Dealing With Strong Emotions

Facing The Fear Writing Exercise (Part 3)

This writing exercise (part 3) is a variation of the ones dealing with strong emotions that I’ve shared with you before. See ‘Understanding your fear’ on 25th August 2021 and ‘Dealing with Strong Emotions’ on 8th September, if you want a reminder. The initial guidance instructions are similar but the actual steps of the exercise are different.

If you found the others helpful, try out this one. The more tools we have to keep us afloat the better.

It is a useful tool to use when you feel stuck over a decision you need to make, or your mind is frozen in a state of fear. At times like these, we can feel overwhelmed with debilitating emotions that can throw us off balance and deplete our energy.

This writing exercise helps you to step back from the power and intensity of the emotion, analyse the feelings and see exactly how you have lost your power, and what you can learn from this going forward,  what you might want to do differently.

The next time you experience fear or procrastination that is holding you back from making a choice, or moving forward with your day, set aside some time when you will not be disturbed and do this free-flow writing exercise.

I like to light a candle at the beginning of my writing and blow it out to signify the end of the exercise.

Once you start it is best not to think too much about what you are writing – just write, keep writing, and don’t censor what you have written in any way. Banish the critic. Best to only read what you’ve written when you’ve finished all the prompts.

There can be powerful messages in this kind of writing.

1.    In detail, write about what  the FEAR, the DOUBT or the BLOCK is that you are facing.

2.    Write about how BIG this fear seems to you at this point and how this might be stopping you moving forward?

3.    Write about what you fear might happen?

4.    Write about what is the WORST thing that could happen – the very worst, i.e. your BIGGEST FEAR?  This is the worst case scenario.

5.    Now put yourself inside that situation (the worst case scenario) as it if had happened and write in detail about what you would do in this situation.

If you find yourself in a ‘I don’t know’ place, then call on your Higher/Wiser Self -  saying to yourself ‘OK but just say I did know what to do, what would that be?’

6.    Imagine how you would SURVIVE and write about how you would cope.

7.    Write about what is happening in your body whilst you are completing these prompts.  Describe how you are feeling.

8.    Now you have faced the very worst thing that can happen, you sense that this is extremely unlikely to come to pass and yet you have just proved to yourself that you could survive even that.

So return to the original fear and write about how BIG it feels now? Has it shrunk in size?

9.    Coming back to the present, write about what the most productive step is that you could take right now to help yourself feel more powerful about this situation that you have perceived as being very fearful.

Read everything you’ve written during this exercise.

When you’ve had a chance to digest it, take some time to write down your answers to these reflections, as a review of the experience.

1.    What did you notice about yourself whilst you were doing the writing in terms of your feelings, energy levels etc.?

2.    How did you feel immediately after finishing?

3.    How do you feel now?

4.    What insight have you gained from completing this writing exercise?

5.    How has your perception changed?

6.    What might you do differently with this insight?

Completing this writing exercise can help us step back from the intensity of the strong emotions.

Analysing the feelings in writing can help diminish the big fears of a worst case scenario that we spend so much time imagining in our heads. This has a tendency to immobilise us and prevent us moving forward.

Giving ourselves an opportunity to face the fear in this way, can free us from where we’ve become stuck and lost our power, learn from this going forward and helps us to discover what we might want to do differently.

Another powerful writing tool that I use on a regular basis.