How Do You Manifest Fear?

While we all have a predominate style of manifesting fear that is most central in our awareness generally all systems are on deck during an onslaught of fear.

It can be helpful to know your predominate system of reactivity in order to more effectively erase fear patterns from your system. These patterns may be physical, cognitive or intellectual or emotional.

Physical Symptoms
Heart races
Rapid, shallow breathing
Excessive perspiration
Muscle tightness

Cognitive Symptoms
Mental confusion
Distorted thoughts
Catastrophizing
Racing thoughts
Obsessive/compulsive thinking

Emotional Symptoms
Feel afraid, panicky, irritable, jumpy, tense
Crying
Anger
Emotional constriction/avoidance/withdrawal
Bravado
And of course some of these like bravado or withdrawal can also be defensive postures—ways we try to cope with fear.

Eliminating Unnecessary Fear
As stated in the previous post, there are some very real reasons to feel fear. In that case the cascade of chemistry that accompanies fear can be useful to us to either fight or flee the source of our fear. However, many of our experiences are not life threatening and the chemical surge that is released when we are afraid only serves to cripple our responsiveness to life.

Our irrational fears are the issue most of the time—those and situations where we believe we have no power and cannot change anything. In fact this may be one of our major issues at this current time in history. We are moving through a time when the future is not going to be much like the past. Old ways of being, doing and living are falling away. All the structures that supported our world are collapsing and we are not yet sure what will take their place. Even if we can grasp the notion that we are in an in between time and that within our problems lie our answers—that we are being challenged to grow something new—that we are birthing a new civilization, society, human being….we are still challenged to learn how to live in the space of not knowing….this is true from a global perspective but also a personal one. Each of us in our own lives is facing this dilemma and it is understandable that we feel at a loss about how to manage.

 This kind of problem (growing into something new) requires a fairly complex and perhaps sophisticated response. We need to start with the hard questions by looking at ourselves and our lives and wondering if we have been living authentically as our best self.

Do we know who we are really beyond roles, conditioned identities or defenses?

Have we let things slide and not faced up to areas in need of repair or healing inside ourselves?

In the latter case it is more helpful to shift away from thinking that you are in need of fixing and realize that more of what is up for review is what gets in your way of living your truth, from truly being present in your life. As old patterns and inner blocks drop away more of your authentic nature can shine through into the world and your purpose and unique gifts become known.

A Helpful Approach
Begin with a notebook or journal and start to answer some questions that challenge your beliefs and inner dialogue.

Identify False Beliefs
Challenge beliefs. What are you really afraid of? Is it true?
What is the likelihood that your worst fear will become reality?
How would this issue appear from a different perspective?
What if you were without your fear, what would you do, how would you be, feel, think?

Identify specific Emotional fears
Rejection
Feeling not good enough
Overwhelm–Not up to a task
Not mattering, belonging, being loveable

For emotional fears, we must first calm down. Our primitive brain will not respond to logic or reasoning and it blocks deeper wisdom and knowing. From a more physically mentally and emotionally relaxed state we can more clearly realize the irrationality of our fears, and access strengths and inner resources. From this quieter space we can deal with challenging thought patterns/beliefs, and open to higher sources of help—intuition, inner guidance, insight etc.