[aqua@home]

1. What is fear?
2. What causes fear?
3. What are some physical signs of fear?
4. How do you get over fear?

This can be just general scientific answers or personal answers. I need someone else's points of view. :confused:

[valinors_sorrow]

Ah, fear... this has to be my number one topic lol.

People often confuse fear with anxiety. Fear is mostly a good thing, anxiety is not. Fear is part of our biological safety system and when we feel it strong enough lots of interesting things occur. We get what's called a big adreneline dump that charges us up physiologically in order to deal with the threat. Hearts race, breathing increases and changes in nature, senses heighten, pupils dilate... in many ways it all mimics sexual arousal too, isn't that wild? Its only temporary and the back side of it is like a being in shock or hung over but it is what permits us to say, lift a car off a child and other phenomenal things.

The best book I have read on it (and I have read a bunch too) is by Gavin De Becker called The Gift of Fear. Do yourself a kindness, Aqua, and get that book - very easy to read and VERY enlightening.

My life was, at one time, ruled almost exclusively by fear. If you have ever heard of the story of "The Girl In The Box"... without going into the gory details I have a similar past. Being trapped in fear for me is from PTSD since it's a result of experienced trauma. Being trapped in fear without the trauma to explain it could be paranoia or phobias, which have multiple forms. I have made a very concerted effort to journey into wellness using many things, the most potent of which is literallty hundreds of hours of professional help. As a result of the journey that I can tell you that the antidote to fear is not bravery, its love strangely enough. I am slowly replacing all my fear-based reactions with love-based ones. It is still very challenging.

I could write reams more here but I am not sure if this is all on target for you. Have you seen Chava's post about PTSD? Thanks for great topic and I hope this helps.

[J_9]

Got the ole spread it message.

I love Val's answer, spoken directly from the heart and experience. Heart and experience are sometimes better than classroom learning.

As for the first paragraph, that is the good old Flight-or-fight mechanism at work. The hypothalamus is responsible for that if I do remember correctly.

[aqua@home]

Thanks Val, that was a great answer. I will definitely look for that book.

What is the difference between fear and anxiety? Is there a real difference?

[valinors_sorrow]

Yes there is a very big difference and unlocking that was a big hurdle in my recovery. I can clearly remember when my therapist first went through it with me...

Fear is about immediate reality or a delusional reenactment of it, if you are stuck in something like a PTSD flashback would be. Fear is useful in that there is something to do NOW in response to something that is happening NOW. Fear is a good thing and we need it - that book I suggested will show you why and eloquantly so too! Trouble with me is I can jam when triggered into a flashback... and the jamming is called a dissociative episode. And THAT is why I was kind of "hyper" about going to the firing range with a friend, if you were reading the Right To Bear Arms thread at all? Had to practice lots of "how's my now" (more on that in a moment) in order to stay in the present at the firing range, let me tell you! LOL And just so you know, hyper is not the same as anxious though, its more like "Defcon 3"... its just a heightened state of alertness, okay? I become more mindful of things without necessarily fretting anything. It helped that I went to the range with a really good friend who knows about me too; I wouldn't have been able to go any other way.

Anxiety is about imagined non-reality and being fearful or overwhelmed somewhere in the future. After you have experienced a big dose of real fear, especially if it was life threatening circumstances, its very easy to fall into a state of constant anxiety. Its like the fear has an echo and you keep feeling it, reacting to it. You could say you learn to fear the fear, if that makes sense? And more people suffer from it than I care to count. There is a reason someone famous (I forget now who exactly) said "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself!" And I have just about totally conquered that... (does a proud of myself ballerina twirling around dance for y'all! LOL) And you can too!

It simply stopped one day for me when someone said flatly, you CANNOT solve problems you don't have yet. I know that seems incredibly simple but it is how it happened. It was like BOOM! I don't fear the future anymore. I live in the now and if I am ever tempted to crank up some good old fashioned anxiety, I chant to myself... "How's my Now?" over and over until I get it... HEY, my NOW is FINE! You may have seen me post that on another thread... very useful! And over time I have come to trust that, if and when a problem occurs, I will either have the resources to meet it, or I will go find them from someone else. There is a lot of help in the world Aqua, and I would like you to know that. If you don't have that kind of confidence, maybe let's work on that, okay? Its important that you feel you have back up... everyone needs support like that.

Of course, someone more learned could come along and correct me on the differencea, which would be just fine... this is just my personal working definitions, okay Aqua? Hopefully I haven't made your head hurt LOL. Good questions... have any more? :)

[aqua@home]

Thanks Susan... that was a very useful answer. I realize now that I think I have more anxiety than fear. Things are a little confusing right now. Anxiety doesn't help. I will find the book and hopefully that will help. Maybe truly the only thing that would help is dealing with what the anxiety or fear is about. Thanks again.

[valinors_sorrow]

I agree about getting to the bottom of it and then practicing something along the lines of the simple Serneity Prayer:

"God grant me the serenity to the accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference."

It's a good tool that has been used by countless people who struggle with life for a variety of reasons.
And you never know... it may be possible Aqua with a little do-able change much relief springs forth, you know?

[Cassie]

Yes there is a very big difference and unlocking that was a big hurdle in my recovery. I can clearly remember when my therapist first went through it with me...

Fear is about immediate reality or a delusional reenactment of it, if you are stuck in something like a PTSD flashback would be. Fear is useful in that there is something to do NOW in response to something that is happening NOW. Fear is a good thing and we need it - that book I suggested will show you why and eloquantly so too! Trouble with me is I can jam when triggered into a flashback ... and the jamming is called a dissociative episode. And THAT is why I was kinda "hyper" about going to the firing range with a friend, if you were reading the Right To Bear Arms thread at all? Had to practice lots of "how's my now" (more on that in a moment) in order to stay in the present at the firing range, let me tell you!! LOL And just so you know, hyper is not the same as anxious though, its more like "Defcon 3"... its just a heightened state of alertness, okay? I become more mindful of things without necessarily fretting anything. It helped that I went to the range with a really good friend who knows about me too; I wouldn't have been able to go any other way.

Anxiety is about imagined non-reality and being fearful or overwhelmed somewhere in the future. After you have experienced a big dose of real fear, especially if it was life threatening circumstances, its very easy to fall into a state of constant anxiety. Its like the fear has an echo and you keep feeling it, reacting to it. You could say you learn to fear the fear, if that makes sense? And more people suffer from it than I care to count. There is a reason someone famous (I forget now who exactly) said "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself!" And I have just about totally conquered that...(does a proud of myself ballerina twirling around dance for y'all! LOL) And you can too!

It simply stopped one day for me when someone said flatly, you CANNOT solve problems you don't have yet. I know that seems incredibly simple but it is how it happened. It was like BOOM! I don't fear the future anymore. I live in the now and if I am ever tempted to crank up some good old fashioned anxiety, I chant to myself... "How's my Now?" over and over until I get it... HEY, my NOW is FINE! You may have seen me post that on another thread... very useful! And over time I have come to trust that, if and when a problem occurs, I will either have the resources to meet it, or I will go find them from someone else. There is a lot of help in the world Aqua, and I would like you to know that. If you don't have that kind of confidence, maybe let's work on that, okay? Its important that you feel you have back up.... everyone needs support like that.

Of course, someone more learned could come along and correct me on the differencea, which would be just fine... this is just my personal working definitions, okay Aqua? Hopefully I haven't made your head hurt LOL. Good questions.... have any more? :)

Great post, but have to spread it around. Winston Churchill was the one who made the statement.

[Cassie]

Fear is a thought, but one that often can keep you from feeling free. It can make you afraid of the unknown that may never happen. If fear gets out of control it can turn into obsessions, paranoia. One can be cautious and alert without being fearful. Actually fear is nothing, an illusion in the mind. Anxiety becomes the actual physical feeling you get when you become fearful. It also in reality is often based on nothing, but a thought.

Just a thought of mine. When I was very young I was afraid of the dark, of being alone, I hated those feelings. A very wise soul came into my life and helped me so much.. My X was in law inforcement and used to get so frustrated with me because he thought I was not afraid which made me careless. I was not careless, I was cautious. (Well, most of the time).
When I started looking at it as nothing it helped. Not to say I would dismiss an uneasy feeling when someone or a situation made the "back of my hair stand on end" so to speak. I became aware, and listened to my intuition, caution would set in.

As I said, just a thought, Val's is fact.

[aqua@home]

It is a good thought. I believe 100% in listening to your intuition. I do that all of the time. I believe it has saved my butt more than I care to remember. Thanks for your posts.

[31pumpkin]

Fear is an emotional response to a consciously recognized internal/external source that is perceived as dangerous. No doubt many "fears" are realisticly healthy and keep us from danger. All the physical findings have been mentioned r/t fear response. The concern becomes a factor when a person cannot cope effectively -a decrease in control, objectivity, and judgment occurs when fear is experienced resulting in personality disorganization and impaired ability to maintain self-care(grooming,eating,etc.)
Psychological / developmental factors can include:
Childhood fears, nightmares, past experiences and memories, patterns of pessimism/persistent worry.
Since Val gave a good description and her own prescription, I will only add that the emotions felt with fear are manageable.One can learn coping techniques and can correct distorted perceptions. And yes, perfect love cast out all fear. This is even a Biblical statement.
It is useful to differentiate fear from anxiety as fear is often short-lived in response to a specific threat, whereas anxiety is more vague and chronic.
Also the fight-or-flight response is the sympathetic nervous system actually setting up the body for actual physical mobilization from a threat.
Anxiety is described in levels. Mild- which is good- increases our alertness & motivation and ability to cope with daily problems. Then it gets maladaptive- moderate, severe, and panic. These 3 can be dealt with effective management.
Anxiety- is the uncomfortable feeling of tension or dread that is unconnected to a specific stimulus; it can be vague or intense.

[aqua@home]

Thanks pumpkin, I haven't heard from you in a while. I see what you are saying about the emotions related to fear being manageable. I knew about perfect love and it's ability to cast out all fear. Thanks for your input.

Honestly I don't think coping is the answer. As said before, I think a person should recognize the problem that is causing them the fear or anxiety and deal with it. I know, I know... easier said than done.

[jurplesman]

Val gave a good description about the distinction between real fear and imagined fear.

I would like to elaborate on this using knowledge of biology as to what happens when we experience fear.

When we are faced with a tiger, or we encounter any kind of trauma, grief, rejection of a loved one and so forth, the body floods the system with adrenaline, the fear hormone. Adrenaline helps us to deal with the 'problem'.

Adrenaline activates the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) which is a sub-branch of the Autonomic Nervous System.

It controls specific bodily organs to prepare us for fight or flight. These reactions are beyond control of our consciousness.
The SNS dilates pupils of our eyes, shuts down the digestive organs, increases heart palpitations, relaxes the smooth muscles of bronchi and bronchioles, the smooth muscles of the digestive tract is inhibited, so peristalsis stops, sphincter of the bladder also contracts and the bladder wall relaxes. Blood vessels supply to the skeletal muscles are dilated. It is obvious that these reactions helps to prepare the body for strenuous and quick actions in the face of environmental danger.

Please note that in anxieties we see many symptoms - such as heart palpitations, stomach upsets and so forth - that are the works of the SNS.

The Parasystematic Nervous System (PSNS) on the other hand reverses the SNS and counteracts the SNS. This system is triggered by the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which may be a important piece of information to people suffering from Bipolar Disorder.

Thus as Val has stated this fear reaction is an important survival mechanism in the face of real danger.

The question is how is this related to anxiety attacks or the irrational fears that can wreck people's lives.

The clue is adrenaline. The question is why should the body produce excess adrenaline out of the blue, without any trigger in the environment, causing us to have unexplainable anxiety attacks and phobias?

The function of adrenaline is to convert sugar stores in our body in the form of glycogen into glucose.

The reason for this is that brain is very sensitive to glucose levels. Although the brain represents only 2 per cent of the body by weight it requires about 60-70 per cent of available glucose in the body to energize the biochemical machinery of brain cells. Glucose is the forerunner of Biological Energy called (ATP), which is essential in the manufacture of the relaxing and feel good neurotransmitter such as serotonin.

Thus when the brain (in fact the hypothalamus) senses a low blood sugar level it will send an hormonal message to the adrenal glands to pour adrenaline into the system. This raises blood sugar level and will feed the brain again, but it also causes us to feel fearful without an external object of fear. The fear is irrational.

Adrenaline not only activates the SNS, but is also a focusing hormone, forcing us to focus on any possible "danger" at the expense of anything else. It causes us to "ruminate". Thus excess adrenaline production also lies at the root of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

Thus now the question is why is the brain starved of energy causing it to trigger stress hormones?

There are many reasons for this, because there are many medical conditions that interfere with the proper absorption of glucose, such as the various digestive disorders, heavy metal intoxication replacing zinc substrates, coeliac disease, Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. The list is unending.

However the majority cases when the brain is starved of energy is due to Insulin Resistance, which blocks the transfer of glucose (and other nutrients) across cell membranes. This can lead to the hypoglycemic syndrome, with its multitude of psychological and physical symptoms.

This condition can be tested with the four hour Medical Test for Hypoglycemia. It can also be tested with the Nutrition Behavior Inventory Test (NBI) . If you score high you are likely to be hypoglycemic.

The non-drug treatment of this condition is going on Hypoglycemic Diet.

This goes to show that the various forms of mental illnesses (really brain diseases) are due to a Nutritional Disorder.

See:

Depression is a Nutritional Disorder

Depression: a Disease of Energy Production

For a fuller explanation.

[aqua@home]

Thanks for the great and thorough answer.

Can blood work find a lot of these problems?

What kind of things can a complete blood work up find?

[jurplesman]

Thanks for the great and thorough answer.

Can blood work find a lot of these problems?

What kind of things can a complete blood work up find?

The medical test for hypoglycemia is specifically designed to diagnose hypoglycemia. It is different from the normal test for diabetes, in that blood a samples are taken over 4-6 hours (each half-an-hour).

If the glucose levels are within normal but still with hypoglycemic symptoms it could be due to an imbalance between zinc and copper.

Copper levels may be too high, lowering zinc availability. With zinc deficiency there may be a blockage of sugar metabolism within the ten step glycolysis, that would not show in blood sugar levels.

Nutritional Doctors are trained in these matters.

But people can help themselves to a great degree by going on a Hypoglycemic Diet.

[J_9]

Originally posted by jurplesman

But people can help themselves to a great degree

Never begin a new diet such as this without first consulting your physician!!

[jurplesman]

You don't need a physician to go on a hypoglycemic diet, unless you have allergies or food sensitivities. It is a natural diet that most healthy people are on. You need to see a Nutritional Doctors if you have allergies.

You see a doctor if the diet does not help, in which case there may be some other medical problems.