Panic attacks, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, fight or flight
syndrome - no matter what it's called - it is all about fear. We are are searching for ways to manage our
stress. Some of us take medication, others practice yoga, people meditate, pray, eat, exercise, cry, yell, or journal
just to find a escape route for the free floating anxiety plaguing so many of us.
In my experience, I've
found two distinct kinds of fear, the "gorilla in the doorway" variety and the "I scare myself" breed.
In the natural scheme of things, fear is our warning system. If we walked into our living room and found a “gorilla
in the doorway", we’d have good cause for alarm. It would be time to get out of a dangerous situation in
a major hurry!
The
“I scare myself” type of fear is an invention (a Future Event Appearing
Real). We can make lots of things seem pretty frightening in our minds. We accomplish this by
venturing into the future (and you thought time travel was science fiction!) Then we imagine horrific endings for the
stories of our lives. We label our creations “the worst case scenarios.” We become convinced that we are
doing ourselves a favor by making up these tales. Then we promptly forget that they are manufactured. We believe
our account is the truth.
Unfortunately
our body does not know the difference between the musings of our all too fertile minds and truly scary situations.
It pumps too much adrenaline all the same. Fear envelops us and we become paralyzed or take sudden flight. The cycle
can only end when we choose to look the gorillia in the eye. In that moment you can see where reality begins
and fantasy ends. If there is a gorilla in our doorway, it's time to run, but if we are scaring ourselves, it's
time to stop and think. Only you can stop scaring yourself.
