How To Disassociate
From Fear
Consider the last
time you experienced a fearful thought or emotion? Think about the situation
that caused you to experience this. Now, how did you feel twenty-four hours
following the event? Were you still experiencing the emotions or did your
attention move to something else? Fear is debilitating and can wreak havoc in
our lives if we are unaware. In this period of uncertainty, fear is projected
into our lives without our permission. The news and social media is filled with
catastrophic events worldwide. Fear is sold to us on the premise we will tune
in to the media networks that promote it and remain in a hypervigilant state.
But as you know, this comes at a cost to our sanity and long-term health.
Assuredly, we can find many situations to be concerned about in the world, yet
when we buy into the narrative fear promotes, it steals away the richness of
the present moment.
It is impossible to
experience the aliveness of the present when we are caught in fearful thoughts.
We are projected into the future and experience a cocktail of chemical
reactions that cause stress to the body. However, we can learn to turn down the
volume on fear by shifting our awareness to what is happening within us. By
this I mean, finding practices that help us disassociate from fear. For
example, I enjoy swimming and other forms of exercise. When I swim laps at my
local pool, I don't experience fearful thoughts and even in the ensuing hours,
I am still on a high. This is also true of other hobbies such as being
outdoors, reading and socialising with friends. I try to tune in to selective
news reports to remain informed of current events within my region and
globally. The internet is a wonderful medium that has brought freedom to our
lives but limited us in the way we interact with it. Many people develop addictions
to surfing the internet or scrolling through their phones. How about you? How
do you interact with social media and the news? How do you respond to bad news?
Do you feel sad or depressed? This is one effect of news addiction, it keeps us
hooked like poker machines with their flashing lights and sounds. But we have a
choice and can limit our exposure.
The Future Will
Take Care Of Itself
Fear steals away
the wonderment of the present moment and offers little in return other than
stress and disappointment. It is not a responsible giver but takes away our joy
and well-being. If we subscribe to the narrative it promotes, we have no choice
but to buy in to its way of life. When we do, we are at its mercy because it
has sold us a fictitious way of life based on one aspect of reality. Life is
not about fear and disasters because what we look for, we are certain to find.
If we go looking for negativity and disappointment, we will find it standing on
a street corner waving to get our attention. Though, if we look for joy, bliss
and happiness we must intentionally cultivate them and give them space to
flourish. As mentioned earlier, we ought to find activities or hobbies away
from technology that invigorate us. Constantly browsing the internet and
playing violent video games are not forms of joy and happiness. They are
escapism and addictions and we mustn't convince ourselves we are having fun.
Granted, if you are sixteen years old and wasting the afternoon after school
before your homework that is a different story. Nevertheless, peruse activities
that feed your soul and give you a sense of accomplishment and nurture feelings
of love. Find something that contributes to your personal growth rather than
stealing away time because you are bored.
Are you comfortable
with the ideas expressed so far? Does it make sense that exposing yourself to
fear diminishes your ability to enjoy the present moment since you are
transfixed on what can go wrong? The future will take care of itself. There is
nothing to do other than let go of disempowering thoughts and emotions, to
enjoy the wonderment of the present moment. Considering this, give some thought
to activities you could devote more attention to that nourishes your soul. What
habits would you like to reduce or eliminate altogether? Is it screen time on
your computer, TV or smart phone? If so, don't download an app to reduce your
screen time but make the intention to do so and follow through with it. After
all, fear will prevent us from feeling the aliveness of the present moment as
long as we create a home for it to flourish. We must let go of its negative
state so emotions like love, joy and happiness can fill the void.
