Letting Fear Work For You

No one is free from fear. It is possible to be fearful or anxious about anything. Fear appears as one of the earliest emotions in infants. Those who say that they are unafraid (counterphobic persons) are most preoccupied with overcoming it. Fears seem to stay with us until we do something about them. Let's accept fear as an unavoidable emotion and look at how to let it work for us.

Fear comes up at sensing some immediate danger, such as a near-accident in driving. Anxiety comes up at anticipated or imagined dangers, and is even more persistant and debilitating. For example, the anxiety in driving after you have had a near-accident. Our position is that the fear is useful in helping us face up to what we must learn about and master for our personal survival. If we keep avoiding the threat, the fear will grow to the enormous proportions of panic or oppression. Those who are phobic about speaking in public, say, can experience exhausting, debilitating panic.

We suggest as a healthy practice to sense your fears in everyday life by tuning into your body's signals (stomach ache, sweating, dizziness, etc.), and associating these to specific aspects of life events. Use these specifics to analyze what skills, information or persons you need to master them and immediately start to master some small part of the fearful situation. For example, if initially speaking up in a committee is the most fearful part, you might immediately practice contacting members before the meeting and being among the first to make a point.

When you are able to expose yourself to the fearful situation and master it, we find fear undergoes a transformation into excitement. It appears any challenging event - skiing, flying, hiking, debating - can be transferred into exhileration after it has been actively mastered. Here are a few guidelines to help your mastery:

- The sooner you face up to fear, the sooner it goes away.
- The more pleasure in the event, the less disorganized the effects of fear.
- The more specific you can be, the more you can do about it.
- The more you study and know your subject, the less fear of it persists.
- The smaller the steps you take, the sooner you experience success.

Of course, some persons who have avoided an anxious situation for a long time under certain conditions can become panicked and phobic. They most often report they feel as if they will faint, die, or go crazy under the terrible sway of panic. Since treatment methods have increased strikingly in the last 15-20 years, they do not have to put up with this condition and should find a specialized therapist.

In any case, here's to your new sense of adventure and mastery about fearful conditions in your life!

This article was written by Dr. Richard C. Raynard, whose latest book Panic Free is offering new hope for those suffering from overwhelming and often debilitating panic attacks. For over 30 years he has helped thousands of his patients with the latest refinements in anxiety and panic treatments.
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