A woman who is caring for her mother who has Alzheimer’s told me that everything about the disease and the future is very scary to her right now.
Her situation is understandable. I describe FEAR as one of the 3 – F’s of Flipping Out. (The other two are Fatigue and Frustration.) The link below will take you to an 8-minute animated video I created that could help you develop an “Attitude of Creative Indifference” toward fear.
If you can’t find eight minutes to watch the video, here are the basic steps:
1. AWARE: Write down the the things that frighten you the most.
2. ACCEPT: Some of the things you fear are likely to happen. Acknowledge that the worst possible thing that could happen may happen.
3. ACTION: You have three choices
a. You can let your fears dominate your thinking and continue to obsess over events which may or may not happen
b. You can make a plan and get prepared
c. You can release your fears and trust that you will have the wisdom and strength to deal with whatever happens in the future
Your fears are real, so don’t judge yourself harshly for having them. But just like the bogey man in the closet or the monster under the bed, as long as they are allowed to lurk in the dark they are very scary. When you turn on the light and face them head on, they lose a lot of their power to control you.
