101 Emotions
Like the phoenix, this is about the power of rising — no matter how many times your spirit is crushed.
· Fear is the part of me thatsays: danger is close.
· Sometimes it’s tied tosomething obvious. Sometimes it arrives as a body reaction before I can explainit.
· For me, fear isn’t irrational.It’s my nervous system responding to risk — real, remembered, or predicted.
· Fear is trying to keep mealive.
· It pushes me to scan, avoid,prepare, freeze, fight, or run.
· When I’ve lived through harm,fear can stay switched on longer than the current situation requires.
· In my body:
o Heart racing, tight chest,shallow breath
o Cold hands, sweating,trembling, nausea
o Frozen/heavy limbs or suddenadrenaline energy
o Startle response, tension injaw/shoulders
· In my mind:
o “Something’s wrong” withoutclear evidence
o Mental images of worst-caseoutcomes
o Hyper-focus on threat cues(tone, silence, facial expressions)
o Difficulty thinking clearly ormaking decisions
· In my behaviour:
o Avoiding people/places/messages
o Fawning/people-pleasing to staysafe
o Freezing (can’t speak, can’tmove, can’t decide)
o Over-preparing, checking exits,needing control
· Being rushed, pressured, orcornered
· Uncertainty and waiting (noreply, unclear plans)
· Authority systems and “proveit” environments
· Raised voices, sudden changesin tone, criticism
· Someone’s smile not matchingwhat they’re doing (strings attached “help”)
· Environments that overload mysenses (noise, clutter, crowds)
· Anything that resembles pastdanger, even in small ways
· Anxiety: anxiety is often future-focused and looping; fear can be moreimmediate and body-led.
· Intuition: intuition is usually calm and clear; fear is urgent, tightening,and reactive.
· Overwhelm: overwhelm is capacity overload; fear is threat detection. Theyoften stack.
· What I need:
o Safety signals (quiet, space,predictability)
o Time to process before Irespond
o Clear options and clear exits
o Support from someone steady whodoesn’t minimise me
· What has to stop / what Iwon’t do:
o I won’t force myself intosituations my body is flagging as unsafe
o I won’t accept pressuredisguised as “for your own good”
o I won’t override my boundariesto avoid conflict
· What helps me in the moment(0–5 minutes):
1. Name it: “This is fear. My bodyis trying to protect me.”
2. Orient to the room: look aroundslowly, name where I am, find exits.
3. Slow exhale breathing (longerout-breath).
4. Grounding: feet on floor, coldwater, hold something textured/heavy.
5. Reduce input: step away, lowernoise/light, pause the conversation.
· What helps me the same day(5–60 minutes):
1. Write: “What is the threat Ithink is coming?”
2. Separate current factsfrom past memories.
3. Do one small safety action(lock door, call someone safe, plan my next step).
4. Gentle movement to dischargeadrenaline (walk, stretch, shake-out).
· What helps me longer term:
o Build routines that increasepredictability
o Practice boundaries early soI’m not negotiating while afraid
o Learn my fear cues (startle,tight throat, urgency)
o Create scripts for pressure: “Ineed time. I’ll get back to you tomorrow.”
· If fear is constant,escalating, or making me unsafe, I treat that as a sign I need more supportthan a blog post can give.
· Vignette ideas:
o The moment I realised my bodynoticed danger before my mind could explain it.
o The moment I stopped calling it“overreacting” and started calling it “information.”
· When I feel fear, I oftenalso feel: Anxiety, Feeling overwhelmed, Anger,Shame, Numbness
· Tools that support me here: Grounding techniques, How I calm my nervous system, Safety planning(personal), Journaling prompts for fear
· I’m not a therapist. I’msharing my lived experience and what I’ve learned along the way — because themore we talk about these experiences and emotions honestly, the more chance wehave of protecting future generations.
· Read more about this projecthere: About 101 Emotions (link)