The Source of Fear

Often, it is said that face your fear, but what does facing your fear really mean? And whatever it may mean, how to go about it? To begin with, personify your fear. Talk to your fear, send it vibes of love and compassion, befriend it. The same energy that was fuelling your fear will become your strength instead. By fear, I’m referring to conditioned fears we create or harbour due to our upbringing and other social norms. Viktor Frankl, in propounding logotherapy, once wrote about a man who used to sweat a lot in public. Every time he had to speak address a group, he would start sweating profusely, which he found rather embarrassing. The anxiety that surrounded in anticipation of his perspiration would make him sweat even more. “Announce your anxiety,” Viktor advised him. “If you don’t know the audience well enough, just announce it to yourself.” A week later, the man returned to report that whenever he met anyone who triggered his anticipatory anxiety, he said to himself, “I only sweated out a quart before, but now I’m going to pour at least 10 quarts!” The result: after four years of suffering, with this single selfprompt, he was cured of it within a week. Frankl called it hyper-intention: an excessive intention to be, act or feel a certain way.… Secondly, exposing your phobia, fear or cause of anxiety helps you calm down. Announce your anxiety or its cause right at the outset rather than trying to cover it.

Source: Economic Times, 29/11/2018