Get rid of fear addiction

“Addicted to fear? Who, me?”

That may be what you’re thinking. After all, who wants to believe that he is addicted to something like fear? Well, it can and does happen. It can be very cunning, and although most people today don’t realize it, they have this addiction.

When you are subjected to something that causes you to respond with fear to any degree, your body responds by increasing the production of adrenaline. Normally, the fear would dissipate in a short time and adrenaline production would return to normal levels. However, when you live with 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 leads to behavior known as addiction.

Now here’s the thing. 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’re operating on high adrenaline most of the time, your body thinks it’s normal and is 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 will increase your adrenaline back to a level that your body is comfortable with. (You can read more about this in Joe Dispenza’s book, evolve your brain.) This is when you find yourself addicted to stimuli that increase your fear and stress.

How to 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 TV news at least once a day?

2. Do you choose action and adventure movies over comedy and romance movies?

3. Do you work at a stressful job or one that you hate?

4. Living 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 negative dramas and 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 feed its 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 that scary stuff and that just 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 a newspaper front page or on the TV news?

2. Substitution: Watch upbeat and funny movies on TV or DVD. Read humorous books. Listen to relaxing music.

3. rocker switch: Shift your inner thoughts and visions to things you love or find beautiful, comforting, or relaxing.

4. Large Image/Small Image: This is a technique that I have found to be very effective. Imagine whatever is causing you fear. Now imagine 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 fear, your breathing becomes shallow and sets all of your body’s fear responses into motion. Consciously breathe in slowly and send the air deep into your belly, filling your lungs from the bottom up. You should be able to see your stomach distend as you do 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 little harder or remove your bra.)

6. Eliminates Toxins: Add Epsom salts to warm bath water to flush chemical toxins, like the fear hormone cortisol, out of 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 as you soak.

7. Get a hug: I know I know We’re supposed to stay 6′ away 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 grass in your garden or on the sand on the beach. Touch a tree. Put your hands in the dirt. Turn your face towards the sun. If it’s raining, turn your face to 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. CDs and DVDs are available. If sitting still isn’t for you, try Qi Qong, which is a kind of moving meditation.

10. __________________. You know what you can do to ease your fear and stress. Just do it.