Comments on: My Big, Irrational Fear… http://www.agileliving.net/2009/02/my-big-irrational-fear/ Thriving through change, at work and beyond Mon, 07 Nov 2011 15:36:58 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Timothy R. Laurence http://www.agileliving.net/2009/02/my-big-irrational-fear/#comment-46 Timothy R. Laurence Sun, 23 May 2010 01:46:44 +0000 http://www.agileliving.net/?p=773#comment-46 I take note that it's been a year since the last comment was made about Ms. Duncan's video tape regarding the sensation of fear. The fact that Catherine can actually conjure up the physical symptoms of fear - as demonstrated - make me wonder whether fear is an intellectualized habit with Cathy,or a genuine emotional problem in her life. Fear is, as anyone knows one of the primal instincts. On a PET Scan of the brain, you'd observe an enormous amount of activity - and without getting into a whole host of medical terminology, you can connect the sensation of fear to areas of the brain which control involuntary, semi-voluntary and voluntary actions. For instance, the most basic of all involuntary actions of the brain is shared with just about all living creatures and that is self-preservation. Yet in higher forms of life such as mammals, the trigger mechanism for self-preservation is connected to memory function, and in the human to the frontal lobes. So it is a complex mental function that no one really understands. Too much of the brain becomes active to know exactly where the sensation of fear begins. A person, for instance, can develop a fear of spiders by the simple explanation of having been taught, either by observation or by literally being told that one should fear spiders. We have no natural involuntary trigger mechanism that makes such a fear an automatic response. It's the frontal lobes (intellect) and memory functions that kick in and make us terrified of spiders. If we lived in a society where spiders were considered pets, we would have no such fear. The fact that Cathy could intellectualize fear and literally make herself frightened suggests that she has a very strongly developed, intellectual sense of fear. You can teach yourself to be un-frightened just as easily as you can teach yourself to be frightened. Taken to an extreme, one can develop a phobic dysfunction or neurosis, whereby fear begins to literally dig neurological pathways in the brain that will make a person scared of their own shadow. I noticed that quite a few of the responses centered around fear of various rides at a Fair. I don't think that was Cathy's point. I also think Cathy attaches fear with morality...that somehow it's a moral weakness to exhibit or feel fear. I have a feeling Cathy came from a family which did not successfully convey a sense of security for her as she was growing up. Phobia is very often present in individuals who suffer from depression and low self-esteem. Yet if you watch Cathy's body language and eye contact, she certainly doesn't strike me as being all that phobic. She even proves this through the adage "the media is the message". I doubt a real phobic would produce a video short if fear was crippling them. So I have a hunch that Cathy's major problem centers around a sense of societal morals. Fear means you are weak. And it's not all that surprising that given the Western World's current preoccupation with fear and "Hero's a la George W. Bush" who has implanted our society with a sense of fear that you consider fear a weakness. Cathy, (but the look of her age) grew up in the time of the attack on the World Trade Center, and the Bush administration's manipulation of that event to strengthen Bush's political position. Anyone who volunteered to fight in Iran and managed to have his head blown off became the stereotype of George Bush's architypical "hero". Anything else, and you should hang your head in shame. So Cathy strikes me as a young lady, who likely grew up in a family that failed to make her feel safe, and in an era where feeling fearful was a major theme of America's Bellum Americana message to the West. Who can forget George W's famous remark: Either you're with us, (on the war in Iran) or you are against America. Fortunately, this did not cause the Canadian Government to immediately raise the American Flag over Canada. But in the U.K. where Cathy lives, then P.M. Tony Blair just couldn't restrain himself from photo-opportunities standing beside George W at the White House. As far as I'm concerned, what is happening in the Middle East would make me suggest to Cathy: "BE SCARED. BE VERY, VERY SCARED". So I would suggest to Cathy that she is mistaking Fear for some kind of moral character flaw. Lot's of stuff scares me: Fundamentalist Religion of any kind scares me to death. Ignoring the Global Warming Crisis makes me scared to death. Iran developing a nuclear weapon really, really scares me to death. So Cathy, if you're feeling fearful, try to realize that Fear is not as unhealthy or as immoral as I think you have made it. Considering that in a recent survey done by the Mayo Clinic, the greatest fear experienced by most is Public Speaking...you don't appear to have the least bit of trouble standing in front of a world audience and telling us you're scared. Deep down, who isn't? It was Eleanor Roosevelt who remarked during the Second World War that she had discovered that facing the terror of Hitler's Germany, and the War in the Pacific had taught her that fear was a tremendous teacher, and in the end, facing what you could not imagine you'd survive only makes you stronger. There's healthy fear and there's unnecessary fear. I think if you take a slightly broader viewpoint, you will quickly come to realize what is worth being scared of, and what is just unnecessary, self-inflicted pain. Get those priorities in order and you'll do just fine. I'd suggest a career in TV journalism. You're attractive, young and bright...and as I said, you seem to have no problem with the Number One Fear in the West - speaking out to millions of people. Oh, there's just one other thing I think you should be scared of: "Self-help Books". In the end the only person being helped is the author. No single person's philosophy about anything is going to work for everyone. I'd be willing to bet that the most bought, and least read books in the world are the ones claiming they have found the Holy Grail. If you really want to learn about human nature, try reading Biographies and Auto-Biographies, History and some of the great novelists of the 19th and 20th century. Even a good Anthology of Poetry. If you want to know about human nature, there is where you'll find it. In the end it is knowledge that will make you free. Not Tony Robbins Incorporated. I take note that it’s been a year since the last comment was made about Ms. Duncan’s video tape regarding the sensation of fear. The fact that Catherine can actually conjure up the physical symptoms of fear – as demonstrated – make me wonder whether fear is an intellectualized habit with Cathy,or a genuine emotional problem in her life. Fear is, as anyone knows one of the primal instincts. On a PET Scan of the brain, you’d observe an enormous amount of activity – and without getting into a whole host of medical terminology, you can connect the sensation of fear to areas of the brain which control involuntary, semi-voluntary and voluntary actions. For instance, the most basic of all involuntary actions of the brain is shared with just about all living creatures and that is self-preservation. Yet in higher forms of life such as mammals, the trigger mechanism for self-preservation is connected to memory function, and in the human to the frontal lobes. So it is a complex mental function that no one really understands. Too much of the brain becomes active to know exactly where the sensation of fear begins. A person, for instance, can develop a fear of spiders by the simple explanation of having been taught, either by observation or by literally being told that one should fear spiders. We have no natural involuntary trigger mechanism that makes such a fear an automatic response. It’s the frontal lobes (intellect) and memory functions that kick in and make us terrified of spiders. If we lived in a society where spiders were considered pets, we would have no such fear. The fact that Cathy could intellectualize fear and literally make herself frightened suggests that she has a very strongly developed, intellectual sense of fear. You can teach yourself to be un-frightened just as easily as you can teach yourself to be frightened. Taken to an extreme, one can develop a phobic dysfunction or neurosis, whereby fear begins to literally dig neurological pathways in the brain that will make a person scared of their own shadow. I noticed that quite a few of the responses centered around fear of various rides at a Fair. I don’t think that was Cathy’s point. I also think Cathy attaches fear with morality…that somehow it’s a moral weakness to exhibit or feel fear. I have a feeling Cathy came from a family which did not successfully convey a sense of security for her as she was growing up. Phobia is very often present in individuals who suffer from depression and low self-esteem. Yet if you watch Cathy’s body language and eye contact, she certainly doesn’t strike me as being all that phobic. She even proves this through the adage “the media is the message”. I doubt a real phobic would produce a video short if fear was crippling them. So I have a hunch that Cathy’s major problem centers around a sense of societal morals. Fear means you are weak. And it’s not all that surprising that given the Western World’s current preoccupation with fear and “Hero’s a la George W. Bush” who has implanted our society with a sense of fear that you consider fear a weakness. Cathy, (but the look of her age) grew up in the time of the attack on the World Trade Center, and the Bush administration’s manipulation of that event to strengthen Bush’s political position. Anyone who volunteered to fight in Iran and managed to have his head blown off became the stereotype of George Bush’s architypical “hero”. Anything else, and you should hang your head in shame. So Cathy strikes me as a young lady, who likely grew up in a family that failed to make her feel safe, and in an era where feeling fearful was a major theme of America’s Bellum Americana message to the West. Who can forget George W’s famous remark: Either you’re with us, (on the war in Iran) or you are against America. Fortunately, this did not cause the Canadian Government to immediately raise the American Flag over Canada. But in the U.K. where Cathy lives, then P.M. Tony Blair just couldn’t restrain himself from photo-opportunities standing beside George W at the White House. As far as I’m concerned, what is happening in the Middle East would make me suggest to Cathy: “BE SCARED. BE VERY, VERY SCARED”. So I would suggest to Cathy that she is mistaking Fear for some kind of moral character flaw. Lot’s of stuff scares me: Fundamentalist Religion of any kind scares me to death. Ignoring the Global Warming Crisis makes me scared to death. Iran developing a nuclear weapon really, really scares me to death. So Cathy, if you’re feeling fearful, try to realize that Fear is not as unhealthy or as immoral as I think you have made it. Considering that in a recent survey done by the Mayo Clinic, the greatest fear experienced by most is Public Speaking…you don’t appear to have the least bit of trouble standing in front of a world audience and telling us you’re scared. Deep down, who isn’t? It was Eleanor Roosevelt who remarked during the Second World War that she had discovered that facing the terror of Hitler’s Germany, and the War in the Pacific had taught her that fear was a tremendous teacher, and in the end, facing what you could not imagine you’d survive only makes you stronger. There’s healthy fear and there’s unnecessary fear. I think if you take a slightly broader viewpoint, you will quickly come to realize what is worth being scared of, and what is just unnecessary, self-inflicted pain. Get those priorities in order and you’ll do just fine. I’d suggest a career in TV journalism. You’re attractive, young and bright…and as I said, you seem to have no problem with the Number One Fear in the West – speaking out to millions of people. Oh, there’s just one other thing I think you should be scared of: “Self-help Books”. In the end the only person being helped is the author. No single person’s philosophy about anything is going to work for everyone. I’d be willing to bet that the most bought, and least read books in the world are the ones claiming they have found the Holy Grail. If you really want to learn about human nature, try reading Biographies and Auto-Biographies, History and some of the great novelists of the 19th and 20th century. Even a good Anthology of Poetry. If you want to know about human nature, there is where you’ll find it. In the end it is knowledge that will make you free. Not Tony Robbins Incorporated.

]]> By: Col @ life by muse http://www.agileliving.net/2009/02/my-big-irrational-fear/#comment-45 Col @ life by muse Sun, 26 Apr 2009 05:36:43 +0000 http://www.agileliving.net/?p=773#comment-45 Hi Cath! I had the very same fear after an experience just like yours on this big rollercoaster that went forwards then back ... omg, I hated it! That was the year before college. I never went on one again. Just last year my ex boyfriend took me to Disney and I was like, "I really don't think I like rollercoasters" but I decided to go on just one with him and DO YOU KNOW WHAT??? I LOVED it! Is that crazy or what? I have no idea where that came from but I am now DYING to go back, how weird and unexpected. It was so much fun Cath. I hope yours is the same. Love, Col <abbr><em>Col @ life by muse’s last blog post..<a href="http://www.gigablonde.com/blog/archives/894" rel="nofollow">LOA 101-and-then-some: Your vibrational escrow</a></abbr></em> Hi Cath! I had the very same fear after an experience just like yours on this big rollercoaster that went forwards then back … omg, I hated it! That was the year before college. I never went on one again. Just last year my ex boyfriend took me to Disney and I was like, “I really don’t think I like rollercoasters” but I decided to go on just one with him and DO YOU KNOW WHAT??? I LOVED it! Is that crazy or what? I have no idea where that came from but I am now DYING to go back, how weird and unexpected. It was so much fun Cath. I hope yours is the same.

Love,
Col

Col @ life by muse’s last blog post..LOA 101-and-then-some: Your vibrational escrow

]]> By: Follow-up on my big, irrational fear « Mine Your Resources http://www.agileliving.net/2009/02/my-big-irrational-fear/#comment-44 Follow-up on my big, irrational fear « Mine Your Resources Mon, 16 Mar 2009 16:37:57 +0000 http://www.agileliving.net/?p=773#comment-44 [...] park junkie, but you can see a clear shift in my experience of the ride when you compare it to this video. I was able to clear myself of the intense stress and fear response I was getting when I imagined [...] [...] park junkie, but you can see a clear shift in my experience of the ride when you compare it to this video. I was able to clear myself of the intense stress and fear response I was getting when I imagined [...]

]]> By: Cath http://www.agileliving.net/2009/02/my-big-irrational-fear/#comment-43 Cath Tue, 03 Mar 2009 21:21:06 +0000 http://www.agileliving.net/?p=773#comment-43 @Pam: whenever you're moving into new and unfamiliar territory, fear will be triggered. Fear's job is to make us more alert when we're in situations that are new or potentially dangerous. So take your fear as an affirmation that you're entering new territory and growing... and do it anyway! @Pam: whenever you’re moving into new and unfamiliar territory, fear will be triggered. Fear’s job is to make us more alert when we’re in situations that are new or potentially dangerous. So take your fear as an affirmation that you’re entering new territory and growing… and do it anyway!

]]> By: Pam Stewart http://www.agileliving.net/2009/02/my-big-irrational-fear/#comment-42 Pam Stewart Tue, 03 Mar 2009 13:28:27 +0000 http://www.agileliving.net/?p=773#comment-42 I read the Susan Jeffers book a few years back & was so challenged by it...have had fears of making changes, making big decisions & taking risks...and I've been able to step out & overcome! Still takes work...and sometimes I feel like I'm feeling overwhelmed again...but then get to practice feeling the fear & doing it anyway! I read the Susan Jeffers book a few years back & was so challenged by it…have had fears of making changes, making big decisions & taking risks…and I’ve been able to step out & overcome! Still takes work…and sometimes I feel like I’m feeling overwhelmed again…but then get to practice feeling the fear & doing it anyway!

]]> By: Cath http://www.agileliving.net/2009/02/my-big-irrational-fear/#comment-41 Cath Sun, 01 Mar 2009 22:57:20 +0000 http://www.agileliving.net/?p=773#comment-41 Thanks for the support, guys. @Heather: you mean Byron Katie's "the work"? Thanks for the support, guys.

@Heather: you mean Byron Katie’s “the work”?

]]> By: Heather http://www.agileliving.net/2009/02/my-big-irrational-fear/#comment-40 Heather Sun, 01 Mar 2009 22:32:53 +0000 http://www.agileliving.net/?p=773#comment-40 Oh, Cath, I feel your fear! I, too, was terrified of rides. I'd go on them and have a miserable time, so I quit going on them at all. Then I was miserable and gripped with fear, watching everyone else have a blast! It sucked. I did some "work" on it, without even knowing the work and now I LOVE them. but I still avoid Ferris Wheels. Oh, Cath, I feel your fear! I, too, was terrified of rides. I’d go on them and have a miserable time, so I quit going on them at all. Then I was miserable and gripped with fear, watching everyone else have a blast! It sucked. I did some “work” on it, without even knowing the work and now I LOVE them. but I still avoid Ferris Wheels.

]]> By: Tracey http://www.agileliving.net/2009/02/my-big-irrational-fear/#comment-39 Tracey Sun, 01 Mar 2009 09:27:32 +0000 http://www.agileliving.net/?p=773#comment-39 Wow Cath, thank you for sharing this with all of us!! I understand perfectly well. I still have a fear that i need to work through. This is the type of palpitation/sweaty palm and tight chest feeling that you cannot paint and push it aside. I wish you well and you, I know, will overcome this. Best wishes- luv T Wow Cath, thank you for sharing this with all of us!! I understand perfectly well. I still have a fear that i need to work through. This is the type of palpitation/sweaty palm and tight chest feeling that you cannot paint and push it aside.

I wish you well and you, I know, will overcome this.

Best wishes- luv T

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