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Welcome to TheFearMonsterSlayer

Hi and welcome to my blog. I’m Jeff Aronson, TheFearMonsterSlayer. In this and future blogs I’ll share some simple, effective and fun tools for managing fear and anxiety. So, welcome aboard!

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THEFEARMONSTER OF LONDON

8/5/2014

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Londoners during the Blitz
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"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."--Franklin D. Roosevelt

Malcolm Gladwell, in his recent book, David and Goliath, describes a very interesting observation about how the British citizenry dealt with fear during the German Blitzkrieg bombing of London during World War Two. I really like Gladwell's books as they challenge conventional wisdom about why and how things happen. They're all on my recommended books list (They're also on THEFEARMONSTER'S banned books list).

In the years leading up to the war, the British government knew that the German Air Force would bomb London and that there was nothing they could do to stop it. The British military command predicted that a sustained bombing would kill an estimated 600,000 people, wound another 1.2 million and create mass panic.

Plans to build a massive network of underground bomb shelters were abandoned because it was feared that people would never come out of them. And several psychiatric hospitals were set up outside the city limits to treat what was expected to be a flood of psychological casualties.

In 1940 the attack began. For eight months, beginning with 57 consecutive nights of devastating bombardment, German bombers dropped tens of thousands of bombs and more than a million incendiary devices, fire bombs. Forty thousand people were killed, another forty-six thousand were injured, and a million buildings were damaged or destroyed.

But then an interesting thing happened. Every prediction about how Londoners would react was wrong. The panic never came! The psychiatric hospitals were switched to military use because no one showed up. Many women and children were evacuated to the countryside but people who needed to stay in the city mostly stayed. As the German assaults increased, authorities began to observe, to their astonishment, not just courage during the bombing but something closer to indifference.

People went on about their business, kids played in the streets and went to school and life went on pretty much as usual. It became astonishingly clear that the bombing didn't have the effect everyone thought it would. So why was that?

At the end of the war a study was done to solve the puzzle. It was found that the morale of the community depends on the reaction of the survivors. The so-called "near misses", people who feel the blast, are horrified by the destruction and carnage, may be wounded but survive, and are left with a powerful reaction associated with the bombing. They may continue to experience what's called post traumatic stress disorder or PTSD.

Then there are the "remote misses" who make up a far greater percentage of the population. People who hear the sirens, see the bombers overhead and hear the explosions. But the bomb hits some distance away. They survived the second or third time that happens, they experience a feeling of excitement tinged with a feeling of invulnerability. Their reaction is exactly the opposite of that of the "near misses" who are traumatized. A remote miss creates a feeling of invincibility.

In recollections of Londoners who lived through The Blitz, countless people described feeling happy and triumphant, exhilarated and invulnerable. One Londoner, who had been bombed out of his house two times, refused to be evacuated to the countryside. He said, "What and miss all this? Not for all the gold in China!"

The study concluded that  we are not only liable to fear but also afraid of being afraid. Conquering that fear produces exhilaration and a self-confidence that is "the very father and mother of courage." Soldiers going into combat of course fear dying or being maimed but right behind that is the fear of not showing courage and letting their buddies down.

Courage is not the absence of fear but doing something courageous in the face of fear. It's what we earn when we get through the tough times and realize they aren't so tough at all.

Next Time: FACING DOWN THEFEARMONSTER
 


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FEARMONGERING 1

6/23/2014

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Monger: One who attempts to promote or distribute something unpleasant, petty, or undesireable.--Webster's Collegiate Dictionary
News Flash: Crime rates, including violent crimes such as rape, homicide, robbery and aggravated assault, have dropped steadily since the mid 90's. According to The Huffington Post, from 1993-2012, crime rates dropped nationally by 48% and by 71% in New York City. That's right, 71% in NYC, believed to be one of the most dangerous cities in the world. And yet, polls show that the majority of Americans overestimate crime rates and believe them to be rising even as crime levels are actually dropping.

Studies by experts, including the FBI, have yet to come up with an explanation for this continuing drop in crime rates. Yet to watch the news or follow the various media, one would naturally conclude that the world has become increasingly dangerous and that we need to be very fearful and cautious. I'm continually amazed when parents tell me they would never hire a baby-sitter for an evening or let their kids play outside after school. It used to be as kids we went outside after school and didn't come in until it got dark or mom called us in for dinner.

So what's behind this spreading of fear? Could it be You-Know-Who, TheFearMonster? Think of it as a corporation, TheFearMonster, Inc. with an organizational chart. There's R&D, Research & Development, where ways to terrify the public are generated. And then there's Marketing and its sales force comprised of Fearmongers whose responsibility it is to spread fear. Unlike Santa Claus, TheFearMonster can't be everywhere and has to rely on its Fearmongers to market and distribute fear.

So who are these Fearmongers and how do they do it? Let's take a look. Besides politicians (that's too obvious), how about the media? TV, newspapers, the internet, blogs, etc. It's a no-brainer that the majority of the news is alarming, disturbing, negative and often terrifying with an occasional feel-good story thrown in in the last two minutes. There's an old news axiom that "If it bleeds, it leads." Even the weather report is terrifying with killer tornadoes and deadly storms predicted. Oh yeah, don't forget the commercials: "Your heart attack will happen tomorrow." And if the disease doesn't get you, the possible medication side-effects will.

OK. How can we be smart consumers and resist this sales pitch? Here are a few ideas. Gavin deBecker is an internationally recognized security consultant who provides protective security to high-profile public figures, government officials, celebrities and consults with police and intelligence agencies and large corporations. Go to his website, GavindeBecker.com and pull up his piece on Media Fear Tactics in which he teaches how to break the code of "alarming newspeak" so the truer and less frightening facts emerge.

 Here are a couple of media catch phrases designed to alarm viewers: "Possible..." In other words, it's not happening right now and probably not likely to. "Taking seriously..." Taking something seriously just means doing what's normal and reasonable. "Deadly..." Something can be deadly but doesn't mean it poses a threat to most of us. Here are a few more "alarming newspeak" phrases to watch for: "Experts fear...", "Shocking new details", "As many as...", and my favorite, "Just a matter of time before..." . 

His book, The Gift of Fear is a classic and a must-read on assessing and putting fear into perspective and steps individuals can do to keep themselves safe from real threats (By the way, TheFearMonster has tried unsuccessfully to have this book banned). I also recommend watching his talk on fear before a group at St. Francis College. Google Gavin deBecker YouTube. It's highly informative and helpful. Learning to decipher what's really  being said by the media can be enormously helpful in reducing fear. And it can make watching the news,especially local news, a highly entertaining game.

Lastly, Andrew Weil, MD, founder of the Integrated Medicine Program at University of Arizona, recommends taking a news fast one or two days a week. Don't read the paper or watch the news or go on the internet. We won't become ignorant of world events, the media is simply too pervasive. But the benefits we experience in more calm, less stress, anxiety, and overall peace of mind are well worth it.

Next Time: FEARMONGERING 2


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    Hi and welcome to my blog. I’m Jeff Aronson, TheFearMonsterSlayer. In this and future blogs I’ll share some simple, effective and fun tools for managing fear and anxiety. So, welcome aboard!

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