I used to be afraid of fear. I found it crippling.
I fear a lot of things: long silences, the gaps in activity that let me think. my own vices, past mistakes and lost friendships that haunt me, the future.
There are many things to fear, but I am slowly finding that escape does not come in running away from that fear. It comes from picking it up in both hands, feeling it through -- acknowledging and accepting it, admitting to yourself why you're afraid.
I'm afraid to keep working on a TV spec because I think I won't be able to do it. I'm afraid that I'll be defined by my vices because someone has defined me by them before. I'm afraid of the future because it's uncertain and I've never been there.
You can tell yourself the truth to fight all of the lies, that it will be okay and there's nothing to be afraid of, but I've found that it's not so easy to control your feelings. So what should you do instead? Let yourself feel that prickly, uncertain, wondering, crippling fear. Acknowledge it, live in it. Then keep living your life. You can't control how you feel, but you can control what you do.
It's a step. That's all you need to start.