Nurse Audrey's Stress Relief

Your Stress Relief Minute

Stress Relief – Do What You Fear!

Fear is a question. What are you afraid of and why?
Our fears are a treasure house of self-knowledge if we explore them.
Marilyn French, b. 1929, American novelist

We are born with only two kinds of fears, that of falling and that of loud noises. Where, therefore, does the fear of other things originate? We may be able to identify the origin of some of our fears, but many others may remain a mystery. If one or both of our parents were fearful people who worried excessively, we may have acquired that tendency as well. The emotion of fear may have begun with something negative experienced in childhood and then reinforced in adulthood; or we may have acquired a certain fear during our adult years. Experts believe, however, that by the time we are adolescents, most of our emotional habits are deeply engrained in us. We simply react when we are exposed to a certain fearful situation. Despite the origin of our fears, we need to review what we are fearful about and then evaluate what we must do to prepare ourselves for overcoming it.

A fear that has often dogged me throughout my life has been the fear of heights. I still remember climbing a ladder to help my dad fix the roof of a barn. As I climbed the ladder, I experienced an emotion that told me this was not the place for me. I somehow managed to climb down safely and vowed that I would never climb that high on a ladder again.

A few weeks ago, while holidaying at a beach resort, I had an opportunity of facing this fear. The challenge for me was to go parasailing. Many times in the past I had watched with envy as a brave person effortlessly maneuvered himself high above the water with the parachute billowing behind him, the spotter in the boat making sure he was safe. Today, I decided to overcome some of my fear of heights and take the plunge – or should I say take the flight. I paid the fare, got into the boat and was strapped into the harness. It wasn't long before I was sailing high in the sky, looking down at the deep blue water. From my vantage point, the boat below looked like a toy and the sunbathers like dots on the beach. I will not say that I wasn't afraid, but my mental preparation, made earlier, helped me relieve any trepidation.

As I have mentioned many times, our mind is like the rudder of a ship; it decides our emotions and bodily reactions. I put my mind to work in helping me deal positively with this particular fear. First, I told myself that those operating the boat were experienced individuals who had done this many times. Then to keep my mind positive, I sang this ditty from my childhood: “I'm the king of the castle and you’re the dirty rascal.” All in all the ten or so minutes of flying was a most rewarding experience for me, and I have the pictures to prove it!

I can honestly say this was “One giant step for me and one small step for overcoming a lifelong fear.”

In the next newsletter I will offer a few suggestions on the different approaches one can take to help deal with other aspects of fear.

Quotes to live by:

Fear: the best way is through.
Helen Keller, 1880 – 1968 Blind and deaf American writer and scholar

I believe anyone can conquer fear by doing the things he fears to do, providing he keeps doing them until he gets a record of successful experiences behind him.
Eleanor Roosevelt, 1884 – 1962
First Lady of the United States of America, writer and diplomat.

Please contact me should you have a subject pertaining to stress that you would like me to cover in this newsletter.

Till next time… “Nurse Audrey” signing off!

Questions/Comments: audrey@possibilitiesnetwork.com
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