That which weakens the judgement most

Cardinal de Retz Quotes. Nothing sways the stupid more than arguments they can't understand. The man who can own up to his error is greater than he who merely knows how to avoid making it.

Chronocanine Envy:Sadness experienced when one realized that, unlike one's dog, one cannot live only in the present tense. As Kierkegaard said, "Life must be lived forward. There are thousands of ways to get rich, but there is only one way to reach the island of happiness.

You need unconditional love to reach that island. I explained to him, however, that my nature was such that my physical needs often got in the way of my feelings. Hell, is trying to do what you can't do, trying to be what you're not.

I repeat one of my mantras. This is not real. This did not happen to you. Our heart rate increases, and blood flows to muscles so we can run faster. How fear impacts our thinking. Once the fear pathways are ramped up, the brain reacts in predicable ways. The brain short-circuits more rational processing paths. The brain reacts immediately to signals from the amygdala, instead of more rational processing.

The brain perceives events as negative. We notice and store all the details. These memories tend to be very durable, although they may also be fragmented. The details of the event can trigger fear later. In severe cases, this can result in PSTD. Impact of chronic fear Living under constant threat has serious health consequences.

Physical health. Fear weakens our immune system and can cause cardiovascular damage , gastrointestinal problems such as ulcers and irritable bowel syndrome , and decreased fertility. It can lead to accelerated ageing and even premature death. Fear can impair formation of long-term memories and cause damage to certain parts of the brain, such as the hippocampus. This can make it even more difficult to regulate fear and can leave a person anxious most of the time. To someone in chronic fear, the world looks scary and their memories confirm that.

Brain processing and reactivity. Fear can interrupt processes in our brains that allow us to regulate emotions, read non-verbal cues and other information presented to us, reflect before acting, and act ethically.

This impacts our thinking and decision-making in negative ways, leaving us susceptible to intense emotions and impulsive reactions. All of these effects can leave us unable to act appropriately.

Mental health. Other consequences of long-term fear include fatigue, clinical depression , and PSTD. The National Institute of Mental Health recommends the following to reduce your risk of experiencing the disorder: Developing a strong support network of healthy relationships so that you have someone to turn to if you need help. Focusing on your own positive qualities, including your courage in the face of danger, trauma, or hardship.

Responding calmly and effectively to dangerous situations, even when you are afraid. The same applies to fear of pain - the dentist's drill is suffered for hours in anticipation before the 10 minutes of actuality.

How is one to combat such fear? In the case of death the answer is to distinguish between death, as a state, and dying, as an activity. Some religious conceptions of an afterlife make the state of death a terrifying prospect - but most views of death are not so cruel, the kindest being the most rational, which is that death is a state of non-being, equivalent to the state of not yet being born. There is nothing to fear in that. Dying, which is an act of living, might be easy or difficult - only the latter invites anxiety - but it is consoled by the saying engraved on King David's ring, put there to make him thoughtful when happy and cheerful when sad: "This too will pass.

Fear of pain, and all other fears, exist to be borne. No man is brave unless he is afraid. The saying of Sadi about the shark and the pearl embodies all the wisdom required to combat fear; living just once, we have to attempt the pearl, or live with regret: which is one of the things most worth fearing.