E19: Fear – The Inner Alarm

Hi, I’m Alvat Garewal.

There are emotions that lift us, and others that hold us back. Today, I want to talk about one we all know too well—fear.
 It’s that quiet voice in the background that sometimes becomes a roar. Fear protects us, yes—but it also limits us.

What if we could understand fear differently? What if it wasn’t something to run from, but something to learn from?

Let’s explore it together.

Transcript

Podcast Title: Fear – The Inner Alarm

Hi, I’m Alvat Garewal.

Today, I want to talk about something that sits quietly in the corners of our minds—and sometimes, it jumps out at us full force. Fear.

Fear is a natural emotional response to a perceived threat or danger. It's an instinct—a survival mechanism that’s helped us as humans stay alive for centuries. It keeps us alert, ready to react. But fear isn’t just about physical danger. It’s also emotional, social, and psychological.

Let’s break this down from a few angles.

🔬 Biological View
Fear triggers the “fight, flight, or freeze” response in our bodies. It sets off a chain reaction in the brain.

When activated, it sends out signals. Hormones like adrenaline and cortisol surge, our heart races, our senses sharpen. This is the body saying: “Something’s not right—prepare.”

This response was vital when we were hunter-gatherers, facing predators in the wild. And even now, that system remains intact. It still gets triggered—though often, not by lions or wolves—but by deadlines, social pressures, or even the sound of a phone ringing unexpectedly.

🧠 Psychological View
Fear can be completely rational—like being afraid of fire or a deep ocean. But it can also be irrational—like fearing public speaking, even though we’re physically safe.

We can inherit fear, learn it from experience, or even create it in our imagination. Think of it like a movie playing in our heads—a horror story we sometimes direct ourselves.

The mind doesn’t always distinguish between real and imagined threats. That’s powerful. Because it means we can work with our fears, but it also means we have to be aware of how easily fear can take over if we let it.

📖 Philosophical or Spiritual View
Many traditions see fear not as a force to fight, but as something to understand. Some say fear is the opposite of love. Others believe fear stems from attachment—being afraid of losing something, or not getting something.

Fear also plays a role in belief systems. The fear of the unknown, of death, of what comes next, the afterlife—these have shaped religions, shaped our need for meaning.

Sometimes fear is the spark that pushes us to seek answers.

Who are we?

Where did we come from?

Where are we going?

Is this all there is?

💭 Common Types of Fear
There are so many forms fear takes. Here are a few we all bump into at some point:

• Fear of failure – this one often creeps in when we’re chasing something important. It whispers, “What if you’re not good enough?”
  
  
  
• Fear of rejection – this taps into our basic human need to be accepted and loved.
  
  
  
• Fear of the unknown – the discomfort that comes with not knowing what’s next.
  
  
  
• Fear of insects, snakes, spiders – some of these are evolutionary, some are learned, and some are just plain instinctive.
  
  
  

We all carry a few of these, and they show up in different ways at different times.

💡 A Thoughtful Angle
Here’s the thing—fear isn’t always bad. In fact, it can be useful. Fear can be a compass. It can point toward the things that matter most.

Sometimes the thing we fear the most—starting a new career, expressing how we feel, standing up for ourselves—is the very thing we need to grow.

Facing fear doesn’t mean erasing it. It means walking with it. Understanding it. Learning from it. It means recognising that 

Courage isn’t the absence of fear—Courage is the action in spite of fear.

🔦 Expanding on Light and Darkness
Fear is a bit like the dark. When we’re in the dark, we can’t see what’s around us. Our mind starts imagining what could be there—monsters, dangers, the unknown. But the moment you shine a light, those fears shrink, or even vanish completely. The room hasn’t changed—only your perception has.

That’s the same with some of our personal fears. If we shine a light on them—by asking questions, learning more, talking about them—they lose their power. 

Not all fears will disappear with a flick of the switch, but many can be reduced or managed once they’re brought into the light. So maybe the question we need to ask is: 

Where do I need to shine the light right now?

So here’s my thought for today:

What are you afraid of right now? And is it holding you back—or showing you the way forward?

Sometimes our fears are shadows that disappear once we shine a light. And other times, they are signals telling us, “This is where you need to go next.”

As always, thank you for listening.

And keep on shining your light.

And remember

You are in my thoughts.