Fears": an intelligent animated short film.

A work of animation that serves to see the constructive and positive side of fears.

In the following interview, the therapists of the personal growth workshops of the Instituto de Asistencia Psicológica y Psiquiátrica Mensalus, share with us "Fears", a short animation by Nata Metlukh that, in an intelligent way, shows us the essence of fears and their constructive sense, shows us the essence of fears and their constructive meaning..

A short film to understand fears

First of all, you can watch the short film:

Does living without fear unprotect us?

It is curious. We reject fear but, in reality, we need it to live. As we have seen in the video, fear is a protection system. Understanding the constructive meaning of fear helps us to empathize with it and listen to it instead of rejecting it or even fearing it. In fact, when we do not understand its meaning, fear grows and becomes our worst enemy.

When we speak of fear we rarely think of "protection system", we usually understand fear as a limitation. Therefore, the phrase "living in fear" as society interprets it, is rejected, nobody wants it. However, avoiding fear leads to the appearance of other symptoms that function as a warning mechanism: when we do not listen to it, it looks for a way to manifest itself.

That said, if instead of speaking of fear we refer to "constructive fear", things change. It is then that "living with fear" can become another richer and more complete concept that we do accept: "living with a fear that protects us but does not limit us".

Do we then understand that we should not avoid fear?

Yes, that's right. Fear, like all other emotions, contains a message that we cannot reject. Otherwise, fear of fear is generated and negative thoughts grow to the point of transforming the primary thought and emotion into a system full of catastrophisms and totalisms ("everything will go wrong for me"/"I will be a failure"/"I will never be able to").

How can we lose the fear of fear?

As Luis Muiño says: "Fear preserves us from dangers and, at the same time, limits our lives. To be happy is to lose the fear of fear and manage this emotion in a way that allows us to be cautious but lets us live freely".

When we speak of limitation, we are referring to fear that does not invite reflection but slows down decision and action. Non-constructive fear can seriously hinder our goals. The well-known book and video entitled "Do you dare to dream" talks about how, many times, fear overcomes motivation (they work as opposing forces) and that first step that would help us to get out of a comfort zone, is forgotten because of the "what if it doesn't work out".

Of course, overcoming "fear of fear" is not an easy task; it requires training in positive-realistic thinking as a result of contact with our achievements. Recognizing our capabilities makes it easier for us to value what we can gain instead of focusing on what we can lose. Along the same lines, Matti Hemmi, explains: "Your attitude, your beliefs and your fears are locked in your brain and you are not going to change them overnight". In fact, what I invite you to do is not to change but to develop yourself".

Developing ourselves as people who are not "afraid of fear" and who understand fear as a constructive element is a very intelligent vision.

What is the difference between change and development?

Development is growth, increase, advancement, progress, progress, advancement, improvement, etc.

When we talk about development it implies the word change, but referring to this first term is especially functional. Talking about development invites us to think that we are the same person we were at the beginning but richer for having integrated different elements.

Understanding personal growth as development makes it easier for the individual to understand that what he or she needs may not be out there, but is the result of internal work related to putting order and structure to thoughts and emotions (the result of one's own experience and the inheritance received).

"Fears" is a video that has been worked on in the personal growth workshops. Specifically, the workshop "Where are you and where do you want to go" has been presented to help participants understand which fears limit them and which protect them. How else can we work on constructive fear?

Constructive fear, that which stops us in the face of danger and invites us to think in a functional way, can be worked on through self-knowledge exercises, exercises that promote messages related to who we are and how we perceive the world. For this, the psychotherapist is in charge of guiding the discovery of "the voice of constructive fear" with interviews, narrative techniques, illustrated stories and experiential exercises among others.

The result of this type of dynamics is a greater contact with the discourse of functional fear. In short, the objective is to listen to it, understand it and accept it.

Acceptance is the key point that "allows us to allow ourselves", to be redundant. Me, you, him and all of us feel fear, it is a natural and necessary emotion, it is an essential element to adapt ourselves to the environment and that the environment adapts to us. Working on the resistances (thoughts that do not allow) is another fundamental task to make our beliefs more flexible and facilitate the understanding of fear.

Thank you very much.

Interview by Mª Teresa Mata.