“Addicted to fear? Who, me?”
That may be what you are thinking. After all, who wants to believe that they are addicted to something like fear? Well, it can and does happen. It can be very misleading and although most people today do not realize it, they have this addiction.
When you are subjected to something that causes you to respond in fear to some degree, your body responds by increasing the production of adrenaline. Normally, the fear would dissipate in a short time and adrenaline production would resume at normal levels. However, when you live in constant fear (such as stress, anxiety, anger, tension, dread), your adrenaline production remains high. After a while, this becomes the norm for your body and causes a behavior known as addiction.
Now this is the question. Your body has a safety feature called “stasis.” What this means is that whatever level your organs operate at most of the time is considered standard for your body’s innate intelligence. So if you are operating on a high level of adrenaline most of the time, your body thinks that is normal and you are happy to be stressed all the time. But if you have a change in your life and your adrenaline production drops, your body will send your brain a stimulus to create something that increases adrenaline to a level your body is comfortable with. (You can read more about this in Joe Dispenza’s book, Develop your brain.) This is when you find yourself addicted to stimuli that increase your fear and stress.
How do you know if you are addicted to fear? If you answer “yes” to any or all of these questions, you are probably addicted. You do:
1. Do you feel like you have to watch the television news at least once a day?
2. Do you choose action-adventure movies over romantic and comedy movies?
3. Do you work a stressful or hating job?
4. Do you live from paycheck to paycheck?
5. Do you have a stress-related illness, such as high blood pressure, chronic digestive disorders, or headaches?
6. Do you find yourself thinking and talking about drama and negative events most of the time?
7. Do you have friends who are mostly high maintenance, like drama queens and people in need?
So what do you do to stop your body from directing you to scary things to fuel your fear / adrenaline addiction? Here are some tips:
1. Withdrawal: STOP WATCHING TV NEWS! You do NOT need to know all the horrible things that are happening in the whole world. You can’t do anything about most of those scary things and that only adds to your fear and frustration. Also, stop listening to the news on the radio or reading the newspapers. These are the main sources of fear today. Ask yourself: when was the last time you saw a happy headline at the top of the front page of a newspaper or on the television news?
2. Substitution: Watch upbeat and funny movies on TV or DVD. Read comic books. Listen to relaxing music.
3. Rotary switch: Shift your inner thoughts and visions to the things you love or find beautiful, comforting, or relaxing.
4. Big box / Small box: This is a technique that has been extremely effective for me. Visualize what is causing you fear. Now visualize it shrinking, getting smaller and smaller until it disappears. Next, with your inner vision, see something that makes you feel comfortable, calm, relaxed. Make it bigger and bigger until it fills your vision.
5. Breathe: When you feel fear or any form of it, your breathing becomes shallow and sets in motion all the fear responses in your body. Consciously breathe in slowly and send the air deeply into your belly, filling your lungs from the bottom up. You should be able to see your stomach distend as you take this breath. If your shoulders rise when you breathe, you are breathing shallowly. Release your breath slowly. Repeat at least two more times. (Special note for women: wearing a bra prevents you from taking deep breaths, so you may have to work a bit more on it or remove your bra.)
6. Soak up toxins: Add Epsom salts to warm bath water to remove chemical toxins, such as the fear hormone cortisol, from your body. Add a few drops of essential oil like lavender to help you relax. Read an inspirational or humorous book or listen to soothing music while diving.
7. Get a hug: I know I know We are supposed to stay 6 ‘from everyone. But there has to be someone in your life who you feel safe hugging. We need the human touch to live.
8. Go outside: Get in touch with nature. Walk barefoot on the lawn of your garden or the sand of the beach. Touch a tree. Get your hands in the dirt. Turn your face towards the sun. If it’s raining, turn your face toward the rain. (It’s a delicious feeling!)
9. Practice some form of meditation: If you don’t know how, learn. You don’t have to take a class. CD and DVD are available. If sitting still isn’t your thing, try Qi Qong, which is a kind of moving meditation.
10. __________________. You know what you can do to relieve your fear and stress. Just do it.