Many people choose to get scared in certain situations: thrill rides, horror movies, bungee jumping, encierro: running in front of bulls loose in the streets of a town, such as Pamplona.

But what about dealing with unwanted terror?

And can fear ever be useful?

According to The National Institute of Mental Health, anxiety is "a normal reaction to stress. It helps one deal with a tense situation in the office, study harder for an exam, keep focused on an important speech. In general, it helps one cope.

"But when anxiety becomes an excessive, irrational dread of everyday situations, it has become a disabling disorder."

We may feel anxiety without any real threat, such as social anxiety and stage fright, for example. Unless you consider the reaction of a potential date or an audience to be a danger. Maybe it is a kind of threat.

We experience many flavors of fear in life. The idea is not to get shut down by those emotions.

In her article Breaking the Trance of Fear, Judith Orloff, M.D. quotes the Tao te Ching: "Whoever can see through all fear will always be safe."

She thinks "Fear is the biggest energy thief there is. A master seducer and gigantic source of negative energy, fear shamelessly robs of us of everything good and powerful, preys on our vulnerabilities.

"Many people become mesmerized for a lifetime, letting negative attitudes seize control. Enough! Though some fears are intuitively protective but we can't let the irrational ones bamboozle us."

But fear can even be helpful, according to Robert Maurer, a UCLA clinical psychologist.

After interviewing many successful writers and other creative people, and reviewing research studies, Dr. Maurer found the one ingredient that is "nearly indispensable" to the creative process is fear.

"Fear is good," he says.

"As children, fear is a natural part of our lives, but as adults we view fear as a disease.

"It's not a disease. Children say they are afraid or scared, but adults use the clinical terms anxiety or depression.

"A writer should not view fear as something bad, but as essentially doing something right."

"Our skill at being able to nourish yourself and give yourself permission to make mistakes and learn from them is your single greatest attribute as an artist and as a human being."

From article Writers can use fear to advantage.

Philosopher and teacher Jiddu Krishnamurti affirmed, "What is needed, rather than running away or controlling or suppressing or any other resistance, is understanding fear; that means watch it, learn about it, come directly into contact with it. We are to learn about fear, not how to escape from it."

Some artists even welcome fear. Actor Sandra Bullock has commented, "I don't do anything anymore that feels safe. If it doesn't scare the crap out of you, then you're not doing the right thing."

We may learn to condemn or pathologize feelings, especially strong ones like fear and anxiety, and try to suppress or shut them down.

Lesley Sword, of Gifted and Creative Services Australia, notes in her article Parenting Emotionally Intense Gifted Children that "Speaking about and valuing our emotions can be very difficult to do in a society that values logical thinking and sees emotions as the opposite of rationality.

"However, if emotional intensity is seen by parents and presented positively to children as a strength, children can be helped to understand and value this gift. In this way emotionally intense children will be empowered to express their unique selves in the world and use their gifts and talents with confidence and joy."

That of course holds true for adults as well, gifted or not.

But "real" anxiety can deplete our confidence and joy, and keep us from developing our talents fully. Do whatever you can to free your mind and spirit from being clamped down by the mood disorder anxiety.

Fortunately there are medications and therapies, plus self-help, lifestyle changes and nutritional strategies that can deal effectively with anxiety.

Deanne Repich, Founder of the National Institute of Anxiety and Stress, explains some of the cause of anxiety: "When you experience excessive stress over time, your body can trigger the fight or flight response and start to react to daily events as if they were dangers. Poor lifestyle habits such as overwork, lack of sleep, poor diet, and lack of regular exercise can cause unnecessary stress and promote anxiety."

[From her article What Causes an Anxiety Disorder?]

She is the creator of the Conquer Your Anxiety Success Program, a simple, action-oriented "how-to" course.

Another program is The Linden Method. Here is a video of Stuart Guest, of Lothian, Scotland, who talks about feeling "torn to bits" by things that happened to him when he was a kid, and dealing with his anxieties with medications: "I was addicted to tranquillizers and desperate."

He followed the program from The Linden Method, and says, "The panic attacks went immediately, the anxiety feelings stayed a bit longer but are now gone. Thank you."


PTSD Counselor Jane Howard says, "The Linden Method is fast becoming the most successful, sensitive and drug free treatment for anxiety disorders and panic attacks ever."

Follow these links to information on other ways to help with anxiety:  the Panic Away program, herbal supplements [see free ebook from Native Remedies], the program of Dr. Daniel Amen on Healing Anxiety and Depression.

See the Products / Programs section for more.

[Second photo above: Scared by Frk Martine.]

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