Fear and Shyness

If we lacked the ability to be afraid we simply would not be alive today. Fear is vital at the right time and place:

Imagine a situation like this: You’re out on a large open plain a really hot day. Suddenly you see a big lion leap from the grass some distance away. It runs at full speed towards you, jaws wide open. You spontaneously think: How funny – it looks happy to see me. This is wonderful …!

So it´s not just important to be afraid when the situation demands it, but that you are capable of recalling being afraid. The next time you hear a lion roar at a distance, you can easily take your precautions in time because you’ve learned what a lion’s roar means. A useful belief is created: lions are dangerous and must be treated with caution.

HOWEVER, both children and adults may fear something for no reason. This happens when the brain’s alarm system has been over-sensitised. Many things in the world may be subject to your fear without reason and limit your scope of life – e.g. spiders, earthworms, darkness, people in general and so on. Read more: The Thinking Brain and the Alarm Centre. Shyness is a kind of social phobia where nervousness and inhibition takes over when you are together with other people and where you do not feel completely comfortable.

Fear and shyness is like a track written into the memory of the alarm centre. This track can be modified and removed if required. The thinking brain is able to actually transform fear if it is activated little by little.

The brain’s alarm center and the body should gradually learn that YOU and your thinking brain are in charge and control. If the fear gets out of control, the thinking brain is consequently out of the game. The process should therefore be planned in detail to ensure that fear is evoked in appropriate doses only, in order to be sure that the thinking brain keeps control. The alarm centre then gradually learns that the situation is not dangerous as such. Here you can read about how this can be done: Construct a Plan of Practice and Smartphone (danish).

Read more: Resilience and Praise, A Way to Succes and Help Someone Else.