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The Fear Factor
Daily Inspiration
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself!” That quote from President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1933 inaugural address is probably the most famous quote ever spoken about fear.
Today, I’d like to address this powerful and inescapable part of our shared human experience because, no matter who you are or where you’re from, you’ll definitely come face-to-face with fear sometime. Some people fall to their knees and become immobilized when confronted with fear; others find a way to mine their fear for added motivation and energy.
Before we get into the specifics, let’s first define our term. Fear is actually a state of mind that, in turn, creates both biological and psychological reactions. It’s loosely defined as an intense feeling of concern, dread, panic or anxiety about something real that’s about to happen or something that you imagine may happen in the future.
There are basically two very different types of fear. For the sake of simplicity, let’s call them real fear and imagined fear. Real fear is anything attached to an actual concrete event. For example, you have a fear of flying and are about to step onto an airplane for a long flight. With imagined fear, using the same airplane example, you’re terrified to get on the plane because you fear it will fall from the sky and crash. In both of these situations, fear creates an unsettled and panicked mindset that produces a myriad of physical and emotional reactions.
Fear is such an ordinary human experience that we tend to have a lot of fears in common. Some of the most common fears that people share are included below:
Fear of flying
Fear of public speaking
Fear of heights
Fear of the dark
Fear of death
Fear of failure
Fear of rejection
Fear of spiders and other critters
Fear of commitment
Fear of the unknown
Fear of being alone
Fear of financial problems
Fear of getting seriously ill
As I stated earlier, fear is actually a state of mind. In this way, fear is fundamentally and intimately tied to the self-talk that goes on inside your head. If you can change that internal dialogue, you can diffuse your fear.
For example, there’s a behavioral therapeutic approach to managing fear, anxiety and phobias called Systematic Desensitization. It operates under the simple premise that what has been learned can also be unlearned. With the help of the therapist, you’re gradually taught to incrementally confront your fear with the use of imagery, relaxation training and other techniques.
Fear is also the trigger for the infamous fight-or-flight response in humans. The flight-or-flight response propels people, when confronted with a situation that causes fear, to either dig in and make a stand or turn tail and run for the hills. However, with fear, there’s also a third option that many people experience: They become paralyzed and aren’t able to act at all.
One of the keys to living a happy, healthy life lies in learning how to deal with fear. Depending on the extent of the fear and how debilitating it is, you may need to see a professional therapist for help.
In most cases, however, most of us find a way to push through those things that scare us without professional assistance. For the sake of brevity, I offer you a simple four step process using F.E.A.R. as an acronym:
1. Face it head on
2. Evaluate the irrational thoughts creating the fear
3. Attack those irrational thoughts
4. Re-approach with a new mindset
As the late Dale Carnegie once said, “You can conquer almost any fear if you will only make up your mind to do so. For remember, fear doesn't exist anywhere except in the mind.”
What is fear preventing you from doing or accomplishing in your life?
Wishing You Great Health,
Dr. John H. Sklare
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