Recognizing fear in oneself

In the section on sadness, I suggested that a glance at a photo of Betty Shirley can cause sad feelings in a person. I do not think that this happens when we look at people who are angry, as well as people who are fearful. However, check it out yourself. Take a look at the truck driver's face, and if you feel any sensations, let them develop. If this method does not work, try to imagine yourself in the driver's seat, and if you have any sensations, do not hinder their growth.
If looking at a photo does not help you, try to remember the period in your life when you suddenly found yourself in a very dangerous position and could not do anything to alleviate the danger facing you. Perhaps you flew in an airplane when the weather suddenly deteriorated and the plane began to fall into the airholes. Remembering your feelings, let your feelings increase. If attempts to recall a scene from your past do not give the desired effect, try the following exercise.

Simulate the movements of the face that arise in fear. (You may need a mirror to check the correctness of the movements performed.)

• Raise the upper eyelids as much as possible, and if you can, slightly tighten the lower eyelids; if the tension of the lower eyelids will prevent you from lifting the upper eyelids, then focus only on raising the upper eyelids.
• Let your lower jaw drop and stretch your lips horizontally to make your mouth look like the mouth of a truck driver.
• If after several attempts you cannot achieve the desired result, then just leave the jaw in a lowered position and do not try to stretch the lips in a horizontal direction.
• Raising the upper eyelids as far as possible, direct your gaze straight ahead, raise your eyebrows as high as possible; Try to see if you can bring your eyebrows together, keeping them in a raised position; if you can’t do both, then just keep your eyebrows and upper eyelids elevated.

Pay attention to the sensations experienced by your face, your stomach, your arms and legs. Control your breathing and notice if your face and hands are getting cold or hot.

You may find that your hands are cold, that you breathe more and more deeply, you begin to sweat, and you may have felt a shudder or tension in your arm and leg muscles. You may also notice that your head or body begins to tilt backwards.
Usually, when you are very frightened, you know about it, but you may be less familiar with the sensations that accompany mild anxiety, when the danger is far away and does not seem very serious. (I am sure that the sensations will be the same as those with strong fear, but much less intense. However, so far no studies have been conducted to determine whether concern and horror are really associated with various subjective sensations.)
Now try to evoke the sensations that you experience when you are worried about something. Remember the situation in which you expected something very undesirable for you that could not be a misfortune for you, but that you would like to avoid. You could worry about the need to remove a wisdom tooth or undergo a colonoscopy procedure. You might be concerned about whether your report will be rated as high as you expect. Worry could have arisen about a possible assessment in the final exam in mathematics. When you hold such an event in your mind - remembering that it will happen in the future, waiting for it, but not being able to do anything to prevent you from doing any harm - focus again on what you feel and body. These feelings will be much weaker than with strong fear.