Data dread arrived early in my life while waiting for the next situation I was to be placed with very little information to go on but expected to adapt to anyway. As my mind reeled the kaleidoscope of potentialities the somersault of anxious sensations of fight or flight were provoked. I didn’t like that unsettled response then and I don’t like it now at let’s say advanced age.

Information phobia is unfortunately not a ‘formal’ medical finding, and as such, if you experience strong, unreasonable fear or anxiety about receiving, processing or using information, seeking professional medical aid may be disappointing. Often emotional therapy is advised that could possibly bolster your own determination to tame responses but is costly, time-consuming and not guaranteed to work. Some practitioners prescribe pharmaceuticals. Be cautious here and first research the multitude of naturally occurring bodily chemicals released into the system during the flight or fight mode, inserting additional substances can bamboozle an already complicated internal landscape.

The fight or flight response system is termed the sympathetic nervous system and is the process that prepares the body for rapid action in response to stress or fear but is anything but ‘sympathetic’ in the way we usually refer to the word. Kindhearted is not how I would describe the sensations. And this system doesn’t differentiate between your mind creating fictional emergencies that ignite the agitated reactions, or if in fact you are being chased by a great grizzly bear with an intent on snacking.

Heart rate kicks up, blood pressure increases, and stomach flip-flopping begins. The sympathetic nervous system response is great to have activated if said bear were chasing you and you needed all the frantic energy to run or be eaten. But like any other excess, chronic overactivation of SNS can cause mental and physical health consequences. Long term damage to delicate internal bodily organs, cells and tissues can occur if remediation is not at least attempted.

Over the years I’ve constructed internal imagery shields to isolate and moderate frenzied reactions, but there remain times when apprehension advances full speed despite my best efforts, due to unknown illusionary bits of information I know is out there in the ether that will more likely than not, cause my life to be upset and my carefully assembled shield could crack like an egg.

Well, duh, I say to myself! Life transpires and information is the how, what and why of it.

But the challenge of transforming ‘data dread’ to information being a tool for your success is a big one, because many times the fight or flight response comes with a tad bit of self-righteousness. “Of course, I am right to fear -pick something – who wouldn’t”. Sticky Notes that remind me to be humble and calm down at this stage get trashed. It takes time, willpower and backing down from my own old and outdated beliefs and physical responses to put new notes back up and listen to them.  Mindsets can have a huge impact on lassoing the fight and flight response, but they must be prepared ahead of time to be of any use in calming the mind at stressful times. Calm the brain and the body will most likely follow.

Annie Okley’s ordinary rope lassoed branches to make bridges for her horse Benny. Wonder Woman’s Golden ‘Lariat of Truth’ could do much more. My mental imagery is the foundation of model mindsets for striving to regulate my body’s autonomic bodily functions such as heart rate and respiration and the urge to be on rigid guard for my very survival and help ease my body towards returning to the parasympathetic nervous system mode, the system that calms.

Often described as our bodies at rest and digest state, the parasympathetic alternates with the sympathetic nervous system contingent on what circumstances are presented. As we live our lives the two systems jockey back and forth to provide balance to the body. One or the other is dominant at various times providing equilibrium to the body for maintaining homeostasis…the body’s stable interior environment.

You enjoyed your favorite dinner and went for a walk on a warm summer night on a peaceful country road feeling dreamy and content. Parasympathetic nervous dominates now. Suddenly, exploding out of a wild strawberry bush is the above-mentioned great grizzly bear still intent on snacking. Sympathetic nervous system engages and you are filled with alarm and ready to put up your dukes or beat feet and run. Both systems participated in responding to individual circumstances.

After you scare off the big bad bear from eating you using the frantic, yet temporary strength the sympathetic nervous system provides, the swifter you can use personally constructed techniques geared to returning to balance and reengaging the parasympathetic nervous system to be dominant again, the better for you. Everyone’s internal structure is unique in what it requires, but it is my belief damage sustained by internal systems and organs can be mitigated by learning how your own body works under a myriad of circumstances and actively participating in helping it maintain mental and physical equilibrium.

–Leika…my words and understanding of a topic are just that, mine. To each his own.