Dealing with fear when feelings are only present in fearful situations

[Brenda PentonPSTEC User]

Hi there,

I had a question about working on some major fears I have.
I have a huge fear of feeling/allowing nausea and when it gets to a certain intensity, I panic and feel worse due to nausea being a fear side effect for me. This is mostly when I am in public, I assume due to fear of being sick around others or not being able to escape to privately be sick. Due to this fear, I get anticipatory anxiety about going anywhere in case I feel sick and then the whole loop starts…anxiety causes nausea, then the fear of the nausea, etc.

Anyways, I would love to work on this, but for some reason I cannot bring the emotions up to work on when I am not in a situation that causes fear. Thinking about it does nothing, I can run through memories, etc. and feel nothing except a knowing that I had/have fear without any sensations. As soon as  I am in the real situation though then I really panic.

Just wondering if anyone had any suggestions of what to try and products to use, etc.  Will the click tracks work if I am just thinking about what I am afraid of happening without any emotions? Not ideal since I can't use SUDs though.

Thank you for any suggestions.

[Paul McCabePSTEC Pro and Forum Moderator]

Hi Newfiechic,

Thanks for posting.

There are a few ways to tackle this issue. If you are running the Click Tracks on this issue, however, I recommend that you listen via speakers (as opposed to headphones). This will limit any possible side effects.

Can you please advise which PSTEC products you own? This will mean I can advise based on what you already own.

What I would personally recommend in this case and, based on the way you have presented it, is a form of systematic desensitization.

If you experience difficulties producing the feelings at will, while focusing on the problem memories,…you may wish to Click Track close to the time or when you typically experience the panic.

You could even try manufacturing this and go into a situation where you would normally expect to feel the panic, having the Click Tracks “ready to go.”

Start small. Go to a place/context where you may typically experience a smaller amount of the problem feelings, and CT the feelings as you experience them.

Then you can “clear as you go.”

Make sure you attach the feelings to particular memories when you are not Click Tracking “in the moment.”

Make sure you imagine the worst case scenario. What do you think would happen if you were actually sick in public?

To give you an example of this, someone may Click Track about an argument they had 3 weeks ago whilst trying to feel the anger they felt. Another person may Click Track the anger about an argument they had three minutes ago. For some people, the difference between trying to evoke an emotion and actually experiencing an emotion can be quite stark.

This sort of issue can be quite metaphorical in nature – a representation about fear of rejection, losing control or being in danger perhaps. Can you remember when it first showed up for you and what was going on in your life at that time?

I would recommend using PSTEC Accelerators (http://bit.ly/pstecaccelerators) whilst thinking of the problem and seeing if any historical causes show up. Then you could CT these.

I would also ask: “what would I have to believe to feel this way?”

Make it specific. “What would I have to believe about people to fear being sick around them?”

You might find it is something akin to “People are out to get me” and then you may have contributing beliefs like “I'm not in control” or “I'm powerless”

See what comes up, of course. Say the words of the belief out loud and see whether it resonates.

Belief Blasters is the top tip for eliminating the beliefs that feed an unwanted pattern – http://bit.ly/beliefblasters

I expect the combination of Click Tracks and Belief Blasters will have made a big difference.

Then, you could layer in some truly fantastic suggestions about your personal safety with PSTEC Positive Quantum Turbo (http://bit.ly/ppquantumturbo):

“No matter how I felt, it is safe to feel safe now”

“I am already powerful, so it is safe to be around people”

I hope this helps and I look forward to your reply.

All the best,

Paul 

---

Paul McCabe – PSTEC Master Practitioner

http://www.lifestyleforchange.com

Please contact me anytime if you want any assistance in utilising PSTEC to help you live a life of tremendous freedom & possibility.

Recreate yourself with PSTEC.

Skype, Zoom, in-person & phone sessions available…

[Brenda PentonPSTEC User]

Hi Paul,

Thank you so much for your very detailed reply…lots to work through!
Right now I just have the free click tracks, but if needed I would buy whatever would work.

I think for me the biggest issue is fear of feeling (and not being able to escape the feeling), especially when it comes to the sensations. It seems like it is mostly fear of feeling extreme nausea before the point of it actually becoming vomiting, but there does seem to also be a tiny bit of fear of vomiting due to the embarrassment factor.

A lot of the fear as well has to do more so with expecting fear/nausea/panic to be there in certain situations.

I am going to sit down and make a very detailed plan based on your suggestions.

I had a question about the focus while doing click tracks. Do I sit with the focus on the thing that brings up the feeling along with the feeling (i.e. thinking of doctors appointment while feeling anxiety) or do I mentally focus on fear of going to the doctors appointment while feeling fear (i.e. thinking I'm afraid of going to the doctor's appointment while feeling fear). I believe I had been doing the latter and that may have been wrong as I always felt like it was too overwhelming to focus.

Thanks again!

Brenda

[Paul McCabePSTEC Pro and Forum Moderator]

Hi Brenda,

Thank you for your post. You're most welcome.

I would recommend seeing how you get on with the Free Click Tracks for now.

It sounds like you have a “fear of the fear”, which is quite a common pattern.

Fearful public speakers can get this. They might fear what people will think of them if they get nervous during a speech. Exhibiting signs of fear would therefore be something they actively seek to avoid.

What is the worst aspect of the fear coming up when you are out in public? What are you imagining could happen?

Those are things you could certainly Click Track.

You might imagine that you do vomit in public and hold onto the feelings of embarrassment while Click Tracking.

I recommend, as you are using the Free CT, to work on one issue per play of the track and CT until the feeling cannot be produced. The SUD is just a barometer, so you can use your own – extreme, strong, medium, weak, neutral etc.

For focus: simply associate with the memory or imagined outcome whilst TRYING to bring up the unwanted emotion.

You might benefit from writing it down, so it is conceptualised – “fear associated with the doctor's appointment”, “fear of being sick in public”, “fear associated with losing control in public.”

I hope that helps, Brenda. Please let me know if you need any further assistance.

Kind Regards,

Paul

---

Paul McCabe – PSTEC Master Practitioner

http://www.lifestyleforchange.com

Please contact me anytime if you want any assistance in utilising PSTEC to help you live a life of tremendous freedom & possibility.

Recreate yourself with PSTEC.

Skype, Zoom, in-person & phone sessions available…

[Brenda PentonPSTEC User]

Hi Paul,

Thank you again

Today is the big day, I go to my appointment in a few hours, and I had a few questions. Since I am feeling fear before going do I have to think of the situation while I feel the fear or is just feeling the fear before the event sufficient?

Also, if I am someone who has a hard time with visuals can I use words/thoughts as I tap, i.e think/say in my mind “going to the doctor” or “feeling sick in the waiting room” while I feel the fear? I wasn't sure if this would work like that but it seems like it is the only way I can bring feelings up with a focus in time.

Thanks again for all your help!

Brenda

[Paul McCabePSTEC Pro and Forum Moderator]

Hi Brenda,

Thanks for your post.

To keep it straightforward, just pay attention to how you “know” you have fear about going to the appointment. You will, no doubt, have certain thoughts and sensations (e.g. “a knot in the stomach”) about this.

Just pay attention to that.

You already know what you fear and how it shows up.

Then run the Click Track on that.

It is possible some memories will show up, or some imagined outcomes.

Rate the experience of fear from 1-10 before running the Click Track, run the CT and then rate it again at the end.

One play may well suffice but, if not down to a 0 or 1, run the CT again.

Hope that helps, Brenda.

Please let us know how it goes.

Best Regards,

Paul 

---

Paul McCabe – PSTEC Master Practitioner

http://www.lifestyleforchange.com

Please contact me anytime if you want any assistance in utilising PSTEC to help you live a life of tremendous freedom & possibility.

Recreate yourself with PSTEC.

Skype, Zoom, in-person & phone sessions available…

[Author]

Posts