stories and narratives of fear - Blog - Fearlessness Movement2024-03-29T15:13:26Zhttps://FearlessnessMovement.ning.com/blog/feed/tag/stories+and+narratives+of+fearSeries on "Primal Wounding": Individual and Societyhttps://FearlessnessMovement.ning.com/blog/series-on-primal-wounding-individual-and-society2018-01-26T04:07:15.000Z2018-01-26T04:07:15.000ZR.Michael Fisherhttps://FearlessnessMovement.ning.com/members/RMichaelFisher<div><p>There's a good series of blogposts by academic/psychologist <strong>Darcia Narvaez</strong>, Ph.D., on "primal wounding" and its relationship to fear, addictions and many of the problems we face as societies, especially in the West today. I have copied an excerpt on how she speaks about fear in relation to primal wounding (trauma): [for the full article go to: <a href="http://kindredmedia.org/2018/01/tales-primally-wounded/%C2%A0">http://kindredmedia.org/2018/01/tales-primally-wounded/ </a>; and you'll find links to the 6 part series]</p>
<h3><strong>"A primally-wounded society is filled with fear-promoting stories.</strong></h3>
<p>Stories, tales or narratives guide all societies. “We people” stories are passed down from generation to generation. Shared stories are part of what a culture entails (along with shared practices and shared beliefs). In the past, <a class="inline-links topic-link" title="Psychology Today looks at wise" href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/wisdom">wise</a> elders and designated storytellers <a class="ext" href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171205120029.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">held the society together with stories</a> that humanized animals and promoted social <a class="inline-links topic-link" title="Psychology Today looks at cooperation" href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/teamwork">cooperation</a>, contributing to group survival.</p>
<p>Note that these stories <em>decreased</em> <a class="inline-links topic-link" title="Psychology Today looks at fear" href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/fear">fear</a> and focused attention on group <a class="inline-links topic-link" title="Psychology Today looks at goals" href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/motivation">goals</a> for flourishing.</p>
<a href="http://kindredmedia.org/2017/11/fantasyland-nation-primally-wounded-people/"><img class="wp-image-20787" src="http://kindredmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/shutterstock_83198203-CROPPED-750x332.jpg" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" srcset="http://kindredmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/shutterstock_83198203-CROPPED-750x332.jpg 750w, http://kindredmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/shutterstock_83198203-CROPPED-300x133.jpg 300w, http://kindredmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/shutterstock_83198203-CROPPED-848x375.jpg 848w, http://kindredmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/shutterstock_83198203-CROPPED.jpg 1000w" alt="" width="500" height="221" /></a> <em><strong>Fantasyland: A Nation of Primally-Wounded People, Part Four in the Series</strong></em>
<p>We live in a different era now, one in which elders have been displaced by bureaucratic systems of control, systems that tell tales to <em>increase</em> fear—fear of stepping out of their bounds.</p>
<p>When storytelling is taken over by high-powered and moneyed interests, fear promotion becomes dominant. These stories seem true because they have been repeated so often. We are shamed if we question them and eventually we self-censor our higher aspirations, succumbing to the heart-numbing tales, keeping the system alive through our action or inaction.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/moral-landscapes/201711/the-primal-wound-do-you-have-one">We primally wounded people</a> are especially susceptible to fear-promoting narratives. We are trying to escape primal pain and alleviate distrust with some certainty somewhere. Fearmongering tales give us certainty."</p>
</div>