As childen, and tadpoles, we all had a fear of something. Maybe it was the creature who lived in your closet. For many, it's the monster under their bed. When I was young, I was afraid of the giant frog who would come at night and and devour unsuspecting tadpoles while they slept. It took my parents forever, every night, to get me to sleep.
As we get older, these fears usually diminish. They fade away and become a part of our youthful past. But what happens if these childhood fears morph into other fears when we grow up? What then? We can't call mom or dad to come and sit with us until we fall alseep. And leaving the nightlight on doesn't help. So, how do adults cope with fear?
If the fear is a rational one, the obvious thing to do is to remove oneself from the danger, if possible. Percieved threats against us, or all those ugly "what ifs" we tend to dwell on, those aren't so easy to fix.
The field of psychology has made tremendous strides in the field of trauma and other fear-based issues. In addition to those, we also have to have faith; faith in our support system..no matter how big or small it might be, faith in something greater than us...whatever you may chose to call it, faith in the future...knowing that tomorrow, no matter what, the sun will rise and, most importantly, faith in ourselves to be able to overcome our adult "monsters under the bed." Faith, in all of its forms, can be difficult to maintain when you are fearful. But that is when we need it most.
Fear can stop us in our tracks. It prevents us from living a whole, joyous, and fulfilled life. Fear is the only thing we really need to fear. Facing those fears, head on, and understanding why we have them, is a key step in healing; of ridding our private world of those forces that can, and will, destroy us if they're not dealt with. And, like most things, they don't get better with time or age.
Fear is crippling, for both children and for many adults. Now is the perfect opportunity to say, and really believe, "I can do this. I can catch and destroy my adult monsters." When I'm afraid of anything, I like to give the creature a face and shape...kind of like the movie, "Monsters, Inc", but scarier-looking. I mentally chase that monster in a huge cage and slam the door shut. Then I call animal control to come and haul it off.
This might be a simplistic way to deal with complex fears, but we must do whatever we can to contain the beast. And having faith that that the right person(s), or the right frog(s), will come along at the perfect time, to help us face our deepest fears is a very important element in it's eventual demise. Animal control is almost here...so keep that faith alive. Help is on the way.
As we get older, these fears usually diminish. They fade away and become a part of our youthful past. But what happens if these childhood fears morph into other fears when we grow up? What then? We can't call mom or dad to come and sit with us until we fall alseep. And leaving the nightlight on doesn't help. So, how do adults cope with fear?
If the fear is a rational one, the obvious thing to do is to remove oneself from the danger, if possible. Percieved threats against us, or all those ugly "what ifs" we tend to dwell on, those aren't so easy to fix.
The field of psychology has made tremendous strides in the field of trauma and other fear-based issues. In addition to those, we also have to have faith; faith in our support system..no matter how big or small it might be, faith in something greater than us...whatever you may chose to call it, faith in the future...knowing that tomorrow, no matter what, the sun will rise and, most importantly, faith in ourselves to be able to overcome our adult "monsters under the bed." Faith, in all of its forms, can be difficult to maintain when you are fearful. But that is when we need it most.
Fear can stop us in our tracks. It prevents us from living a whole, joyous, and fulfilled life. Fear is the only thing we really need to fear. Facing those fears, head on, and understanding why we have them, is a key step in healing; of ridding our private world of those forces that can, and will, destroy us if they're not dealt with. And, like most things, they don't get better with time or age.
Fear is crippling, for both children and for many adults. Now is the perfect opportunity to say, and really believe, "I can do this. I can catch and destroy my adult monsters." When I'm afraid of anything, I like to give the creature a face and shape...kind of like the movie, "Monsters, Inc", but scarier-looking. I mentally chase that monster in a huge cage and slam the door shut. Then I call animal control to come and haul it off.
This might be a simplistic way to deal with complex fears, but we must do whatever we can to contain the beast. And having faith that that the right person(s), or the right frog(s), will come along at the perfect time, to help us face our deepest fears is a very important element in it's eventual demise. Animal control is almost here...so keep that faith alive. Help is on the way.
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