A reading of my article – Fads and Fear
(c) K Wicks
fear
Living In Fear – an update
I wrote an article about Living in Fear before this pandemic debacle, but feel I should revisit the subject as a number of the things mentioned have come up again.
A quick brief of that article was that I had observed throughout my childhood and into adult life, a theme and overtone of fear running through society. Which has only increased in the last few years as many have noticed. The MSM and money making governing bodies want you to be scared of everything, including breathing the very air around you. A sinister thing to instil in people, that their fellow human being is infected and the very air you breath can kill you. Makes for a good movie though, doesn’t it? There have been quite a few over the recent years, of viruses, infections, unseen monsters that are there somewhere, but with a fear and tension that builds. Don’t make noise, don’t breath, Don’t fall asleep. Normal everyday things turned against you psychologically, so that then you in turn sabotage yourself by way of imagination and over thinking. Following on from the hooks and lures that were placed over the years, and through various mediums to trigger a response.
Now it’s back to relentless doom and catastrophic predictions. The ice caps will melt, the ozone layer, climate change is coming, war, collapse of money, food shortages etc. Like I said, relentless. But if you happen to glance at the predictions since 1970, none have actually come true, although certain people and industries have made an awful lot of money from them. And continue to do so. With this current generation being pummelled mentally from every angle. And while all that doom is being filtered through to each aspect of people’s lives, they are also tipping society upside down. As they have in various countries over the years, the rise and fall of empires, temporary enemies and alliances, all moving and changing behind the scenes mostly. But we get to see the continuing campaign against how things are, and how they would like them to be. Keep in mind though, how things were had been set up by them too. So, it’s probably best that we don’t try and go back, because that place was still with fear as an invisible hook. With familiar, calming faces to talk you round, then alarming, in your face presentations by other familiar faces, placed for purpose.
We would do well to try and undo the landscape of fear, hate and anger that has been allowed to fester. And not carry it forward as they would like, instead find a new way to move into the future. Because if we don’t, then theirs will continue to herd us along…
(c) K Wicks
Sensing Fear
Fear, I have written about it a number of times and having seen it have such consequences when used in a group setting in real life, felt it needed revisiting. Previous articles about it will list at the end of the post.
Olfactory, perception and senses. All these things work together to give us a sense of our surroundings, so we can assess our personal situation at hand. I guess for safety and opportunity. We do interpret those signals received differently as people, and will react differently to those responses. So, imagine that they all aren’t working together anymore, to give you that realistic sense of surroundings. Perceptions have been altered, senses have been numbed by way of medications and ‘mother’s little helper’ as they say. And the olfactory? Well for some that was willingly relinquished by wearing a mask and covering one’s face. Which made me think at the time, people were helping to limit their ability to use their senses. It’s funny really when you think of the saying ‘taken leave of your senses’, because it really does seem like that occurred. Could it be partially because they had? Also, we saw a distinct lack of common sense, something that is taken for granted and is joked about these days, the fact that it isn’t so common after all. But what does it mean, to have a common sense? We are led to believe it’s about being down to earth and grounded, and common, being then associated with being poor, or lower class. ‘Have a bit of common’ they say, and they are right. To me it’s just rational and logical thought, nothing to do with class, but interesting how words and meaning can make people not notice something. Terms are being redefined before our eyes these days, so good to know what things actually mean, and use your own common sense to see or know when something isn’t right.
Another fear that was used and played out, visible for many to see, was a fear of missing out and of being judged. Playing on people’s social weaknesses and personal wants to sway them. Cheap and obvious tactics I thought, but they appeared to work. With promises of travel, special rights, ice-cream, doughnuts and stickers many stepped up. Then they had to threaten to take those things away from people, no travel, no socialising, no seeing loved ones, to bring more fear into people’s lives and thoughts, using more emotive lures to get people on board. Still, some followed the pied piper, blinded by the fear of missing out, but from something meaningful as time went on. Then threats and coercion came for the ones who still weren’t playing ball, and they tried ever so hard on them, using livelihoods, family, stability, finances to make them so afraid that would do anything. But knowing that so many stood firm and either didn’t have any fear, or felt the fear and still didn’t go along with it, was a small heart-warming moment in these dark times. Every fibre of some people’s being seemed to be on high alert as soon as the talk of restrictions came in, and knew something was coming. And very quickly it was noticed that something was very much amiss.
And this is where we know that all of those senses, aren’t just for fear, they are for life and awareness. To sense everything around us and what we are. If we aren’t listening to ourselves or understand what our own body and mind is telling us, then we are vulnerable to others taking advantage of that. Medications have all sorts of side effects people don’t really talk about, or even know, for example I was quite surprised to find out that some painkillers actually dampen emotions and empathy, killing all feeling, not just pain, covered in my article Memory, interesting for the other experiments it mentions.
So, our senses have been under attack for quite some times, being numbed and distracted wherever possible. Entertained and medicated to keep us busy and absorbed in a shallow world of their making. With deep under currents of corruption, revealing a very sinister well organised ingrained mentality in many who preside over society in some form. And that is where fear really helps those who seek to control and manipulate others, especially if they have manufactured the reason you are afraid. It gives them the upper hand, to know you are afraid of, because they can tailor triggers and ideas to work on that. Fear can be useful to the individual experiencing it though, and being able to work through it or use it, can be helpful. But in these times of corruption and deception, I really think we should keep our wits about us and stay sharp and if there was ever a time when you needed people to .come to their senses’ it would be now…
Living in fear – from a propaganda perspective
Fear – from my book Meeting in the Middle of Nowhere
Fear, a follow up – regarding society
(c) K Wicks
Fear, A Follow Up
I posted one of my articles on twitter – The Three D’s of Conversion Under Coercion, and received the following comment.
“You seem pretty fearful”.
So I gave this thought, believing that in the article, I was merely making observations about where we currently are in society and pointing out techniques of manipulation and how they can be used against people. But they may indeed be correct with their comment, and it has led to the thought that in this situation, there are different types of fear playing out internally and around us. I shouldn’t generalise it, when really it is quite personal to each individual. Even if the outcomes and mechanisms to cause them are the same. It also occurs to me it should not be a bad thing either to point out someone is scared or fearful, or for someone perhaps to admit it in and to themself. So let’s looks at it as a word and it’s explained meaning, as on the face of it, appears to be a very necessary part of us.
Fear – “a natural, powerful, and primitive human emotion. It involves a universal biochemical response as well as a high individual emotional response. Fear alerts us to the presence of danger or the threat of harm, whether that danger is physical or psychological”.
I have already written a chapter about Fear in my non-fiction book Meeting in the Middle of Nowhere but had only really reviewed that from a horror angle. Looking at it from the point of view of someone who can visualise the horror concepts, ideas and thoughts, and someone who can’t. And, have also written a chapter on it in one of my fictional books, about the different types of fear a predator relies on when stalking. But this one isn’t so specific as it can cover both of those. Once your sense of fear has been ‘activated’ and you assess your situation, as with this one we collectively find ourselves in. I have also written an article called Living in Fear, so like to think I have given this subject a lot of thought over the years.
But this one I believe they refer to and that they pointed out, would be the fear of what is unfolding and appears to be heading our way. Fear of the unknown, of being forced into something and of the future. Sounds quite appropriate to have that currently, so yes, I think they are right, I am fearful. These were normal and commonplace fears previously though, many a person for many a generation will have worried and feared for the future, in calm times and in times of great distress and upheaval. As this does indeed highlight, I have spent much of my life fearful of various things, but that was personal to me and my experiences, as is the case for everyone.
But how you manage your fear is what seems to be a big decider in your outcome or fate potentially. I have spent decades trying to manage mine, and however much I would like to think I keep a lid on it, or hold it down, it is there and is part of me. And it’s not by accident I ended up with so much, covering some of it in Conditional Release and remembering that hearing the saying ‘Feel the fear and do it anyway’, gave me a focus in my youth, I heard it at the right time and it made me realise then that fear was ok, just don’t let it paralyse you or control you. In the right dose and situation, it can possibly help you…
(c) K Wicks
Fear
This is another chapter from my book – Meeting in the Middle of Nowhere, this one regarding a subject that has consumed much of my thought over the years. Once the difference between Hyperphantasia and Aphantasia was established, it led me to requestion this particular theme and review it from a completely different angle. (If you are not familiar with my book or these terms – I have Hyperphantasia = over visualising in mind and my husband has Aphantasia = lack of visual imagery) And in these strange times where many people are being openly manipulated through fear, it would be wise to understand what it is and how it can affect you.
Fear ~
When we found out about the difference in ability for visual imagery, one of the subjects I raised was fear. I wanted to know if he was affected by horror movies. Although he doesn’t really care for them, I know he had a phase of watching them when younger, and I thought, if he doesn’t get anything from them, why would he watch them? That is one of the areas that I always felt uses your own visual imagery against you, horror films. Creating tension with unseen horrors or just nothing sometimes, only a piece of music – letting your brain make up something more terrible than they could.
And I was correct. It was a flat no. He didn’t get scared watching them or any time after, because his brain literally imagined nothing during the scenes where you did not see the monster or alien. Long scenes of nothing but tension will often lose his attention, and rightly so I realise. Therefore, he never thought there might be monsters under the bed, has never been afraid of the dark or something he can’t see.
“Why would I be afraid of an idea?”
A very logical question, I felt, because without visual imagery, there was nothing to be scared of. He doesn’t visualise what might happen, he doesn’t put himself in the place of others, and therefore no emotion at all is attached. They are just pictures on a screen and when they are finished, they are gone. No recall or replay happens after the event. We can discuss concepts and ideas, but I no longer make any reference to anything visual or implied visual, there is no point and it holds up a conversation.
I watch less horror myself these days. Once I realised my brain was imprinting most of what I saw and could recall it at any given moment, I decided I need to be a better filter. My moods and emotions are greatly affected by what I read, write, watch and see, so I choose what takes my attention wisely now. I have spent a big portion of my life being affected by my fears and phobias, something he simply cannot relate to. I have a number of them and have learnt to manage them over the years. Some may be familiar.
Example: When I was about 8 or 9, I watched Jaws. As you can possibly imagine, it didn’t do me any good. It affected me so much I didn’t go swimming or have a bath for a year. Only showers. Because my brain decided to visualise and imagine jaws coming up through the plughole. Or in the swimming pool, the filter became my point of fixation. I had nightmares about the sea, about swimming, about sharks. It haunted me greatly.
After a year or so, I started to go back in the water. But with a very changed mind-set. Every water experience was a chore, an anxiety-ridden feeling I tried desperately to hide. I was a tomboy and wanted to be cool. So swallowed my fear and did it, along the way reading as many factual books about sharks as I could. Trying to dispel my unnatural fear of something that did not inhabit the same terrain as me.
Around the age of 12 there were a couple of experiences that reminded me I was not over it, just working through it. In the Army Cadets we were on annual camp and part of our training was being made to jump in a lake, swim out to a small boat and back to shore. Sounds simple enough. Let me set the scene as it really was – it was a grey February day, a freezing cold lake in the woods, and the water was black as night, zero visibility. I was the only girl taking part because the other three had managed to come up with excuses. My fear was so paralysing I couldn’t think about anything other than what they were about to make me do. All I knew was that I couldn’t bottle it in front of everyone.
As the only girl they tried to make me go first, but that is where I put my foot down, no, I would go second. I may have also watched the film Alligator by then too, which only added to my already massive issues. Watching someone else jump in first and struggle to the boat did make me feel a bit better. I was a competent swimmer so my concern wasn’t skill based. I jumped in, and as my head went under just for a second my panic hit a new level. The only reason I think I managed it was the adrenaline from the fear. That same mechanism got me bronze medal at the cadet championships too, for swimming. Visualising a shark actually helped me there!
I am still not over it, I just don’t go near the water anymore. I love swimming as a sport and exercise but it’s not relaxing or enjoyable for me. Or even being on water; over a decade ago I visited The Gambia on holiday and had to go in a dugout canoe, the rim was only a centimetre above the water line. I was so tense I gripped the edge of the canoe the whole time, with fingertips only ever so slightly hanging over the edge, crocodiles and piranhas being my fear there. Again, I was just trying to save face but hated the experience and that I put myself through the anxiety of it.
So I now avoid water still because of a scary film I watched. It sounds pathetic, but the struggle is real. To my husband, it sounds mad and he can’t believe these things have affected me so much, but he kind of gets it a bit more now. He just doesn’t get why I continued to keep watching films that would give me nightmares and real fears. Zombie films also have their place in my Hall of Horror Phobias, but I now feel I am trying to put it to good use by writing books. I am torn though; when you work out what scared you so much, do you really want others to go through what you did? It’s the author’s dilemma for me; just because I can, does it mean I should?
I have also observed that fear and anxiety can be and are used in conjunction with each other for manipulative purposes.
Example: After my breakdown my mother was my sole company for most of the day. At first she seemed to be trying to help me get better, then after a year or two, the rhetoric changed. Instead of preparing me to reintegrate into society and become a real person again, I began to hear things like,
“You’ll never cope without me.”
I think it was from that point on all I could focus on was getting old enough to leave home. I didn’t care that I might not cope and the world was scary, I desperately wanted to have the chance. She, however, seemed to be filled with regret and constantly talked of plans involving me and her in the future. I was afraid I would never get away which added massively to my anxiety. Obviously the events that followed did ultimately see me get my wish to leave, but at the cost of everything. It took me quite a number of years to work through all of that and put it all where it needed to be. I can’t say I had it harder than anybody else, but it was definitely weird.
Photo and words taken from the film V for Vendetta.
Who were we?
How could we have known.
We found ourselves in the middle of the biggest disaster of living memory. But within that disaster a plot began to unfold. We were being used as weapons against each other during what initially appeared to be a terrible new illness. There was a silent invisible enemy, one you could not quantify or calculate, but one they told you was there. The government told you, the media told you, even the doctors told you. Why would they all lie you asked yourself?
For years the people had wanted looking after. For years they have begged the government for more rules, more surveillance, more punishment, more control. In times of uncertainty they looked to them for safety, guidance and support. Not each other. Work and life moved people further away from each other, and communities split apart and fell. No-one was looking out for each other anymore. Every man for himself was the new way. This was not an accident.
We might wonder why the ‘people’ look to the government for answers, assistance and to hold their hand, because that is the way they wanted it to be. But they needed everyone on board, so they took away all you have worked hard for or wanted to have. They made us sit while our futures slipped away, made us watch it slowly crumble. They knew we would comply, they planted enough fear to make it so. But what could we do, they had politicians, the police, the army and all the medical personnel on their side being fed from the same trough.
Who were we?
Living in Fear
My childhood growing up in the 80’s in the UK seemed to be filled with war, terrorism and espionage. Over three decades later I am still trying to make sense of a world fuelled by turmoil and greed. I didn’t have massively political parents, they moaned liked everyone else and picked a side. But didn’t really do anything, just talked a lot about what should be done.
My first few years of really being aware were in England and the back-end years of the cold war, the build up to the poll tax riots and very real threats and acts of Irish Terrorism from the IRA. I distinctly remember a certain bearded man (Gerry Adams if you don’t remember), who’s opinions were deemed so poisonous his voice wasn’t even allowed on television. Although the footage of him and someone else reading his words were okay.
The Lockerbie air disaster was a terrible event noted by all too and reminded us we were at threat from at home and abroad. Apparently. Details and the full story were as sketchy and hazy then as they are today. And as I do now, relied on the media to give me information and keep me updated of the terrifying world around me. And that made me think something may fall out of the sky at any moment and land on you. I wasn’t very comfortable flying after that.
The 90’s brought a very different and worrying way of life for me. We moved into the military with my mother’s third marriage and were instantly posted to Germany, around the time of the Berlin wall coming down. My step-father had served in Northern Ireland before he was with us and it made it all a bit more real. It was no longer just reports on the TV. We were in Germany, where it was very real. On reflection, I may have had a realism sensory overload from that point on and never fully recovered. As we left for Germany, the first Gulf war kicked off, followed quite closely by Bosnia. My early teenage years were to be a continuation it seemed of being surrounded by societal turmoil. My home life wasn’t entirely standard either, dysfunctional and erratic I would call it. But that can easily go unnoticed when you realise what goes on outside. The world was falling to pieces, what does it matter if your family does too?
Thrown in between were other things to be afraid of, murderers, viruses and catastrophic natural events and man-made ones threatened every year. The O-zone, solar flares, earthquakes, asteroids, tsunamis. It was endless.
After that followed more wars and conflict, 9/11 and new laws and propaganda for what we were meant to be afraid of. I have a feeling that being constantly bombarded (through choice sometimes) with the negative reality of human nature hasn’t helped me to be a happier person, but perhaps a better informed one. Mid-teens I kind of fell off the map for a bit, but when I realise what I was contending with, I’m just glad I made it through.
(c) K L Wicks
(c) K Wicks
MKW Publishing 