Reflections on Fear and Love (online) Michael Guilding
Event details
Fear and love are the two great forces that shape our lives as human beings. They are not abstract ideas, but powerful biological systems, constantly altering our body’s metabolism, our thoughts and our behaviour. Our fear responses are necessary for our self-defence, but we can get stuck in ‘fear-mode’ and this shuts down the biological systems which enable us to relate to and cooperate with others – undermining our capacity to love.
Recently we have seen levels of fear and hostility rise throughout the world and a decrease in tolerance and compassion. When fear is the dominant force in our life, we lose our ability to be sociable and we live in misery. When love is the dominant force, we feel a sense of connection to others and can experience joy and contentment.
Michael Guilding, a retired psychotherapist, examines fear and love from the perspective of human biology and reflects on what each of us might do to shift the balance between these forces.
Please note: ‘Reflections on Fear and Love’ will be taking place in person on Saturday 7 June and online on Thursday 12 June.
Presented by the Complex Trauma Institute.
Image credit: Oliver Pitt 2010
Please note that this session will be also be held in-person on Saturday 7 June at 2pm.
About the speaker
Michael Guilding worked as a counsellor and psychotherapist for 30 years including more than a decade in the NHS, where he was Head of Primary Care Counselling within the York and Selby NHS trust. For many years he has had a deep interest in our biological fear-system responses and their impact on our patterns of relating to others. Michael has written several papers for the Complex Trauma Institute’s Journal on the theory of complex trauma (which he sees as a biological fear-system disorder) and on the practical applications of this theory for psychotherapy. He runs workshops for therapists on the interaction between our fear and attachment systems. His talk ‘Reflections on Fear, Anxiety and Depression’ was part of the 2024 York Festival of Ideas and was broadcast in Australia on ABC Radio National. Find out more on Michael’s website.
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