What scares you big time at night, at work, at leisure time or anytime of the day? Do you keep away from people because of fear? You want to do something different from everyone else but fear stops you in your track? What scares you a little? What do you feel when scared? How do you react?
Well, according to experts, as long as you are a human being, there is over 100% chance that you will experience some fear in your lifetime even though our bodies are naturally built to survive fear.
Fear is a human feeling (though animals feel fear too) that is initiated by a perceived threat. It is basically a survival mechanism that signals the body to react to imminent dangers with either a fight or flight reaction. And as a result, it is an essential part of keeping us safe. During bouts of fear, the body goes into “fight or flight response”. It is a normal instinct that is created to help one survive when threatened. When the body is in this mode, adrenalin flows increasingly and this causes the undesirable effects of fear in the body.
Inasmuch as this emotion is responsible for human survival, the downsides cannot be ignored. Constantly living in fear and threat weakens the immune system and can cause series of problems in the body like gastro-intestinal problems which include ulcers and irritable bowel syndromes, and even low fertility, cardiovascular damages, and forgetfulness. These have been confirmed by health experts. Fear oftentimes causes cold hands, deeper and rapid heartbeat, increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, dry mouth and trembling or tightening of the muscles, especially in the arms and legs. It may cause headaches, diarrhea, sweating and shortness of breath. One might experience one or more of these symptoms depending on the biological composition and chemistry of the individual involved.
As a fact, people who live in constant fear, either as a result of physical dangers in their environment or through threats they ‘see’, can become disabled because it (fear) can affect processes in the brain that allow for regulation of emotions, reading of non- communicable actions and information. It can hinder the ability to properly think and react to anything. This can weaken the thought-process and make one unable to act in the appropriate manner. Fear dims one’s level of concentration and makes one to constantly see and feel things that are non-existent!
Aside affecting one’s health, fear can definitely shut the doors of opportunity because it is a mind-killer, it practically tells one what to do and what not to do, having total control of the mind. It tends to keep an individual static and immobile as if growth is impossible and this is because the individual has been encapsulated by fear. It limits and causes terrible suffering, isolation from the world and may finally lead one into danger and even death! Fear limits an individual’s world view and life’s infinite possibilities. It can blind an individual to almost all possibilities except a few fight or flight options when one is in a difficult and tight situation.
Fear can also draw one into a victim-like stance thereby seeing oneself as being unfairly taken advantage of or impacted by other people or circumstances. One would begin to think that the world and everything in it is against one and be constantly playing the victim. Victim-hood is the biggest addiction operating in the world of today and hence it is not a coincidence that fear is operating so pervasively. With fear it is easier to view the world as evil and wicked, then look out for things to go wrong and feel dis-empowered when things actually go wrong.
You might wonder why people live their lives the way they do without venturing into any endeavour because of the fear they feel. A major thing with fear is its ability to make one live miserably. It causes one to develop phobias for practically everything in life and as such, one cannot even live a normal life not to talk of enjoying the life one lives. The implication is that one is emotionally handicapped! Some schools of thought described it as a false experience that appears real. But it is not real and so one has to come out of it. Else, one’s life just goes by with one existing in it and not living the life at all!
There are actually positive sides to this emotion that many people dread and try to resist. Of course it is highly impossible to resist fear unless one is a robot. We have been told by some medical experts that it is actually a good thing to fear once in a while. For some people, it is a great, if not the greatest, motivation for an upsurge in their lives. It spurs them on to embrace the challenge they need to overcome. For example, when a runner or sprinter is about to reach the finish line, there is always this fear of whether it will be a flop or win. But he or she has to speed to find out later and at this point, the fear is relegated to the background. Of the truth, fear is a creative friend that spurs the mind to keep seeking for solution. Even while one is on-task or going to bed at night, fear keeps the mind in an alert state.
For some people, deliberately seeking out the experience of being frightened by watching some horror movies actually help them feel fear first-hand and then put a control over it. According to Brownlowe, those people are enjoying the chemical aftermath that follows a rush of fear – a feeling that can be euphoric.
Put simply, running away from fear does not work (fear never goes away – it is innate). If one does not muscle up to face it, it will contend with one forever. One will live a fear-led life – choosing virtually everything ranging from partners to jobs to friends to foes and everything in-between out of fear.
Understand that it is never going to be easy making your fears work for you but taking a next line of action can do the trick. Technically, it is not an easy task to build up anything from scratch but if you do not try, you will definitely not get anywhere.
The bottom line is to not let your fears consume you. It grows and expands only when we let it, and usually this occurs when we forget how useful our fears can be. It really demands our best, however unreasonable that might most times be. One can equally find relief from physical effects of fear with meditation by simply taking slow, deep breathes and trying to relax by closing the eyes while sitting down in a comfortable position. Talking to someone close can help to calm the nerves as well.
So the next time you feel afraid, stop and remind yourself that fear actually works for good; check which purpose your fear is serving, then tell your fear ‘thank you for helping me forge ahead!!!’
