Fear is a fight or flight response
which is built into the human defense system inside the brain. Inside our brains design is the amygdala where
emotional learning, stress, memories and fear conditioning take place. The
amygdala is our 911 signal that is automatically activated when we perceive
something as a threat - adrenaline is released, the heart pumps faster,
breathing becomes more rapid to increase the intake of oxygen, we become hyper-vigilant
to the danger, etc ..
Basically
the flight or fight response prepares us to take some action – either face or
escape the danger!
The emotions and tensions produced by our bodies can also
be activated by our perception of numerous other threats, many of them real and
many of them imaginary. For example if you were
being run down by a predator such as bear, your reflexes would kick in to do
anything necessary to save yourself, right?
When we imagine that people are
criticizing us, or
that we’re about to be fired from our job or our partner is cheating or lying – if these are truly imagined threats - our
bodies respond to, even though they are false and only imagined by us. When we
form a belief about the state of the world around us, emotional learning takes
place and is saved in the amygdala, which responds to this “belief”. Needless
to say, we spend much our waking moments gathering information and making
decisions about the world we experience. What we believe and accept as our
truth, our bodies follow and respond to.
Those of you, that may claim to
never have the direct or imagined experiences, still take in second hand
experiences and learn from the wisdom of others - we tend to rely on the
opinions of “authority” sources – friends, newspapers, TV, teachers, parents,
etc, in forming a belief about the state of the world around us.
Stress and
anxiety that we experience are natural responses to anticipated
threats to our well-being. If we believe we are losing money, our home, our
job, our spouse is cheating, and our kids hate us, we react with a sense of
alarm and tension.
Yet on the other hand if we are
expecting to win the lottery, inherit a fortune, receive a promotion at work, make
a large amount of money, be happy, meet the partner of your dreams, now that is
exhilarating!! We become enthusiastic and our world is a much happier place,
right?
So what we really want is more enthusiasm,
more joy, more happiness, more love and less stress and fear, right? What do we do when we feel fear, anxiety,
worry, doubt and stress out?
Allow me to redirect your
mind about how you view fear. Fear is an
energy that needs direction – its waiting for you to give it instruction and guidance.
Once you learn to take a leadership
position over your fear and stress- this becomes exciting – and you become aware
and skilled at regulating your emotional states and energy management.
Yes this does take practice
– the better you get at it – the more fun life is -
You have a choice – to either
instruct your fears to take action in a positive enthusiastic manner or in a
stressful struggle. It is all up to you –
Genuinely,
Christine
