[SP] On Fear

[Halla74]

I fear some things, I love the ocean but I also have a respectful fear of it, a healthy fear I think. Fear exists for a reason, it doesn't often control me but I definitely listen to it. I fear that I may somehow hurt others, I'm glad I have that fear.

I'd say what you label as fear (with regard to the immeasurable power of the ocean) might be common sense. Knowledge of the potential of your surroundings ability to influence you, whether by harm or benefit, is not necessarily fear, right?

 

[ayoitsStepho]

I fear shoving my hand in a hornets nest. But thats a respectful fear

 

[Halla74]

I fear shoving my hand in a hornets nest. But thats a respectful fear

I threw a wooden broomstick like a spear at an "abandoned" hornets nest, up in a big oak tree.

The nest came down, and the hive was indeed empty, but the top was impregnated with a slew of larvae. I watched them for a few moments, and then out of nowhere, a large black/brown hornet flew down the back of my t-shirt and stung me repeatedly on my back. It fooking hurt SOOOO bad! I ran to my friend's house. His Mom put meat tenderizer all over my back to try and get it to stop swelling. I'm glad I didn't have an allergic reaction. Don't screw with hornets!

 

[Moiety]

I'd say what you label as fear (with regard to the immeasurable power of the ocean) might be common sense. Knowledge of the potential of your surroundings ability to influence you, whether by harm or benefit, is not necessarily fear, right?

Paranoia is being all too knowledgeable in that sense, and I would personally consider it type of fear.

I think fear is but an emotion. I think the F/T divide is a good way to approach the question "is fear useful?". From an evolutionary standpoint, emotions have an inherent survivalist value to them. Which doesn't mean being completely fearless doesn't have its perks. But fear comes with that useful knowledge you mentioned.

I guess the best thing would be to have that knowledge and turn off the unpleasant emotion it is often associated with. But historically/culturally it's easy to see the heroes simply acting on impulse without always harnessing that knowledge per se. Recklessness and fear are kind of mutually exclusive.

 

[wolfy]

I'd say what you label as fear (with regard to the immeasurable power of the ocean) might be common sense. Knowledge of the potential of your surroundings ability to influence you, whether by harm or benefit, is not necessarily fear, right?

I think you are right that knowledge of the potential of your surroundings ability to influence you is not necessarily fear. Though I do think it is fear Quin is talking about. Fear tempered with sound judgement of the pros and cons of the situation. That feeling where you realise the danger and have an emotional reaction to it but press on regardless.

 

[Halla74]

Paranoia is being all too knowledgeable in that sense, and I would personally consider it type of fear.

I think fear is but an emotion. I think the F/T divide is a good way to approach the question "is fear useful?". From an evolutionary standpoint, emotions have an inherent survivalist value to them. Which doesn't mean being completely fearless doesn't have its perks. But fear comes with that useful knowledge you mentioned.

I guess the best thing would be to have that knowledge and turn off the unpleasant emotion it is often associated with. But historically/culturally it's easy to see the heroes simply acting on impulse without always harnessing that knowledge per se. Recklessness and fear are kind of mutually exclusive.

AND...

I think you are right that knowledge of the potential of your surroundings ability to influence you is not necessarily fear. Though I do think it is fear Quin is talking about. Fear tempered with sound judgement of the pros and cons of the situation. That feeling where you realise the danger and have an emotional reaction to it but press on regardless.

Both of you make good points, I see that the phenomena I am speaking of and that Quinlkan are speaking of are distinct. It is possible to observe the ocean, recognize its power, and respect it without being fearful. It is also possible to observe the ocean, recognize its power, and be anxious about its proximity to you. For some reason my brain does not make such distinctions on a forward pass when pondering on such topics, but I understand the differences in perspective if prompted to look through a different lens.

Interesting!

 

[wolfy]

I think part of it is projecting forward and using you imagination against you. Rather than staying detached and weighing the situation.The tendency of the mind to project forward and then get bound by an imagined scenario. The best way out of that is to move to a more detached/objective viewpoint... Or just say screw it and hope for the best.

 

[Poki]

I think you are right that knowledge of the potential of your surroundings ability to influence you is not necessarily fear. Though I do think it is fear Quin is talking about. Fear tempered with sound judgement of the pros and cons of the situation. That feeling where you realise the danger and have an emotional reaction to it but press on regardless.

Its a lack of fearing fear. Then this leads to a fear of a lack of fearing fear.

 

[Halla74]

I think part of it is projecting forward and using you imagination against you. Rather than staying detached and weighing the situation.The tendency of the mind to project forward and then get bound by an imagined scenario. The best way out of that is to move to a more detached/objective viewpoint... Or just say screw it and hope for the best.

I am extremely detached by default. It is the upside of being emotionally retarded.

Its a lack of fearing fear. Then this leads to a fear of a lack of fearing fear.

Do they make medication for that yet?

 

[Poki]

I am extremely detached by default. It is the upside of being emotionally retarded.



Do they make medication for that yet?

People that care seems to be the only medication that works. Yet emotional detachment seems to counteract that. Is there any hope?

 

[Halla74]

People that care seems to be the only medication that works. Yet emotional detachment seems to counteract that. Is there any hope?

Seems like a tough nut to crack!

 

[wolfy]

I am extremely detached by default. It is the upside of being emotionally retarded.

I'm the other way. I've learnt to turn it off and on to certain degree.

 

[Bamboo]

Fear, by quotes

How to face fear

You gain strength, experience and confidence by every experience where you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you cannot do.

-Eleanor Roosevelt

In that moment when you pause to really see something that scares you, and you choose to keep moving forward, you suddenly are back in the driver's seat, more so than usual. Anyone else know this feeling?

What you can do with fear

Fear is your best friend or your worst enemy. It's like fire. If you can control it, it can cook for you; it can heat your house. If you can't control it, it will burn everything around you and destroy you. If you can control your fear, it makes you more alert, like a deer coming across the lawn.

- Mike Tyson

Mike might be a little crazy, but fear means a lot to the man, so I think he has an idea of how it works.

And if you've ever seen a deer coming across a lawn, or experienced fear in the moment, than it actually makes sense. It tunes in all your senses.

How to overcome fear

Do the thing you fear most and the death of fear is certain.

- Mark Twain

It works. It doesn't even have to be the scariest thing to see a large drop in overall fear. I'm not great with heights and jumped off a few cliffs into a lake, felt much calmer after that for nearly a week.

 

[Quinlan]

I think part of it is projecting forward and using you imagination against you. Rather than staying detached and weighing the situation.The tendency of the mind to project forward and then get bound by an imagined scenario. The best way out of that is to move to a more detached/objective viewpoint... Or just say screw it and hope for the best.

Don't know if I'm buying into the whole function order thing a bit much here but consider ISFP, to me often I think my natural process is:

What do I want to do? (Fi)
Assess the situation. (Se)
Consider the possibilities/imagined scenarios. (Ni)

So what you're saying is skim past Ni and think objectively how to manage those possibilities and get shit done (Te)?

 

[wolfy]

Don't know if I'm buying into the whole function order thing a bit much here but consider ISFP, to me often I think my natural process is:

What do I want to do? (Fi)
Assess the situation. (Se)
Consider the possibilities/imagined scenarios. (Ni)

So what you're saying is skim past Ni and think objectively how to manage those possibilities and get shit done (Te)?

Yeah, pretty much. Just look at it from a detached position. Weigh, scale and measure. I think the ability to be detached and to objectively look at things is pretty essential over the long haul. As I have gotten older I have noticed more and more and tendency to pull away and look from a detached position. It was always there but has gotten stronger over the years.