’s soul that only God is able to quench. Many spend their lives attempting to fill that void with possessions, relationships and accomplishments, and often get to the end of their lives feeling hopeless and defeated. On the other hand, we meet people of great faith who have very few possessions and even go through unimaginable pain without losing joy and hope.

To many, these people are delusional. To people like myself and so many others, there’s a different answer. God is our hope. That special hole is filled. Indeed, because of hope, I have gone through cancer and did not lose my joy. I have experienced great financial loss without losing perspective. And as I focused on God, regardless of my circumstances, I have found the strength to press on.

No one knows Robin Williams’ relationship with God. I certainly would not dare to speculate. Indeed, even people of faith can lose hope. But I personally choose to keep God in that place designed for no one else but him. Because only in him do I find hope to indeed seize each day and the strength to make life extraordinary.

The post A Reflection on Robin Williams’ Death – Last Weekend’s AJC Column appeared first on Soaring With Him Ministries.