When Fear Blocks Us

Fear is a universal and adaptive emotion, which has kept us alert to dangers during evolution and exists in all cultures.

Have you ever felt like you want to do something, but it’s like you can’t move forward, you feel like a block?

It is likely that you experience thoughts about the dangers that may occur, fear of not showing the desired image, of looking bad, of others judging you… that is, any anticipatory thought about the consequences of your actions blocks you, makes you feel afraid.

Fear is a universal and adaptive emotion, it exists in all cultures. Not feeling that fear would make us reckless, we would take unnecessary risks and could even be harmful to our health, fear is a survival instinct.

Fear warns us of danger and makes us be cautious, assess risks, take into account threats or what could harm us. Fear is like a guardian angel, an internal voice that tells us “be careful…it seems dangerous.”

The maladaptive function of fear comes when instead of preventing us it suffocates us. An example:

“If we want to learn to ski, it is very likely that we will feel the fear of falling, in fact it is likely to happen…fear makes us proactive because we will put on the necessary protection, we will go slowly at first, we will learn to place our feet to stop… but If fear is overprotective, we won’t even put on skis because what if I fall and get hurt?…what if I make a fool of myself and they laugh at me?…that’s when fear is no longer adaptive because There is an internal voice that is constantly shouting: Be careful! It sees threats everywhere, distrusts everything and barely lets us move.

Overprotective fear:

• See only the dangers, and not the long-term benefits.
• It always advises you to flee and avoid, instead of approaching with caution.
• Overreacts (panic symptoms to something that is not a major threat)

Why does fear become overprotective?

– Learned in our environment due to the influence of important figures in our education who have those same fears

– Experience of some trauma or unpleasant situation that has “sensitized” us (feeding that fear with negative thoughts)

If you detect that your fear is overprotective and that for some time now it makes it impossible for you to carry out your daily tasks, do not hesitate to ask for help. Sometimes fear paralyzes us so much that we remain “frozen.” Remember that fear is an adaptive mechanism that has helped us throughout evolution to protect ourselves, but when it stops being adaptive our job is to listen to fear, pay attention to what, how, when and where and negotiate with it. , looking for a balance.

Don’t be afraid of fear!