7 Severn

If you were to mention the words: Fear. Scared. Frightened. Helpless. Within the month of October – particularly in Western culture. It may conjure up the following thoughts of Halloween: themed parties – costumes – apple bobbing – trick or treat – ghost stories – horror movies.

Yet unless we have studied within this area, how many of us actually give a thought as to the true meaning of Halloween?

As I’m writing this post within the month of October. I feel the topic should be addressed as part of the wider feelings of fear.

Commercially. Halloween celebrations on October 31st, have focussed on the fun side of things. Where it even feels good to be scared!

Traditional Halloween can be traced back to the festival of Samhain. The New Year Festival of the Celts. It notes the end of Summer and the coming of Winter. It was/is also believed the veil between living and dead are thinnest at this time.
Unsure who of the dead would be walking amongst them, people would disguise themselves – leading to the costumes of today.

Whether you participate in either the commercial or traditional Halloween events – or not. With regards to the emotional state of being scared. You can actually feel good about it – and that is key to overcoming our fears.

The other side to that, when we are genuinely scared. Feeling frightened or alarmed of someone or something. This can be very intense. We can also be frightened into something by someone also – where we are afraid of the consequences if we fail to do something.

The fight, flight or freeze response is activated within us when faced with fear and The Triple Warmer Meridian is responsible for this – more on that in a later post.

All states of being have their moments. Yet the feeling of being helpless can be the harshest in the long term. We feel powerless or weak in such states. It can be difficult to be told otherwise initially, as we have already convinced ourselves that we are not strong enough. In turn – those helpless thoughts and feelings, evolve into ones of hopelessness, when we’re left to fend for ourselves.
This merging of helpless and hopeless is where the situation becomes confusing. The two words become one and the same to the individual concerned.

So, to clarify, The Britannica Dictionary states: –

Helpless: Not protected: not able to defend yourself.
Unable to do something to make a situation, task, etc., better or easier.

Hopeless: Having or feeling no hope. Unable to be changed, helped or improved.

Those two words – although similar sounding, have different meanings. Where we may find ourselves in “Helpless” situations. It doesn’t necessarily mean “Hopeless” also. In fact, this is the time to reach out.
It is vitally important for those in such states to have a sound board – someone to offload stresses and raise concerns to. Easier said than done, I know. As those going through such states tend to mask it from others, putting on a brave face to the outside world.

If you find that you are the sound board. Be there for that person, even if you are not personally able to assist – point them in a direction where they may get the assistance required. After all. knowing that we have been heard and there is a better way, can make all the difference. We may not be feeling good at the time, although we can feel a little better – isn’t that what we’re all looking for?

Thank you for reading.

Next Week, we’re discussing the words: Terrified – Panic and Hysterical.