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On this episode of the Recovery Rebirth Podcast, Dominick and Jillian talk about fear as a universal human experience. We’ve all been scared when we’re startled or while watching a horror movie. These kinds of fear quickly subside and we return to our (ideally) calm state. But some fears are persistent and hijack our ability to have a relatively serene existence. When we’re living in a state of hypervigilance, expecting the worst to happen, it’s difficult to enjoy our lives.
For many people in recovery, fear is an ever-present companion. Whether we fear abandonment, losing a loved one to addiction or relapsing ourselves, fear can loom large for many of us. Anxiety is closely tied to fear, especially for those of us who’ve experienced trauma; specifically in childhood. PTSD can distort our perception of actual danger vs. perceived danger. Unfortunately, our body responds the same way whether a threat is real or perceived.
While many people are familiar with the fear of failure, we touch on the lesser talked about fear of success and what holds us back from pursuing our dreams. As the famous Marianne Williamson poem notes, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” (link to full poem below)
We discuss the emotional and physiological effects of fear. Our sympathetic nervous system takes over, our amygdala is activated, adrenaline and cortisol are released. When we’re in this fearful state, our prefrontal cortex (center of logic) also shuts down.
Lastly, we touch on strategies for dealing with sustained fear. By facing our fears, we can better understand what drives them and disrupt the fear-based patterns in our life (e.g. self-sabotage) When we aren’t in an elevated state, we can start to look at some of our lingering fears that have shaped unhealthy patterns. Sometimes a change of scenery, like going for a walk in nature can help us to return to a more serene state.
While fear is unavoidable, it doesn’t have to dictate our lives.There are many acronyms in recovery, including some related to fear. Through the process of recovery we can change our mindset from: f*ck everything and run to face everything and recover!
Resources
Your Body on Fear | What Happens in Your Body When You’re Afraid
Our Deepest Fear-Marianne Williamson
http://www.appleseeds.org/Deepest-Fear.htm
Overcoming Fear (essentiallifeskills.net)
