Ever felt your hairs stand on end, when you hear a bump in the night? What would you do if there were an intruder, would you stay and fight or would you run? This is hopefully a hypothetical scenario, but you can no doubt imagine, your heart starting to race, your breath becoming shallow, your eyes wide open and sensations pulsing through your body awaiting the next signal. The release of adrenaline heightens the body’s readiness to flee or fight. Fear or heightened stress prompts a complete emotional, physical and chemical response.
Fundamental fears such a basic survival, warmth and being eaten by an animal have been minimised and now replaced by running for the bus, meeting that deadline or getting the kids to school on time. Extended or repeated stress and fear places strain on the body resulting in high blood pressure, heart disease and anxiety. You need to learn how to manage your fears and stressors. The first level of defence is subconscious evidenced by pulling your head back, changes in breath etc. Secondly, your conscious mind comes into play, where you are able to influence and potentially choose your response. Emotional and physical response can be retrained and relearned. Maybe you don’t have to be scared of speaking to that crowd after all.
In closing, don’t forget that a little fear is actually a good thing, the stressful situations challenge your brain to create new options and pathways for processing and the chemical release actually aids to create new memories and improve your mood. Be honest, a little excited buzz is great once in a while!
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