Fear in Body

[subtlecollision2]

Hi, I know a lot of people here recommend the Claire Weekes method. I don't know if I'm doing it wrong or don't understand, but I could use extra advice because it doesn't seem to work for me.

When I have a scary/guilty thought (usually an OCD thought) or even just any negative thought, I get a horrible horrible feeling of fear/guilt/tension in the center of my chest.

How do I decondition this response? Even if I let go of the thought, the feeling in my body of terror will last for hours. I've tried feeling into it per Tms recommendations. While that helps for a few moments, it seems to ultimately prolong it.

 

[Cactusflower]

The physical feeling you have in the center of your chest is the normal, physical feeling of fear. It’s NORMAL - you feel it! That is awesome and half the battle! It’s your reaction to the fear “horrible feeling of fear” - with more fear that keeps things in a loop.
I simply feel the fear and say to myself “oh, fear!” .. and let that feeling wash through me knowing that nothing bad will happen if I just feel it. It takes practice. At first I would ask myself if I could identify the source of fear and then allow myself to feel it.. then watch myself as I personalized that fear. Owned it, freaked out...oh, crap! Anxiety! Oh crap, now I will obsess on this. Over time I am learning to just name “fear” - not going into any story.. let it grab me for a minute or so and watch in wonder as it fades because I am responding by not reacting. No freak outs mentally ( my body still freaks out) and the feeling passes. I refuse to pay attention to the fear thoughts most of the time. When I do, I just recognize the cycle, acknowledge I’m heading into it and use distraction to lessen the thoughts about it. Most of all I try not to berate or blame myself for heading into this cycle, I’ll get plenty of chances to practice keeping out of the fear loop! Don’t hold the fear as you feel it, just let it go. It can take mere seconds.
I still too have physical fear, and I think that can take a lot of time to fade. Just keep practicing things that help calm your nervous system, just as self-care.
Do you do mindless fun stuff? I love to garden, lay on my patio and wait for the parrots to fly by, read, listen to music, meditate. What do you do to do “nothing”? Anything to let go (not just when freaked out). You just have to do things that slowly and consistently get you out of fight/flight so that your nervous system recognizes when your brain concisely tells it to chill, that there is no danger.

 

[Dakota]

Hi, I know a lot of people here recommend the Claire Weekes method. I don't know if I'm doing it wrong or don't understand, but I could use extra advice because it doesn't seem to work for me.

When I have a scary/guilty thought (usually an OCD thought) or even just any negative thought, I get a horrible horrible feeling of fear/guilt/tension in the center of my chest.

How do I decondition this response? Even if I let go of the thought, the feeling in my body of terror will last for hours. I've tried feeling into it per Tms recommendations. While that helps for a few moments, it seems to ultimately prolong it.

Hello!
There are a lot of theories and tips, but I feel to share with you this one right now.
Inhale in a normal way, and through the exhaling say out loud "IAM" trying to stay more on the "M" (it's like IAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM) . The goal it to create a vibrations that will be like a massage in chest, upper chest and throat, that are often connected to fears and anxiety).
Just try for 10 times, but if you feel comfortable go on. It could sound silly, but actually it comes from ancient times and it's still very used to remove tightness in those areas.

Keep me in the loop!

 

[fridaynotes]

Hello!
There are a lot of theories and tips, but I feel to share with you this one right now.
Inhale in a normal way, and through the exhaling say out loud "IAM" trying to stay more on the "M" (it's like IAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM) . The goal it to create a vibrations that will be like a massage in chest, upper chest and throat, that are often connected to fears and anxiety).
Just try for 10 times, but if you feel comfortable go on. It could sound silly, but actually it comes from ancient times and it's still very used to remove tightness in those areas.

Keep me in the loop!

very gurdjieff!