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Showing posts from October, 2017

Fear and the Self

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Fear can be our friend ­– alerting us to potential threats to our wellbeing and safety. It orients us to information around us or within and prepares us to respond.  However, fear can also become a habitual and largely unconscious and therefore unquestioned, learnt response to certain stimuli. Each time we encounter a particular person or situation which reminds our brain of an earlier experience, we respond with fear and/or anxiety. We may be left wondering why we often feel tense, tired or stressed. Fear creates a contraction throughout our whole system – a tightening into our centre away from the source of concern. Our breath is held tight and its flow restricted and we may find ourselves living in a heightened state of tension much of the time. In this state our muscular system becomes less elastic and less available to move in a way that supports us with ease and efficiency. Years ago in a state of chronic pain, great anxiety and fear – I too found myself feeling small, contr