May 2020

At its best, fear is an instinctive, natural ability to help us survive. At its worst, it’s that nagging voice inside our heads that heralds doom and disaster even before we get started on something. Fear keeps us from taking risks that might enrich our life or holds us back from doing some things we need to do. Do we experience new and exciting vistas? Get involved with that person or group? Accomplish something really great? Fear says, “Not on your life.” To discover the role fear plays in your life, complete the following Thriving quiz.

True or False

Set 1

1. My self-talk is filled with “can’ts”, “shouldn’ts” and “ought-tos”.

2. I never talk about my fears. If I do, people will think I’m stupid or weak.

3. I often find myself thinking about bad things that might happen in the future.

4. I feel trapped in or avoid social situations where it might be difficult to escape if I wanted to, such as in a crowd or on the highway.

5. I tend to need approval from family or peers before going after dreams and goals.

6. Making mistakes publicly is horrendous; I just want to crawl away and hide.

7. I’d rather not get involved in a relationship because I’d have to surrender personal power and lose myself.

8. To avoid being rejected, I try to please people and take my own needs and desires out of the equation.

9. I often compromise in situations to avoid conflict.

10. A sure-fire way to end up disappointed is to want something too much.

11. When things seem to be going really well for me, I get uneasy that I’ll do something to ruin it.

12. I find it difficult to express undesirable emotions such as anger.

13. When confronted by others, I feel “spacey” or disconnected from my body.

14. I’m so nervous about approaching my boss for a raise, I’ve never asked for one.

14. I’d rather just stick to what I know, even if it’s not great than risk change.

Set 2

1. I expand my comfort zone by taking a small risk every day, such as making one phone call or asking for one thing I want.

2. When I feel fear, I keep my mind on the details, not the Big Picture. I complete the report word by word, pay the bills one by one, see the group individual by individual.

3. I look to others to model courage for me. Their courageous behavior encourages confidence.

4. When something scares me, I get information, replacing fear with knowledge.

5. I visualize myself doing what I’m afraid to do; I see myself as graceful, strong, and capable.

If you answered true more than false in the first set of questions, fear may be playing a bigger role in your life than you’d like. In the second set, a true means you’re successfully employing strategies to master fear. If your fears are pervasive or severe, you may be suffering from an anxiety disorder, in which case you should definitely seek help. If your fears are not debilitating, but still get in the way of doing what you need or want to do, asking for help can make all the difference.

Fear can keep us from enriching our lives and doing what we need and want to do. Fortunately, there’s help.  If you need someone to talk to, A New Outlook Recovery Services stands ready and able to help you navigate the challenges you or a loved one is facing.

Visit us at our South Park/Littleton Office or call 303-798-2196.

Author’s content used under license, © 2008 Claire Communications