There is no single strategy for working through fear that will take you from start to finish. Even the most helpful strategy can be misapplied, mistimed, or overplayed. In fact. many of our roadblocks are either created or bolstered by overusing or overplaying a great and effective strategy.
It is helpful to think of the work of facing fear in phases: Preparation, Application and Approach, and Patient Persistence.
Preparation – Preparation is a lot like working out or practicing basic skills. It involves learning strategies to better regulate your nervous system and grow your ability to lower your overall emotional activation. In order to grow your mental fitness, it is extremely important to practice these skills and techniques away any from intensely triggering stimuli.
Approach and Application – Well armed with your practiced skills and strategies and increased mental fitness. It is now time to approach your fear and apply your tools and techniques. It is not enough to simply think about pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. It important to know both how far out over the line to push yourself and, how long to stay there. This will change from person to person. Ignoring these considerations will, at best, slow your progress and, more likely, make things worse.
Patient Persistence – After careful preparation and success applying your tools to better regulate your nervous system in fear inducing situations, it is now time to leverage your nervous systems capacity for habituation. In other words, ride your pants off. Timing is everything in this phase. If you push too hard before you have confidence in your ability to regulate yourself, you will likely find yourself retraumatized. If you don’t push hard enough, your nervous system will not habituate to the challenging situation or activity.
Next time you are tackling a fear or emotionally challenging situation, ask yourself if you have considered these phases of fear eradication. Honor each phase, even if you don’t rigidly work through the process step by step. You will thank yourself in the end. ~ Paul
There is no single strategy for working through fear that will take you from start to finish. Even the most helpful strategy can be misapplied, mistimed, or overplayed. In fact. many of our roadblocks are either created or bolstered by overusing or overplaying a great and effective strategy.
It is helpful to think of the work of facing fear in phases: Preparation, Application and Approach, and Patient Persistence.
Preparation – Preparation is a lot like working out or practicing basic skills. It involves learning strategies to better regulate your nervous system and grow your ability to lower your overall emotional activation. In order to grow your mental fitness, it is extremely important to practice these skills and techniques away any from intensely triggering stimuli.
Approach and Application – Well armed with your practiced skills and strategies and increased mental fitness. It is now time to approach your fear and apply your tools and techniques. It is not enough to simply think about pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. It important to know both how far out over the line to push yourself and, how long to stay there. This will change from person to person. Ignoring these considerations will, at best, slow your progress and, more likely, make things worse.
Patient Persistence – After careful preparation and success applying your tools to better regulate your nervous system in fear inducing situations, it is now time to leverage your nervous systems capacity for habituation. In other words, ride your pants off. Timing is everything in this phase. If you push too hard before you have confidence in your ability to regulate yourself, you will likely find yourself retraumatized. If you don’t push hard enough, your nervous system will not habituate to the challenging situation or activity.
Next time you are tackling a fear or emotionally challenging situation, ask yourself if you have considered these phases of fear eradication. Honor each phase, even if you don’t rigidly work through the process step by step. You will thank yourself in the end. ~ Paul
