I was talking with a client yesterday about fear—and I’ll be having the same conversation today with myself, btw. She said she was afraid and I asked her, “Of what exactly?” Facing fear head on, as we have discussed in the past, is a really important part to overcoming it because the emotions of fear and the feelings of fear are two different things. 

Emotions come first. They are an immediate physiological response to perceived stimulus, after which a series of chemicals are released throughout the body that last about six seconds. Feelings are the physical & mental sensations that arise as we internalize these emotions. They are how we begin to make meaning of emotions; they cause us to pay attention and react to the perceived threats or opportunities and knowing this changes everything.

Step #1 is to name the emotion, in this case it was fear. This simple step provides an essential bridge between the emotional and the cognitive parts of our brains and allows us to begin to take control of our subsequent feelings. We can allow our feelings to run rampant and intensify or we can choose to de-escalate the situation as we tap into our cognitive ability. Emotions are a chemical reaction that we don’t have control over, but feelings, we do have the ability to control. We just need that first 6 seconds to pass and then it’s game-on!

Let’s GO! WE GOT THIS!
Beth