The virus has spread, but so has fear, which is potentially more dangerous. We do not talk about fear or about how it feels. We do not talk about how to be in it or how to navigate it. We do not talk about the intensity of it, or the distractions, habits, and conditioning we have developed to avoid it. We do not talk about how it changes our behavior and interactions. But, silence and fear is not the answer, not now, not ever.

The idea of fear feels like you are lost in a tunnel without an entrance or an exit. There is no retreat or advance into a deeper darkness when you are already consumed by it. It feels constrictive, but all there really is, is space. Space that falls into an abyss of emptiness devoid of all matter. There is an unsettled vibration that penetrates through the stillness. Your peripheral vision disengages and all you see is the white noise you hear. Overstimulation overwhelms the under stimulation of the anticipation lingering in the air. You wait, containing what feels like a scream wanting to escape. With nothing but sensation to orient to, you are pulled into a vacuum where time becomes timelessness. Transported to the wild of the prehistoric, you feel closer with the predators of your ancestors than to your modern times of safety, convenience, and technology.

This is fear. Fear is a universal human emotion that has always existed. It is an experience core to survival. Fear is provoked at the conception of danger, either real or perceived. And fear has the capacity to expand exponentially. When fear is the unconscious driver, behavior is unpredictable. Fear launches people into survival states of flight, fight, or freeze.

What we are seeing currently is the spread of fear and the unpredictable behaviors of those consumed by it. Fear by other names may be anxiety or panic. In an effort to help you navigate the fear you may be containing during this most difficult time, here is The Survival Guide created for you.

Acknowledge the fear. Feel the fear. Release the fear. The sooner you can invite your nervous system out of flight, fight, freeze, you will be better able to make compassionate choices to keep you and your loved ones safe during this time.

For support during COVID-19 please visit Anxiousfemale.com, or send me and email to connect directly. I look forward to helping you!

Erika Straub, MA Psychology