Befriending Fear

I've had an intimate relationship to fear for as long as I can remember. Growing up, I was a sensitive, shy child. Strangers frightened me as did boys on the playground! During my first few weeks of school, I clung to my father's leg because I was too afraid to join the other kids. 

 As I grew older, fear continued to overtake me. Anxious thoughts crowded my mind as my system became wired to sense what could go wrong. This fear manifested within my body through chronic symptoms like pain, fatigue, and insomnia.

As my symptoms progressed, I became hooked by a vicious cycle of panic and pain. At times even the simplest of acts like attending a friend's birthday party or driving to the store brought forth terror inside me. 

This experience is not unique to me as I hear similar stories from clients who are also navigating chronic symptoms and hyper-vigilant nervous systems. Yet there is a way through. Rather than fighting our fear, we can learn to befriend it with a loving heart. We can open a seat at the table and listen to the message that lives within the one who is afraid, understanding its true nature and purpose. 

As the poet, Rainer Maria Rilke, says, "Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love."

 I invite you to give yourself the gift of turning towards what wants your love through this free practice on Insight Timer.