WHAT FEAR AND ANXIETY CAN DO TO WRITING

When I sat and came up with this idea, I was all through seeing me in the picture. I am a very passionate writer; I have inspiration, motivation and the knack to achieve greatness.
But before now, I have come under serious scrutiny and criticism by myself, whether I can live up to expectation or not. There has always been the episode of fear of not meeting to expectation; or doing it wrongly and to avoid mediocre, criticism, and even ridicule.
Anxiety came along, pushing me far to the top in my wildest dreams, fantasizing what I have and can achieve; empty handed!
I found myself hovering and battling between these two extremes; fear and anxiety.
I was anxious to reach where every other writer has accomplished in the shortest possible way. Why? I felt as a learned individual with a knack for writing, I should have my own work, too, just like every other writer. So I failed.
I met a strong resilience of fear that I might be writing the wrong thing, I saw my writing suck because it was not comparable with other work of my mentors.
I was a lost soul, so desperate to harness my potential that I knew was there, that I ended up being a victim of the circumstances I built unknowingly.
Here is what the expert say:
“Fear is one of the most powerful emotions. It has a very strong effect on your mind and body. It tells you what to do in emergencies like a fire, or being attacked. It can also kick in when you’re faced with non-dangerous stuff, like exams, public speaking, a new job, a date, a party, or even writing. It’s a natural response to a threat”.
“Anxiety is a word we use for some types of fear, usually to do with the thought of a threat or something going wrong in the future rather than right now”.

Fear and anxiety can last for a short time and then pass. But they can also last much longer and you can get stuck with them. In some cases they can take over your life, affecting your ability to eat, write, sleep, concentrate, travel, enjoy life, and even leave the house or go to work.
This can hold you back from doing things you want or need to do, and affects your health in the process. Health problems that are directly based on fear include phobias, panic attacks and anxiety disorders.
Some people become overwhelmed by fear and want to avoid situations that might make them frightened or anxious. It can be hard to break this cycle, but there are lots of ways to do it. You can learn to feel less fearful, and to cope with fear so it doesn’t stop you from living.
I cringe at what fear and anxiety has caused to my being a writer dream, I have been traumatized, deprived, broken, name it, but I fought back.

What actually makes you afraid of writing
I can outline a hundred and one reasons why you are afraid of writing. What affected me is also an ailment to another, and it goes like that to others; the fear of failure.
Truly, fearing failure can make you try to do well so you won’t fail, but it can verily stop you from doing well if the feeling is strong.
What you’re afraid of and how you act when you’re afraid depends on lots of things, like your perceptions, how you were brought up, what’s happened to you in your life, and the way you learn and cope with things. The fear of mediocrity, ridicule, criticism, all abound.
Just knowing what makes you afraid, and why, can be the first steps to sorting out problems with fear.

What about anxiety?
Just like I said, anxiety is actually a type of fear.
The word anxiety tends to be used to describe worry, or when fear is nagging and persists over time. It is used when the fear is about something in the future, rather than what is happening right now.
Anxiety is a word often used by health workers when they’re describing persistent fear. It applies the same thing when I would be describing a wailing writer like you.
For the fact that I discovered my writing potential lately does not become a yardstick for me to write books in splits of seconds to cover-up lost time.
Becoming a writer takes patience and a great deal of writing, reading, and learning. But because we fear the bulkiness of these criteria, we become defenseless to anxiety, and then fear ruins the little passion within you.

How to detect and overcome fear and anxiety
If you have been following me closely, you would know am not a psychologist, or a therapist, just a building specialist. But because I was once a victim to these extremes, I have been bailed out and I want to help you out too.
When you encounter fear or anxiety, or both at same time, you might have knowingly or unknowingly experienced:
• Irregular heartbeat which is as a result of either not-wanting-to-fail or you’re over anxious to do something beyond yourself
• Muscle weakness. Someone might think this to be ridiculous, but I’ve experienced it. Imagine you just found this BIG inspiration to write an award winning fiction novel but only to find out you don’t know where to start and then it all goes away. It kills your muscles.
• You sweat a lot. Yes, you’d sweat to emptiness when you are unable to justify why you are not a writer yet.
• Difficulty to concentrate. When fear and anxiety surround you, you’d be as helpless to place your thoughts on a single item.
• There is tensed muscles, sleeplessness, restlessness, frequent headache and stomach is churning, trauma.
They may appear a medical representation, but it affects you squarely that you blame it on others. Remember I told you I was victimized, but I’ve gone past my wounds and am healthy.
All these happen because your body, sensing fear, is preparing you for an emergency, so it makes your blood flow to the muscles, increases blood sugar, and gives you mental ability to focus only on the thing that’s scaring you.
With anxiety, in the longer run, you may have some of the above feelings as well as a more nagging sense of fear, and you may get irritable, have trouble sleeping, develop headaches, have trouble getting on with work and planning for the future.
You deserve to be healthy, to write, to be fulfilled, and to be great; by just applying this simple solution…start from apprenticeship and understand the basics before taking the next leap.
We are scared to start from the scratch, but you need to understand yourself, because it’s all about you and you alone.
How you can help yourself
o Face your fears –if you are always avoiding that situation that scares you, you might end up losing your focus, your passion, your gift, and all that you have, and heavens will never forgive you. This would definitely cause you to miss that chance to manage your fears and reduce anxiety. Remember, anxiety will always haunt you if you don’t stand to face your fears
o Know yourself –no one knows when you face these challenges, try to learn more about your fears and anxiety problems. Proffer alternative way to go about keeping yourself calm when you encounter them.
o Relax –you would never understand what a simple relaxation can do to your fear and anxiety problem if you don’t try it out. Relaxation can help you understand the mental and physical feelings of fear and anxiety.
o Healthy therapy –by eating good food, regular exercise, avoiding too much, or no alcohol can be very beneficial. I quit alcohol when I knew it was taking my time away from my book.
o Read, learn, write, and keep writing –a professional athlete keeps fit by practicing constantly; so it is with your writing dreams. Read my article on “Secrets of Successful Writers and Bloggers” and see what makes an accomplished writer successful. Revealing secrets that would help you become a celebrated writer just like the others.