Huffington Post Writes "How FEAR Changes What We HEAR
I came across an article in the Huffington Post recently titled 'How Fear Changes What We Hear.
' The article explains that a new study reveals fear can literally change our perception, a process that may help researchers better understand post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), other anxiety disorders and possibly conditions like autism.
I think this article is excellent for a number of reasons.
In this article I want to discuss how fear affects people who are depressed.
The fear I want to discuss is what I call emotional fear.
Personally, FEAR crippled me for many years.
I was afraid of living, of dying, of my depression, of change, of my medication, of my future, of my past.
Does this sound familiar to you? Perhaps part of being depressed is being afraid of the illness, of the prognosis, of the treatment, of the journey to recovery or probably the biggest fear of all is the fear that you will not recover.
If I do not recover from depression, what will happen to me then? Writing these lines still conjures a feeling of fear of not being able to get better.
Fear and particularly emotional fear can create a very lonely life for those who are affected.
People who are not depressed may not understand the fear a depressed person may feel about seeking treatment and starting the journey to recovery.
And of course there is the fear of choosing and meeting a doctor.
I remember all too well being told I had to 'stay' in hospital as an inpatient.
I was petrified.
The feeling of being in a psychiatric institution.
I couldn't stop thinking that this admission would change my life forever.
As it turned out there were many many more admissions.
It did change my life forever and I was very afraid of many different things during this time.
The good news is that people are often afraid of depression and all it entails because it is not familiar territory for them.
Its alright to be afraid.
The whole concept of anti depressant medication and anti psychotic medication etc.
can be very frightening.
In many ways getting treatment for a mental illness involves a degree of giving up one's freedom of choice for a little while.
I am not suggesting that anyone is coerced by doctors into treatment or to take medication.
What I mean is that depressed people, including myself, have to place a very strong trust in their therapist (whom they have only just met) and in institutions and in services and in medication which they have little or no prior knowledge of.
I think that would bring up feelings of fear in the very strongest of men and women! For all these reasons fear can literally change our perception of what is going on around us.
It alters how we take in and process information.
If this sounds all too familiar to you I would like to reassure you that the fear of the journey to recovery from depression far outweighs the feelings and fear and loneliness of depression.
Learning to manage and overcome ones's depression is perhaps the most liberating experience in the world for a depressed person.
' The article explains that a new study reveals fear can literally change our perception, a process that may help researchers better understand post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), other anxiety disorders and possibly conditions like autism.
I think this article is excellent for a number of reasons.
In this article I want to discuss how fear affects people who are depressed.
The fear I want to discuss is what I call emotional fear.
Personally, FEAR crippled me for many years.
I was afraid of living, of dying, of my depression, of change, of my medication, of my future, of my past.
Does this sound familiar to you? Perhaps part of being depressed is being afraid of the illness, of the prognosis, of the treatment, of the journey to recovery or probably the biggest fear of all is the fear that you will not recover.
If I do not recover from depression, what will happen to me then? Writing these lines still conjures a feeling of fear of not being able to get better.
Fear and particularly emotional fear can create a very lonely life for those who are affected.
People who are not depressed may not understand the fear a depressed person may feel about seeking treatment and starting the journey to recovery.
And of course there is the fear of choosing and meeting a doctor.
I remember all too well being told I had to 'stay' in hospital as an inpatient.
I was petrified.
The feeling of being in a psychiatric institution.
I couldn't stop thinking that this admission would change my life forever.
As it turned out there were many many more admissions.
It did change my life forever and I was very afraid of many different things during this time.
The good news is that people are often afraid of depression and all it entails because it is not familiar territory for them.
Its alright to be afraid.
The whole concept of anti depressant medication and anti psychotic medication etc.
can be very frightening.
In many ways getting treatment for a mental illness involves a degree of giving up one's freedom of choice for a little while.
I am not suggesting that anyone is coerced by doctors into treatment or to take medication.
What I mean is that depressed people, including myself, have to place a very strong trust in their therapist (whom they have only just met) and in institutions and in services and in medication which they have little or no prior knowledge of.
I think that would bring up feelings of fear in the very strongest of men and women! For all these reasons fear can literally change our perception of what is going on around us.
It alters how we take in and process information.
If this sounds all too familiar to you I would like to reassure you that the fear of the journey to recovery from depression far outweighs the feelings and fear and loneliness of depression.
Learning to manage and overcome ones's depression is perhaps the most liberating experience in the world for a depressed person.
Source...