If you’re like most people, you’re thinking, No way; I just couldn’t.
Before I try to convince you that there is a way, think about how you
decided that you couldn’t do it. I think your sympathetic system said you
couldn’t, and you believed it.
How did it get through? Did it say the techniques were stupid? Or
that you were too stupid to do them correctly? Or that if you messed up
you’d make the situation worse? Or did it simply tell you that someone
else would do it? Or that you’d never have to calm a panicky person in an
elevator because you always take the stairs? Your sympathetic system creates
arguments like these to keep you safe inside your comfort zone. Most of
the time you just accept them as an objective assessment of reality. This
time, I’d like you to see them for what they really are: malfunctions of your
own alarm system.
What is the danger in calming a panicky person? The only real,
though slight, possibility of physical harm is if nobody does anything. The
poor woman might flail about and accidentally bump into someone. Why
then is your alarm system warning you against even thinking about using
the techniques I’ve described?
Let’s look at the chapter thus far through the eyes of your sympathetic
nervous system. Bear in mind that the system evolved for the sole purpose
of protecting you from danger. Since the system evolved, the notion ofyou
has expanded from your body to everything contained in your image of
yourself, and dangerhas expanded from physical damage to anything that
conflicts with how you see yourself. Your sympathetic system makes no dis-
tinction between threats to your body and threats to your dignity. It sends
the same warning signals for wild beasts and potential embarrassment. The
signals come up through the verbal parts of your brain, and are translated
into whatever words will convince you to stay away.
Right now, your sympathetic system, in a misguided attempt to protect
you, is whispering half-truths and giving you little injections of adrenaline
to prevent you from even imaginingdoing something unfamiliar.
The warning system operates smoothly, just below your awareness.
Most of the time, you don’t even feel afraid. You simply avoid situations
without even asking yourself whether there’s any real danger. Once you
begin paying closer attention to what your sympathetic system is saying,
however, it makes less sense. You can argue with it, and since you’re much
smarter, you can prevail. This sums up the whole theory behind psy-
60 ❧Explosions into Fear