Fear Factor: The Fear of Corona Virus!

Every day in India alone 3000 people die due to lack of food, 3000 people die of air pollution, 3000 people die of smoking, 500 people die of alcohol, 400 people die due to road accidents... ...the list is endless.

Are we panic-stricken because of these numbers? Perhaps no.

Then, why is it that the corona-virus is causing so much hue and cry?

It spreads like crazy through cough, sneeze, touch, shaking hands, the only thing that can be done is prevention. The symptoms of catching the corona virus are like any viral fever - cold, cough, fever, body pains, headaches etc. That means, now even if it is just a regular virus we catch, we will get petrified thinking it could be the corona virus!More than anything else, this pandemic has taught us one thing, that the fear of disease is one of the biggest diseases in the world. When we are scared, our immune system freezes and we catch disease. Our natural immune system has protected the human species over centuries and it continues to do so. We need to trust it and be fearless!

Homeopathy has good medicines to improve the immune system. Taking that will enhance the immune system and will protect the body from any virus or bacteria. You contact your local homeopath and he will be able to help.

Times of India,Dated 23rd Feb 2020

Our immune system is strong to fight diseases like tuberculosis, keeping it dormant for years. The question is, why such a solid immune system, which can keep tuberculosis at bay, is unable to prevent simple diseases like viral, cold, cough, stomach infections and a lot of other contagious diseases?

The possible answer I can think of is FEAR. The moment our body goes into fear, the immune system is compromised, the disease attacks us and we fall sick.

Deccan Chronicle,Dated 5th March 2020

What happens when we see a wild dog charge at us? Our body freezes first then it reacts. The same is the case with our immunity. It freezes when we are scared, allowing diseases to attack us.

Let me explain…

It’s just like how kids are conditioned from a young age that going near people who have a cold will make them sick, ice cream will result in a sore throat and so on. Eventually, when the kids does each one of these activities regardless, his or her subconscious mind will generate fear of having done the forbidden, freezing their natural immunity, making them prone to illness.

Same is the case with many of us who refrain from drinking tap water, believing it will cause illness. But there are some who can drink tap water all their lives, and yet not fall sick because of it. This is because they have not been conditioned by their family that they’ll fall sick if they drink tap water and therefore, they are not scared.

Since generations, the moment the child becomes old enough to comprehend, the parents and grandparents teach them certain rules in life regarding health: Do not go near someone who is sick or coughing, you will catch it. Do not eat ice cream, you will get throat pain.Do not eat chocolate, you will get a cough.Do not get wet in the rain, you will get a fever etc, etc. The main intention behind these teachings were to protect the child from falling ill, but in reality you are just conditioning the child to fall sick

Whatever you instruct the child, he will anyway go near a sick guy, eat chocolate and ice cream and will get wet in the rain as and when he gets an opportunity. The issue is once he does what he was told not to do, he subconsciously realises that he went near someone with cough and he remembers the instruction given to him and he begins to be afraid that he will get it. The moment fear crops in, his immune system is compromised and he surely ends up with cough.

Most of us from well to do homes do not drink tap water because we have been conditioned to think that tap water is unhealthy and we will fall sick. But our drivers or workers, who are again the same creation of God, can drink tap water all their lives, and yet not fall sick because of it. This is because they have not been conditioned by their family that they’ll fall sick if they drink tap water and therefore, they are not scared.

I met a 38-year-old lady who was diagnosed with breast cancer. She underwent surgery, chemo and radiation and promptly, in about 8 months, had a recurrence of cancer. As I was talking to her, I asked her if she was ever afraid of cancer? She said that her father died of cancer and all her life, she was scared. She would not fry food too much, did not use any plastic, washed vegetables many times, and took so many other precautions. She went on to say that she and her family lived a very careful life taking all precautions to keep cancer away. But she finally got cancer and got it again. Only because of her fear of cancer.

We all live in fear of getting some disease or the other every moment of our lives. We are scared we will end up with BP or diabetes and that eventually the kidney will be affected. We are scared of getting cancer. We are scared of being bed ridden with paralysis. We are basically living our life in fear.

With Google in our lives and with so much information that is available and with every hospital and pharmacy conditioning us every day about fearing illness, fear has become the new normal.

Why is falling sick a negative emotion? What happens if you are down with viral? Fever, body pains, cough chills etc. So, if you stay home under the blanket, won’t you be pampered and taken care of for 2-3 days? Why can’t falling sick be a positive emotion where you are getting 2-3 days of pampered stay-at-home vacation?

Truth is, if we are not afraid to fall ill, then we won’t fall ill. There needs to be a change in the way we are conditioning our children. Are we training them to fall sick? Or are we giving them confidence about their immune system? We need to give them the confidence that they will not fall sick even if they are exposed, because if they don’t fear disease, their immunity will not be compromised. If the young mothers stop conditioning their kids we will have a younger generation that’s a lot more healthier!

-Dr. Manoj Kuriakose