Hi,

I've been thinking a lot about fear lately. I've realised that, to me, fear automatically means danger - mortal danger. This goes back to my childhood when I was afraid my dad would get seriously violent. I've dealt with dissociation in therapy, and my therapist said there was probably a time when I was sure I was going to die, and this caused me to cut off my emotions. I must have been really small, and no one realised what was happening so they couldn't explain to me that it was normal that I was scared, but that it doesn't always mean I'm in danger.

Could someone please confirm to me that when I'm scared, it doesn't always mean something terrible is about to happen? I feel I already 'know' this, but need to hear it from someone else, too I believe this issue has actually kept me from living my life - I mean, life is full of scary things, and every time I've been afraid, I've automatically either turned away from what I was pursuing, or have cut off my emotions time and time again to be able to do what I've needed to do. When something scares me, it's like the alarms go off in my head screaming 'Danger, danger!' I can't live like this..