There goes fear and anxiety, skipping down the lane, singing merrily as they go.
They are, after all, cousins in the family of emotional struggles.
Maybe we don’t always see the connection, but I think that if we look deeper, we will see it. The more anxiety you have, the more fear is energized.
The Emotional Brain
When I first saw a quote by Joseph E. Ledoux, Ph.D., it really made sense.
Fear and its more persistent cousin, anxiety, is at the roots of almost all emotional disorders.
Joseph E. Ledoux, Ph.D.
Fear and anxiety keep us from going deeper into healing, as I discuss in my new book, Overcoming A Mysterious Condition. I know my fears held me back and those fears created more layers of fear. Anxiety came along and held it all together.
Fears In Counseling
When I was in counseling, I was so afraid that my family was going to find out I was talking to someone. You see, I had been taught that if we dared say a word, it would be the last thing we did. Yes, my father spoke those words to me many times.
Even though my family didn’t know where I lived and didn’t know I was talking to a therapist, the fears I had left me so afraid.
My therapist and I discussed it, and she helped me see that there was no basis to the fear. She helped remind me that they didn’t know where I lived, or that I was seeing her and she wasn’t going to share with anyone what we discussed.
I’ve had fears and anxiety that paralyzed me in my tracks, both literally and figuratively.
Anxiety for me can get pretty intense if I am not watching it closely. Most of the time, I have to push through healing moments because if I did not, the anxiety would become too overwhelming.
Fears In Sessions With Dr. Canali
There have been many sessions with Dr. Canali where the anxiety almost kept me from going to my appointment. While I might not have seen it clearly at the time, I know it was present.
Once I found the courage to go past the anxiety that reared its head up, the more healing I found. Often in a session, we would have to confront fear and anxiety, the elephant in the room.
In these days, in our society, we have become captives of fear and anxiety.
It is growing at alarming rates in people from all walks, beliefs, views, and backgrounds.
We point the fingers at others as if they have fear, but we fail to see the fear within us.
Role Of Fear And Anxiety
Fear and anxiety play an important role in life. They help keep us safe or alert us to danger. Fear and anxiety help guide us as we make life decisions. They help us navigate relationships and situations in our day. There are many things that fear and anxiety do, but there is a perilous danger we often ignore.
When fear and anxiety overpower us, they blind us to what is truly going on in life. They help us numb and disconnect so we don’t fully see them. These things are crafty and sneaky and cunning. They know how to hoodwink us while getting us to believe we are something that we are not.
At the root of all emotional disorders and struggles, you will find fear and anxiety. They are persistent cousins that love to hang out together and destroy their victims.
Courage To Confront Fear
The more we can identify them and find the courage to confront them in the mind body connection, the more empowered we become. It can be challenging to do this from a body centered concept, because they do not only inhabit the mind.
Fear and anxiety do find root in the body and without making that connection, we’re only half empowered to deal with them when they show up. Healing requires that we go deep within to root them out. No, it isn’t easy to do this, but as I’ve found in my life, it is possible.
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