The two best ways to manage fear

So that fear does not interfere with effective action, you should learn to manage it. There are two fundamentally different ways to do this.

WHAT IS "FEAR"?

If we want to learn how to manage something, we must understand the nature of this phenomenon. Because "what is knowable is controllable."

Fear is an emotional “I can't do it” response. What do you need to know about emotions?

1. Any emotional reaction is automatic, that is, it can be triggered without the participation of consciousness. This makes the emotional response a way of automatically correcting behavior . In other words, you don't have to choose whether to feel fear or not, your unconscious decides.

2. Any emotional reaction is a reaction, that is, the relationship of the subject to the object. By deliberately changing attitudes, a person can influence emotional responses. In other words, by being aware of fear, you can manage it.

3. Any emotional reaction has its physiological manifestation in the form of a hormonal response of the body. In the case of fear, this is, first of all, the action of adrenaline and cortisol, the amount of which determines the strength of the fear experienced. In other words, “fear of fear is different,” and your ability to manage fear depends not only on your will, but also on the strength of the emotion you are experiencing.

4. Any emotional reaction can be controlled in two ways: by transferring psychic energy into an alternative channel or by reducing the strength of the stimulus that triggers the emotion. In other words, we can transform fear into another emotion, or we can simply weaken the emotional response itself.

5. The stimulus triggering an emotion can be both objective and subjective, because our unconscious (of which the limbic system "producing" emotions is a part) does not distinguish between real and imaginary objects. In other words, to be afraid, we do not need to have a real source of threat nearby, it is enough to have it in our memory. On the other hand, to act confidently, you do not need to have a chance of salvation, it is enough to convince yourself that "everything will be fine."

When we are confronted with something that we perceive as a problem, assessing the situation "I will not cope", there is an emotion of fear, prompting us to retreat (run away or hide). With an insignificant physiological response, we simply feel anxiety ("I will most likely be able to cope, but there is a small chance that I will not succeed"), with a significant one - panic, up to fainting ("this is impossible to overcome in principle").

Let's look at two groups of ways to manage emotional responses using the example of fear.

HOW CAN YOU REDUCE YOUR FEAR?

To reduce the intensity of the fear experienced, you need to gain experience of interacting with the stimulus that causes fear. That is, "if you want to overcome the fear of the abyss, stand on its edge."

One of my acquaintances talked about methods of mental preparation in one informal association. At a high-rise construction site, they hung out from the balcony face down, holding themselves by the handrails with their hands. Gradually rising from the second floor to the twelfth floor, thus developing stress resistance.

ATTENTION! SUCH TRICKS ARE EXTREMELY LIFE-THREATENING AND ANYONE WHO TRIES TO REPEAT THEM IS CERTAINLY A MORON.

This method is known in the psychology of extreme situations as the "safe risk" method. It is good because the training takes place practically without conscious effort: if a crawling soldier is fired over his head with a machine gun, then soon he will not care, regardless of what he thinks about it.

However, this approach has its drawbacks. In this case, we reduce our emotional response to a single stimulus. That is, if a fighter has tempered his psyche in hand-to-hand combat, this does not mean that he has overcome his fear of heights. Of course, the experience of overcoming fear of one thing makes it easier to cope with fear of something else, but in the general case, this method remains narrowly specialized: if you want to stop being afraid of cockroaches - eat cockroaches, if you want to stop being afraid of an opponent - look for rival, etc.

HOW TO TRANSLATE THE ENERGY OF FEAR INTO THE ENERGY OF ANOTHER EMOTION?

Is it possible? Yes. The explanation is given by the two-factor theory of emotions.

A typical example of emotional transformation is the translation of the energy of fear into the energy of aggression. This example is typical, because it is the most natural, since it is provided by nature itself: any living being tends to react aggressively to a frightening stimulus. In response to fear, aggression occurs when:

1. Nowhere to run.

2. I can run away, but I have a chance to win.

Note that the chances of winning can be very slim, but if you focus on them, they will help you translate the energy of fear into the energy of aggression. This is because the unconscious "understands" that you are not going to run, and "reads" the situation as "nowhere to run." Then, after adrenaline, there is a release of norepinephrine - the hormone of rage, and ... Voila! You are ready for battle. An example from life.

My three year old son was attacked by a sheep. She butted, dropped and went about her sheep "business". He has fear, tears, snot. In the tone of a born sergeant, I convinced him to pick up a stick and go to a meeting with a sheep. He, crying and obviously overcoming his fear, went up to the sheep. She, of course, immediately tried to butt him. But he, screaming loudly, slammed it on the head with a stick. The sheep retired, and the son was happy with his first victory.

ATTENTION! ANY ATTEMPTS TO "MENTALLY HARDEN" YOUR CHILDREN IN THE ABSENCE OF A SPECIALIZED EDUCATION AND A DEFICIENCY OF BRAIN MATTER CAN CAUSE IRREPARABLE DAMAGE TO THE CHILD'S PSYCHE WITHOUT THE RIGHT TO REHABILITATION.

In this case, we are not talking about weakening the strength of the stimulus that causes fear. It's about emotional transformation . And in this case, the rage will be experienced as much as the fear was experienced.

For the sake of fairness, I note that fear can be translated into a feeling of joy. This is how it happens during the practice of extreme sports . And this mechanism also has its own physiological basis: the release of endorphins under severe stress. However, the essence remains the same: the strength of emotions does not change, their quality changes. And quality management, as stated in the video, relies on perception management.

SUMMARY

I think that from all of the above, two important conclusions can be drawn:

1. You shouldn't run away from difficulties, no matter how they manifest themselves. The more experience of interaction with them, the less their power over us.

2. Look for pluses in any situation, they will allow you to change the attitude towards the situation itself and transform the energy of fear into something more constructive.