Impact of Fear and Anxiety - Don't Fear the Fear
Fear, anxiety and panic can severely affect life. This no question. And yes there might be and for sure a short-term relief is occuring when fears are avoided and fearful situations are prevented, avoided, or bypassed. However, avoidance will preserve and maintain the fear in the long term, and will further limiting life. The solution most often will be found in facing your fears.
Fear is just a feeling - it is that easy - but as well - that challenging
Same as we can not turn on and off the feeling of love and mourning - we can not turn of the fear of something. But the moment we accept out fear and embrace it with compassion - the moment we can begin to create and build upon our own self-trust.
The thing is the more we either avoid our fears or see fear as bad, or we begin to understand that fear is there to help us grow as people and build self-love and self-trust. I think - as I learned - once we start to see fear in a different way - when the feelings of fear come up and we no longer push it away or resist it being there because we think it is a bad, but instead we accept it’s presence - knowing we are going through a moment of challenge and that after each challenge there is growth - we might see it what it is - as call out, trouble, severity or even a kind of provocation - or just a challenge and opportunity to increase our self-trust.
The more self-trust we create, the more our fear actually allows us to move forward with courage and we can create or do things much more easily.
And please don't get me wrong - there are one or two who need some help - perhaps professional help -to go through fears - but never try to get just over your fears.
Because I see, feel and understand fear as something that warns people of danger - and for sure 'danger' is often the same for everyone, but often individual and it is felt even more individually different.
But see fear as a good example of two sides of the same coin - it sets bodily and mentally reactions in motion that will and can block us / hold us back on the one hand but as well on the other hand provides energy for "attack" or "flight". And that is a good thing - it was, is, and will be one reason why beings survived and will survive 😎.
Countless times over the last decade I have felt the feeling of fear when wanting to push and develop my capabilities as person, as athlete, as human being. Countless times I have built upon my own self-trust. Have I always made it and stayed safe? No, I have made mistakes (almost drowned in the Pacific Ocean, almost frostbitten (lost parts of my thumb), ...), I have overestimate myself and failed many times, but thats okay, I have lived to see another day, I have created situations or moments to learn from and grow. That's what I call life.
But once again you don't have to go that far - but see fear as a feeling and something what warns you - and then you can decide how to deal with it.
Ask yourself ...
- In what moments and parts of your life have you been holding back because of the avoidance of the feelings of fear?
- Where have you let it hold you back and keep you safe when you know deep down in your heart it isn’t needed and you can in fact create and do all that you want.
Take your time in building a new, or better or good relationship to yourself - to your feelings of fear, lof ove, of passion, etc. and self-trust and know that it only takes one small step at a time into your feelings to begin developing an inner power, spirit or bravery (you call it) a new loving relationship with yourself, your emotions and your fears.
And once again don't be afraid to look for help or professional help - perhaps it's just a tiny impulse from a helping person to find your way.
In summary ...
Face your fears and anxieties so they don’t become debilitating. Identify ways to create a sense of personal control or mastery in your life.
- Practice stress reduction techniques, such as mindfulness meditation or aerobic exercise
- Shift your focus to the positive emotions in daily life
- Work to identify meaning and purpose in your life
- Go for a walk or run in a park
- Practice self-compassion
- Get support from others - and please do not hesitate to look for and get professional help
Quotes in this context:
"Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood." by Marie Curie"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." by Nelson Mandela
"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear." by Mark Twain
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