Your worst fear?

[Bill]

I was thinking about this evening so thought I'd raise it here.

I would guess that most of you will be thinking to yourselves what scares you most out of the things you feel afraid of such as shops, crowds, spiders!, transport etc.

However, I feel there is one fear that covers everything that is our Worst fear and that is "the fear of feeling fear" because it's this fear that prevents us from attempting to face the things that scare us.

When I say "feeling fear", I mean all the symptoms you feel when you're in a situation that frightens you such as palpitations etc but in actual fact, what are the symptoms of a panic attack and why do they occur?....because a panic attack is really a symptom of fear so when we say we fear suffering a panic attack, we're actually saying we're afraid of being in a situation that will produce a panic attack (of feeling fear).

Therefore, the situation itself is nothing to fear but we then associate it with "feeling fear" which then prevents us from going back into that situation where we first felt "fear".

I was then thinking that supposing someone has a fear of lifts. Well, firstly, I feel that maybe they suffered a panic attack IN a lift which then resulted in them feeling afraid of going back into a lift because they have become afraid of "feeling the fear" they felt the first time.

Ok, so what if they confronted the lift and stepped in? Good a! What then if the lift got stuck?????? What would happen to this poor person who would be hyperventilating like crazy because there was no escape? What if they were stuck there for hours on end? Imagine how terrified they would feel! But what would Actually happen to them other than feeling "terrible"?.....Nothing!

But what do we do when the "feelings of fear" arise? We run to safety so never discover that nothing will happen to us and nor do we build confidence for the next time so we end up staying safe in our shells because we have become too afraid of our Worst fear- "feeling fear".:hugs:

I've had a later thought....could the fear of dying be greater than our fear of feeling fear but then I thought, it's often feeling fear that creates the fear of dying because the anxious feelings feel so frightening. I also thought that maybe we have a fear of living because to live means facing feeling fear every day!

I've always found that when something really worries me, not to dwell on it and find something I enjoy doing that takes my mind off feeling fear.

[pw2837]

I also think it can be hard to get better because we can feel safe with known fears and therefore getting better is scary!
Pat

[KK77]

Perhaps we find security in our fears as pw2837 says. After all, taking your mind off something that really worries you by doing something else doesn't end the fear - it just suppresses it - and it returns at another time.

Suppose you stayed with your fear and didn't try and take your mind off it? Maybe then facing your fear, you could see it for what it really is.

[Meewah]

Hi Bill

Fear of fear cycle. That's what my shrink warned me of. He said fear of fear is very hard to deal with as fear can arise in many different situations. I have analysed this fear fear, when I get fear I think I am not worried about the situation at all I am worried that I cannot cope. For instance when my family becomes ill I feel myself getting worked up and spending more time trying to calm myself which in turn gives me more time to ruminate. I then go over the situation in my head over and over analysing every eventuality. I then start to panic and I cannot think at all my brain goes in to meltdown and I become a total mess.

With regards to death. I read that we are the only living animal that can feel there own mortality. I myself do not fear being dead but just the dying process, the upset it would cause for others. If I could die very quickly I would not be worried. I consider myself as a very weak person and would not know how to handle becoming dependant or disabled. I am scared that I might be hell to live with as my life was changed. I find huge inspiration in watching disabled people take command of there lives. I just feel I would give in.

Mee