Is fear false evidence appearing real? Fear can be rooted in childhood trauma and shows up in our need for positive relationships. But how much attention do we need to pay to it?

This week, Anya unpacks the neurobiology of fear and how the amygdala acts as a smoke alarm, activating the body's fight or flight hormone. She and Mark explore the importance of responding to fear in a mindful way, instead of trying to suppress or ignore it.

Anya reflects on how fear has taken away from her own happiness, and offers strategies to help reduce fear, such as reflecting on one's own insecurities and developing a sense of self-love and acceptance. Finally, they reflect on how fear can be a necessary and useful tool in our lives.

Three prompts

1. What are you afraid of?
2. What can you be scared of – and try anyway?
3. How can you develop a gentler relationship with your fears?

Resources

• Chris Kenworthy, transformational coach
• What Is the Enneagram of Personality?
• How the Lonely Perceive Threats - the lonely brain’s hypervigilance
• Seligman’s PERMA+ Model Explained: A Theory of Wellbeing
• The Inside-Out Revolution: The Only Thing You Need to Know to Change Your Life Forever, by Michael Neill
• Neurobiology of fear - Healing Developmental Trauma: How Early Trauma Affects Self-Regulation, Self-Image, and the Capacity for Relationship, by Laurence Heller and Aline LaPierre
• Finding Your Own North Star: How to claim the life you were meant to live, by Martha Beck
• The Science of Storytelling: Why Stories Make Us Human, and How to Tell Them Better, by Will Storr
• The Satir Model: Family Therapy and Beyond: Family Therapy & Beyond, by Virginia Satir
• Worry vs Fear, by Michael Neill
• 10 Crucial Differences Between Worry and Anxiety, by Guy Winch
• Pearse Polyvagal Habitats Model
• The Struggle Switch, by Russ Harris
• Self-Compassion break - 3 mins video Being Kinder to Yourself, from the Greater Good Science Center
• Anya Pearse, Intuitive advisor and her An Hour of Kindness

This podcast is produced by Origin.