How Fear Distorts Your Emotions | Face the Fear, Find the Freedom Series | Ep 361
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How Fear Hijacks Your Heart—and How to Get It Back
Ever felt like your emotions were just… too much?
Or not enough?
Sometimes both?
Fear has a funny way of warping our relationship with our own hearts. We start to think that being emotional is a weakness. That shrinking back will keep us safe. That performing for approval is the only way to be loved.
Yet your heart wasn’t made to hide. It was made to lead with love.
🧠 Your heart has over 40,000 neurons and plays a central role in emotional memory, empathy, and connection. It’s powerful.
But when fear takes the reins, it triggers one of three patterns:
1. Fight – The Performer
“I’ll earn love if I just do enough.”
When fear of rejection hits, some of us double down on doing—trying to prove we’re worth loving. We become people pleasers, over-committers, and achievers who struggle to slow down.
📖 Galatians 1:10 reminds us: “If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.”
Fear wants you to perform for love. But you were made to live from it.
🛠️ Courageous Action: Create and speak a mantra over yourself. “I’m already chosen. I’m already loved. I’m already enough.” Say it. Believe it. And do the thing without over-editing.
2. Flight – The Avoider
“If I pull away, I can’t get hurt.”
When pain from the past resurfaces, we avoid vulnerability like the plague. We build invisible walls. We isolate. We do life—and business—alone.
📖 1 John 4:18 says: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love drives out fear.”
Not “perfect behavior.” Perfect love.
🛠️ Courageous Action: Reach out to someone. Coffee. Voxer. Message. Start a real conversation and let yourself be seen. You’re not meant to do life alone.
3. Freeze – The Number
“If I don’t feel, I won’t get hurt again.”
When trauma builds up and healing feels too painful, our hearts go numb. We disconnect, burn out, or lose our passion.
📖 Ezekiel 36:26 promises: “I will remove the heart of stone… and give you a heart of flesh.”
Even when your heart feels cold, Father wants to revive it.
🛠️ Courageous Action: Journal with Father. Write Him a letter. Tell Him why you’ve shut down—and ask Him to help you feel again.
You weren’t made to hide. You were made to heal.
You weren’t made to go numb. You were made to come alive.
And your heart is safe… with Father.
Show Notes
Summary:
Have you ever felt like your emotions were a liability instead of a strength? In this episode, I’ll show you how fear distorts our emotions through fight, flight, and freeze—and how your heart was actually made to lead with love, not protect with walls. If you’ve ever shrunk back, shut down, or run away emotionally, this one’s for you.
Takeaways:
Fear distorts our emotional patterns through fight, flight, and freeze.
Fight mode shows up as performance and people pleasing.
Flight mode leads us to withdraw, isolate, and avoid vulnerability.
Freeze mode results in emotional numbness and burnout.
Your heart brain contains 40,000 neurons and stores emotional memory.
Proverbs 4:23 reminds us to guard our heart—it’s the source of life.
When fear leads, we self-protect; when love leads, we connect.
Saul lost his kingdom by fearing people more than God.
Peter distanced himself after failure, but God still restored him.
True healing starts by allowing yourself to feel—and letting Father into the mess.
Sound Bites:
“Fear will make you hide who you are so you can be loved… but you were made to be loved as you are.”
“You’re not a performer earning love. You’re a daughter living from it.”
“Numbness isn’t the end. It’s the beginning of your healing.”
“Connection breaks the cycle—reach out, even if your heart says to run.”
Courageous Action:
Performer (Fight): Speak truth over yourself. Use mantras. Then act without over-editing.
Avoider (Flight): Reach out. Connect. Don’t do life alone.
Number (Freeze): Journal with Father. Invite Him to speak to your heart.
Chapters
00:00 Embracing Emotions: The Heart's Role in Business
02:13 The Heart Brain: Understanding Our Emotional Core
03:48 How Childhood Experiences Impact How Fear Shows Up
08:47 Fear Responses: Fight, Flight, and Freeze
12:33 Fight – The Performer
21:06 Flight – The Avoider
30:25 Freeze – The Numb One
36:12 Recap
37:58 Courageous Action to Heal the Heart's Fear Response
41:44 Next Episode Teaser and Wrap Up