Fear-

hat is fear why do we have it and why does it control so much of our thinking process and why do we make decisions out of fear?

I looked up fear--and it is worth noting that fear is a response to help us escape danger and anxiety always relates to future events, such as worsening of a situation, or continuation of a situation that is unacceptable. Anxiety is a state of fear--and fear falls in the same category as joy, and happiness! So right in the same box of emotions we can choose fear, anxiety, joy, or happiness! But why do we let fear force us into a state of mind we don't want to be in? I always ask this question--what's the worst that can happen? Unless my answer is Death...then should I still have fear and be in a state of anxiety? Stress leads to fear and that leads to anxiety and that's a circle complete...-Stress to Fear--Fear to Anxiety--Anxiety builds more Stress...and on and on.

Fear is a way to protect ourselves, control others, and is not a good state of mind to be in. When we are in a state of fear or anxiety, our heart rate is increased by adrenaline, a hormone secreted from the adrenal gland and also known as Epinephrine...its one of the neurotransmitters. I had to learn all this when I attended the Methodist Hospital's Paramedic Training Program, in 2002 in Brooklyn, NY. As a medic student we had an A & P course same as Doctors it was one very intense year of training. I remembered much of my Anatomy & Physiology from high school, I always loved science and biology...but learning how Epi affects our body was an eye opener for me!

Not only does it increase heart rate, it constricts arteries throughout the skin and digestive tract and floods the core of the body with blood. (this is why anxiety gives you numb feet and hands) It also elevates blood sugar and glucose levels and suppresses the immune system!.. SO being in a state of fear can cause tachycardia, palpitations, arrhythmia's, anxiety, headache, tremor, hypertension, hyperglycemia, pulmonary edema and other symptoms and illness!

Fear symptoms can mimic other problems! Many times I responded to calls of chest pain to find a patient really stressed and having a panic attack! Sometimes just the calm demeanor of me and my partner helped the patient and they began to have relief from the attack.

But why should paying car insurance, putting a kid through college, dealing with our mate cause fear and anxiety? Can we control this ? The fear of not being where we need to be in life can cause a stroke, heart attack, hyper anxiety, and can lead to suicidal thoughts!..THESE are good reasons to chill out! Think about what you can let go and what you must deal with and deal with it as soon as possible to relieve the anxiety and let go of the fear. Don't take everything so seriously...and by all means simplify your life to include down time!!!

We can control stress, fear, and anxiety if we really choose our thoughts...pushing back negative emotions or thoughts can keep fear in controlled levels. This is another thing I learned while working as a paramedic---allowing calm to overtake fear--in order to think more clearly and not allow adrenaline to rush through my system and put me in a hypersensitive state of mind, I choose to remain as calm as possible.

When we allow stress and fear to control us we are in a constant hyper-state! Our heart is racing, yet its not an aerobic workout --we get very little physical benefit from this state...we get headaches due to the crash that comes after an epi-high--the epi hangover! Some people have to stop and rest for a long period of time to recover from this hyper-elevated state of being. This can bring on PTSD in soldiers and Paramedics,...and its why I got out of the Emergency Medical Field...

To beat fear and stress...I walk, spend as much time in nature as possible, I have pets to help keep me in sync and I do believe Yoga is a great way to handle stress, although lately Ive been a real slacker with that---just writing this encourages me to get back to dealing with stress and not allowing it to become fear.


~Let each be his own and you be your own, and let us share who we are~