What Does Your Fear Say to You?

Fear is the brain's reaction to a stimulus where chemicals are released that raise the heart rate. It is a vital response to physical and emotional danger—if we didn't feel it, we couldn't protect ourselves from legitimate threats. Sometimes we fear situations that are far from life-or-death, and thus hang back for no good reason. These types of fears can prevent us from living a full and complete life. And nobody wants that.

I know this all too well. It is no secret that I have had my bouts with fear and anxiety to the point that it was prohibiting me from living the life that I was supposed to live. Although I do have angst from time to time, I now know to acknowledge this energy as communication. To know when it is time to move along, remove someone from my space, or shift gear into a different direction. I discuss this in detail in an anthology that I contributed to titled, "How the Fierce Handle Fear". Here I share the steps that worked for me then and some I still use to this day. I pray that they can assist you if need be.

5 Steps that I use to combat fear:

1) Communicate – The decision to discuss what I was experiencing with my support system was key! Allow your family and friends to be there for you. Mine were extremely supportive and served as buffers when I felt like my fear was bigger than myself. Don’t be a afraid to seek professional help.

2) Breath – Often times in the middle of a panic attack I realized that I was not breathing. Taking several deep, long breaths through my nose and exhaling though my mouth help me to refocus and stay on task. I still do this when I am feeling overwhelmed. (3 part breathing meditation in particular)

3) Stay present – When you feel yourself getting worked up about a scenario that will most likely never happen, look around. Absorb your environment and take stock in what it is you are intending to do RIGHT now.

4) Acknowledge your fear – This will diminish the power that the fear will have over you. Realize that how you are feeling while in the middle of your anxiety or panic attach is ok. Just don’t allow it to prevent you from doing what you set out to do. Feel it come and go and do it anway!

5) Surrender – As a God fearing woman this was the hardest part for me because I didn’t understand how I got to this place in the first place. My journaling reading and meditating showed me that I was not trusting in the process of our creator. Accepting that fact that I was not in control and that there was a great force at work allowed me to relax and let go..to trust and surrender.