Thursday
07Jan2010
Coping with Fear
Thursday, January 7, 2010 at 11:40AM I’m giving two talks next week, both related to coping with fear. (The one at Pendle Hill on Tuesday is open to the public.) Of course, I have some thoughts on this, but I’m wondering what your thoughts are. What has helped you to overcome fear, especially in a time of transition? Is there a story you’d like to share about how fear has hindered you or how facing fear has helped you grow? Would love to hear people’s insights as I’m pondering this myself.
Reader Comments (4)
Hi, Eileen, I posted a link to an article on my blog that addresses fear. But the thing that has helped me the most is EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), sometimes called "tapping." I use this for debilitating fear and other paralyzing emotions. I'm going to do my first performance in a long time -- a quasi performance piece in a reading salon -- and I'm scared. But in this case, I'm going to rehearse (the way I did when I was an actor), and I trust the fear will transform into well-prepared performance energy. Good luck in your talks. Fear is probably my life issue. I'm wondering if it's yours as well, since you're talking about it.
Quiet reflection and questioning to discern the root of my fear and ways of coping. Where is it coming from? Why is it there? How can I cope with the root of my fear and a way that will lead to positive growth? Then I take a deep breath and move through it. I had to do this on a regular basis in dealing with my dad's death. I didn't want to face it, I was scared of dealing with so many things, but I had to, so I did. The challenge comes when I have to deal quickly with fear in the moment. I always want to pause and think, but sometimes that's not an option, you just have to act.
Thanks, Betsy and Jodi (and those who responded privately). I am a big believer in the deep breath. As for the EFT, it's funny you bring it up because I seem to keep running across mention of it lately, so I guess I need to check it out. Have never done it, though. As for Betsy's question about fear being my life issue, I guess I wouldn't word it quite that way, although I do seem to be led to write about it a lot. I generally don't experience debilitating fear, just what I suspect is an average level of anxiety. However, I'm aware that the major breakthroughs in my life have come when I've let go of/been liberated from that anxiety. I have a sense that it's everybody's issue, in some way, which may be why I'm drawn to write about it.
By the way, in case anyone missed it, Arthur Find posted a response to this post under references. He linked to his blog in general, which has since been updated. Here's a link to his thoughtful post Dealing with Fear:
http://arthurfink.wordpress.com/2010/01/08/dealing-with-fear/