What do you do when you are paralyzed by fear?

[timetosleep]

Sometimes, I feel paralyzed by fear. When it happens, I find it hard to work on the things I need to do to improve my circumstance. Do you feel paralyzed often? How do you find courage and motivation to continue moving forward? Do you have people in your life who are supportive of your recovery?

 

[timf]

It might help to consider hypothetical plans. For example in an imaginary scenario where you suddenly awoke to find you had no money, place to stay, family or friends you might seek help from the police or knock at the door of some stranger and ask if there was some work you could do in exchange for food.

Imagining worst case scenarios can help to provide some assurance that difficulties can be manageable. This in turn can help reduce some of the unknowns that can amplify fear. A wealthy person might be fearful of losing his money. However, if he considers that if he did, he might be able to earn some of it back, it can reduce his fears.

 

[Achlys]

I've no advice to offer, unfortunately, only my sympathy. I'm often paralyzed by indecision as well. All too often I procrastinate and delay even the most critical of my responsibilities. The only method that remotely helps me is writing a to-do list and attempting to proceed task-by-task. I'm sorry you find yourself in such circumstances, and I sincerely hope you can push through in spite of your fear.

 

[Angi]

How do you find courage and motivation to continue moving forward?

Funny enough, suicidality helps me with this. I am sure everyone here is familiar with the damage it can do, but it comes with the occasional silver lining, such as breaking my paralysis. Also, when there is no present danger causing the fear, the flashback resolving steps by Pete Walker help greatly. You can find them in his book, or for free here: http://www.pete-walker.com/pdf/13strategies_flashbacks_management.pdf Be warned, though, the font is quite undescribably terrible.

 

[BluesRunTheGame]

I drink but I don't recommend it. I hate anxiety with a passion.

 

[Burner1234]

I'm not necessarily paralyzed by fear, however I do often overthink situations and possible outcomes and that makes me tired so I just give up. It is somewhat similar to your issue as it also leads to inaction. To answer your 2nd question regarding motivation, my solution shares a remedy and that's to just do it. Yeah man, just Nike it up and go into it, often the situation isn't as bad as we think and we can only plan/train so much. We can't predict the future so it's best to dig in and see. It is easier said than done, but oftentimes it's best to just push through it or confront the situation. Now, if things go wrong, it is best to not dwell on it or laugh it off if possible. Setbacks suck but it is not the end unless we say it is. Also, having a hobby can take your mind off it and give you some down time to rest. The trick here is to not let a setback take root in your mind, this is probably the hardest part for sure. You could also start by taking baby steps and gradually take on more challenging tasks as you continue. For example, I don't have the same energy as I used to so I just take a few steps everyday, fix a part of my resume here, contact this person here, get a haircut here, fix this financial problem here, etc. These little things add up to a whole lot and it compels me to do more, builds confidence.
Unfortunately, I don't have anyone in my life that can really help me. I do believe it is beneficial to have someone in your corner even if it is just one person. It is hard to find people who will listen, seems like many people aren't sure how to deal with it.
I hope that helps.

 

[Leiden]

I wish I knew. I live in a constant state of paralyzing fear.

 

[GentleJerk]

I just read the title of this thread in the tune of the Oompa Loompa song from Willy Wonka.

What. do u get. when you go-bble down sweets...

Serious answer though. I think of Danny Trejo. Invoke that fearless mexican vato energy.