Fear is a natural instinct designed to help us in survival. But in modern age, our fears can become an impediment to lead a normal and successful life.
Unnecessary fears can lead to anxiety. Anxiety is defines as: Anxiety is a psychological, physiological, and behavioral state induced in animals and humans by a threat to well-being or survival, either actual or potential. It is characterized by increased arousal, expectancy, autonomic and neuroendocrine activation, and specific behavior patterns.
Fear makes the body release few hormones, increases heart rate and chronic fear is detrimental to good health.
Chronic fear can cause gastric problems like ulcers and irritable bowel syndrome, cardiovascular damage, weakening of immunity. Not to mention the psychological consequences.
How do we overcome fear?
One of the exciting new research done on mice and which can be followed by us is "fasting"!
Yes, fasting tends to reduce fear. Isn't it a wonderful thing that with additional benefits to health from fasting, now we know that it can help us to overcome fear! No wonder, major civilizations have fasting as an integral component of life!
How fasting helps?
Excerpt from NEJM
"Fasting can be understood as enhancing the survival of the species by allowing more risk taking (less fear) when the animal is hungry and in need of food. But if the findings translate to humans, they may have important implications for behavioral treatment of anxiety and new pharmacotherapies. Fasting before an exposure therapy session might enhance exposure effects and would be relatively easy to translate from “bench to bedside.” In addition, better understanding of the feeding circuit might result in new anxiolytic medications targeting this circuit. "
Read more here...http://www.jwatch.org/na38388/2015/07/15/no-lunch-before-your-cbt-session?ijkey=oMfsLzPQUizNk&keytype=ref&siteid=jwatch&variant=full-text
The other traditional recommended ways of reducing fear can be read here
Image Courtesy:Pixabay
Unnecessary fears can lead to anxiety. Anxiety is defines as: Anxiety is a psychological, physiological, and behavioral state induced in animals and humans by a threat to well-being or survival, either actual or potential. It is characterized by increased arousal, expectancy, autonomic and neuroendocrine activation, and specific behavior patterns.
Fear makes the body release few hormones, increases heart rate and chronic fear is detrimental to good health.
Chronic fear can cause gastric problems like ulcers and irritable bowel syndrome, cardiovascular damage, weakening of immunity. Not to mention the psychological consequences.
How do we overcome fear?
One of the exciting new research done on mice and which can be followed by us is "fasting"!
Yes, fasting tends to reduce fear. Isn't it a wonderful thing that with additional benefits to health from fasting, now we know that it can help us to overcome fear! No wonder, major civilizations have fasting as an integral component of life!
How fasting helps?
Excerpt from NEJM
"Fasting can be understood as enhancing the survival of the species by allowing more risk taking (less fear) when the animal is hungry and in need of food. But if the findings translate to humans, they may have important implications for behavioral treatment of anxiety and new pharmacotherapies. Fasting before an exposure therapy session might enhance exposure effects and would be relatively easy to translate from “bench to bedside.” In addition, better understanding of the feeding circuit might result in new anxiolytic medications targeting this circuit. "
Read more here...http://www.jwatch.org/na38388/2015/07/15/no-lunch-before-your-cbt-session?ijkey=oMfsLzPQUizNk&keytype=ref&siteid=jwatch&variant=full-text
The other traditional recommended ways of reducing fear can be read here
