Freedom From Fear — Freedom To Fear

MyLife Essay Contest

Once, a relatively active young man sustained a major injury that altered his way of life drastically. He became angry and submitted himself to therapy treatment. In his first visit he was asked to draw a picture of his body as he sees it in his mind’s eye. The drawing showed a tall vase with cracks running along the sides rendering it virtually useless.

After a year of therapy, full rehab, and a new outlook on life; the therapist once again asked him to draw a picture of his body. The new picture showed a tall vase with cracks running down the sides. Only this picture had yellow lines that extended from the cracks of the vase to the very edges of the paper. He softly explained, “Now I know that it is from these cracks that the light shines through.”

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A king once made a contest to determine which of his three sons would inherit his kingdom. Whoever succeeded in filling a room more adequately would be the new king. The oldest son filled the room will rocks and stones, but the various shapes and sizes left spaces between the stones. The middle son tried filling the room with feathers, but they can always be pressed tighter creating more space. The third son walked to the center of the room and there he lit a candle. In one second the room was filled with light. Every part of the room was filled. The king remarked you have filled my heart with joy just as you had filled the room with light.

* * *

It just happened out of the blue. Your body broke into a sweat from head to toe, your chest tightened, your heart started to race, suddenly you felt faint and you started to run. Run where? Out. Out from wherever you were. You needed to breathe but you couldn’t catch your breath. And then suddenly, it passed almost as quickly as it started. But your life was never the same again.

As many as 18% of US adults and upwards of 30% of young people suffer from some form of anxiety, making it the most prevalent mental health disorder in the country. Anxiety can rear its head in many ways: generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety, OCD, PTSD, depression and so forth. The common denominator in all of these conditions is it changes your life forever.

The most common complaint from an anxiety sufferer is “I just want my life to be the way it was.” But, it can’t. It can never be. You can’t treat the problem with the same thinking you used to create it.

Psychotherapists try all sorts of cognitive-behavioral therapy and doctors will prescribe various medications to help manage the symptoms, but these methods don’t cure anxiety. There is no cure for anxiety. There is no pill or surgery to correct it. They only help you manage your symptoms at best.

So how does one experience freedom from anxiety and its gripping fear? For the best results; Apply Chassidus twice daily.

Let’s explore.

Irrational Fear

The root of all anxiety is baseless irrational fear. G-d created us with a special innate instinct that helps us survive in a world fraught with danger. It is called fear. When the mind senses danger, even subconsciously, the body releases certain chemicals that activate the fear response system in your body. During this time you will have increased strength and heightened senses. Your body will instinctively choose to fight the danger or flee from its path. The enhanced strength will help you survive the impeding danger.

For people with anxiety, the fear system is always on heightened alert. Often at times, it activates out of the blue. At the grocery, in the mall, or even while you sleep. What makes matters worse; you become entrenched in the cycle of fear.

The cycle of fear starts with any form of anxiety. You fear the consequences that may arise and your mind starts to imagine gloom and doom situations. You begin to avoid those circumstances and as a result your mind validates the fear. A baseless thought turn into irrational fear. The impact on your life is debilitating and sometimes even paralyzing.

It’s at this point, that most people turn to despair. What used to be ordinary and routine is now filled with tension, stress, and fear. Eventually, you seek medical help.

Control the Anxiety: Moiach Shalit Halev

The most common approach in treating anxiety is to help the patient manage its symptoms. Psychologists will try and unearth what is causing you to become afraid. More often than not, this approach doesn’t help your healing. They will teach you different techniques to help manage the physical symptoms: breathing techniques, tension release, exercise, caffeine and alcohol avoidance, and other such methods. Doctors may prescribe some pills to reduce the anxiety, but when the pills wear off the fear returns.

This approach is what they would call in Chassidus, Moiach Shalit al Halev – the mind shall rule over the mind. Since fear is an emotion of the heart, and the mind is what triggers the emotion, if you just control your thoughts the anxiety will go away.

Sounds like a reasonable solution. However, anxiety is more often than not, an irrational response to a certain stimuli. Statistics today show that anxiety sufferers whose method of healing is to control their symptoms, have little success in improving their quality of life. The bottom line is that if you aren’t ready to face your fears, you probably won’t.

Mind over matter is not a cure for anxiety. If you want to free yourself from anxiety, you will have to nullify it. For that to happen, let’s analyze “fear” according to chassidus.

Nullify Anxiety – Bitul Hayesh

The Rebbe Rashab explains in Sefer Maamarim 5671, Page 85:

“Yirah Tata (the lower level of fear) is Bitul Hayesh (nullification of one’s self) that’s accomplished through the acceptance of the yolk of Hashem or through meditation of G-d’s greatness.”

Fear in the context above doesn’t refer to superficial fear where a person might be “scared for himself” since that fear can have no relation to reality. Fear in this context is someone who is in full self confidence and recognizes the G-dly truth. Through bitul – self nullification, he becomes sensitive to a greater reality than himself and recognizes he is in G-ds presence at all times and in all places and is therefore secure.

Without Bitul, one is self absorbed and the basis of his fears is his own self-security. But, with Bitul Hayesh, he becomes in tuned with G-d and that aligns his awe and fear properly.

Bitul Hayesh is accomplished through meditation. It doesn’t mean knowing something is true, but rather meditating upon it until it becomes his way of life.

What really transpires when a person is suffering from anxiety and panic? A person loses control of his own self and he fears the consequences. That is why Moiach Shalit al Halev is insufficient in dealing with anxiety. Because, controlling anxiety is not a battle of control. In reality, the anxiety sufferer never lost control. It only feels like he does.

Psychologists and therapists are starting to realize this and therefore are beginning to utilize alternative methods that help patients confront their fears instead of just managing their fears. They recognize that to have freedom from anxiety you have to surrender yourself and not hold onto yourself. Surrender your inhibitions and replace it with strength and confidence.

We can see this wisdom in a letter The Rebbe penned on 26 Teves, 5725.

The Rebbe on Anxiety

The Rebbe wrote to an individual suffering from acute anxiety:

“The best and most effective thing to do in a situation such as yours is to study thoroughly those sections and chapters in our sacred books, such as Chovas HaLevavos, Shaar HaBitachon and the like, where the topics of hashgachah pratis (individual Divine providence) and bitachon are discussed.”

It is well to keep in mind those chapters and verses in Tehillim that speak of these subjects, as well as the Midrashim and commentaries of our Sages on them.

These topics should be studied in such depth that they become part of one’s thinking. In this way there will be no room left for any kind of anxiety or worry and, in the words of King David in Tehillim. “G-d is with me, I shall not fear. What can man do unto me?!”

The Rebbe doesn’t instruct him to control his thoughts and emotions. On the contrary, he tells him to give up his control by strengthening his “trust” in Hashem.

What is “trust” as it is explained in the Duties of the Heart; “it is the tranquility of the soul of the one who trusts; his hearts reliance on the one he trusts to do what is good and right for him.” Trust is the surrender of oneself.

The Rebbe knew that freedom from anxiety would only take with Bitul Hayesh, self transcendence. And this is accomplished through meditation – “these topics should be studied in depth until they become part of one’s thinking!

The Rebbe continues his letter:

“Moreover, this anxiety is in direct proportion to the discrepancy between a person’s lifestyle and his true and natural self. We all recognize that anxiety has to do with the psyche. But in the case of a Jew, the so-called psyche is really the neshamah, the soul. Some Jews have particularly sensitive souls, in which case the above-mentioned disharmony and discord creates an even greater degree of anxiety, and even subtle and “minor” infractions suffice to bring it on.”

The Rebbe is showing us, that when fear surrounds one’s own self, that in itself promotes disharmony in his self being, and that is manifest in the discomforting physical symptoms anxiety sufferers endure.

The good news is, that anxiety sufferers whom already feel this loss of control are very near to accomplishing freedom from anxiety. As The Rebbe concludes the letter:

“If this is so, then all that is necessary is to rectify this matter, bringing your daily life and conduct into complete harmony with the essence of your soul … your symptoms will then disappear by themselves.”

Through Bitul Hayesh, confronting your fears and realigning your trust in Hashem, you will convert those helpless feelings to feelings of personal triumph automatically. That is the gateway to reigniting the love of life and the love of Hashem.

Looking Forward – It’s the Only Way to Look

The Kotzker Rebbe was frequent to say “There is nothing more whole than a broken heart.”

Anxiety sufferers know what it means to have a broken heart. But with Chassidus Applied, they can let their hearts be filled with light for “The candle of Hashem is the soul of man”. The light of Chassidus will shine inside them as they transcend those dreadful feelings of self and live in true harmony; content with the ultimate reality that G-d is good and all that happens is for the good.

Consider anxiety a catalyst to this awareness. It is hard, but like it says in Tanya chapter 42, “if you try and you find – believe”. And when you do, freedom from anxiety will become your reality. May all those who suffer from anxiety be blessed with true fear, the fear of G-d!