People are emotions, thoughts, and actions. Thoughts linked to an emotion or a fact that automatically connects with our emotions. Emotions are essential for survival: joy, excitement, and hope make life easier and more comfortable.
However, there are emotions such as sadness, shame, anxiety, and fears that make life a thorny path.
The Origin of Emotions
The limbic system, located in the temporal part of our brain, is responsible for controlling our emotions, memories, and is where the amygdala, the most important structure within the limbic system, is located. It stores and manages our most rational and irrational emotions; fear, anger, sadness, etc.
Are Fears Necessary?
Yes, fear is a basic and necessary emotion for survival. Thanks to fear, we are able to identify threats that put our lives at risk and safeguard ourselves from dangers and survive.
Therefore, thanks to feeling fear, we are able to react to danger, seek alternatives, and grow as individuals in the face of new adversities.
How I Can Live with Fears
- Identify the origin of fear: Connecting with our emotions is essential to face and enjoy life. Why do I feel fear? What is the thought that makes me alert?
- Write down the fear on a sheet of paper: Once we have identified the fear, it is important to name it and write it down.
- Seek alternatives: Write down on a sheet of paper how we will face the fear, the alternatives, difficulties we will encounter, and the strategies we will use.
- Analyze the resources we have: Who can help me? Do I need professional help? What resources do I have? (personal, financial, etc.).
- Create a plan to put it into action: It is important to set a calendar with dates and gradually take small steps to overcome fear. Remember that it is better to start slowly and value every step taken, no matter how small.
- Don’t give up: Fears will appear more strongly in moments of weakness. It is necessary to know how to identify what personal moment we are in. On the path to learning to live with fears, there will be moments when we advance and others when we take a few steps back; the important thing is not to give up.
In conclusion, it is necessary to know how to enjoy life, the good moments that we will fill with good emotions, and how to face the bad moments that we will undoubtedly experience and overcome them. On this journey, fear will be our travel companion. Therefore, it will depend on our attitude and emotional capacities to know how to live with it and succeed.
Overcoming Fears
Overcoming fears is a psychological topic with a strong presence in ISEP’s Masters inContextual Therapies and in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy. Don’t hesitate to ask for information!