One of the things I did was to externalize my most painful emotions by collecting some figurines and giving them names like Fear, Shame, Anger, etc.

I got the figurines at a toy store and they kinda look like medieval soldiers.

I also got a figurine that represented Core Self - a very beautiful figurine that really encapsulated in its image what I hoped my core self would look like.

And another beautiful figurine who was the mediator between the painful emotions and the core self.

I put figurines on table and I began to "hear" them speak. The mediator would ask questions of the 'emotions' and would facilitate communication between those 'emotions' and the 'core self'.

I would write down these 'conversations' in my journal and read them to T when I had session. She was wowed by what occurred when I did the exercise.

It was magical how, by externalizing the feelings in figurines, I came to some real understanding of my feelings and was able to work with them in a productive and healthy way.

It was only one of the ways I approached my fears but it was also one of the most dramatic in its effectiveness.