8 weeks into OF (feedback)

[Shannon]

I have been running this sub with a 20h/day average, with an accidental 30 hours on one day that gave me a headache and exhausted me completely.

Wow, 30 hours? Where do you live, cause where I am, 24 hours in a day is the limit, and it's not enough!

I have had a lot of self improvement with this sub, I had no idea fear was affecting THAT much of my behaviour. Things that don't even look like they are related to fear on the surface level. I am more self aware as a result of dealing with things that this sub brought up, this is huge for me especially since I have had a lot of trouble analysing myself accurately, this part however is still in the starting phase and there is a lot to improve.

Another big thing that has manifested it's self is that I don't crave alcohol as much as I used to, I see less and less uses for it. I suppose the main reasons why I drink are anxiety,stress, depression and boredom. Now I'd rather feel focused instead of blurry while drunk.
That's actually how I quit smoking a few years ago, I just didn't see the point in it so the craving disappeared. And now I'm not a recovering smoker, but just someone who doesn't smoke. I don't count days because I don't have to.
OF helps a lot with realizing that.

After studying the effects fear has on people for about a decade now, I am astonished just how much of the average person's life is spent dealing with, focusing on, reacting to, preparing for and sabotaging themselves because of, fear. And yet, it's no normalized to everyone and so few people understand the difference between conscious and subconscious motivators that when I point out to people things they are doing as a result of their fear, they think I'm nuts. "What? I don't smoke/drink/do drugs/whatever because I'm afraid! I do it because I am stressed [out of fear]/bored [have time to think about my fears]/lonely [and afraid of being alone]/whatever."

It's not all fear based, but fear accounts for a huge amount of it, and even when it's not based in fear, fear can and usually does act as a lock on the situation. For instance, a lot of people smoke pot/drink to self medicate, and some of that is fears they are trying to avoid, but in some cases it is bad memories, or some sort of emotional distress or pain they want to avoid. When it's not fear, fear of the pain itself is often a lock for not dealing with it. They become afraid of the pain, instead of dealing with it.

Here's another example. Most smokers started smoking because they wanted to fit in with some social group. What is that, really, but fear of being alone?

I'm giving this sub 7/10.
9/10 for what it can achieve and 3/10 for how easy it is to run it.

So you give it high marks for being effective, and then low marks for being effective quickly? Hate to tell you this, but dealing with fear always includes... feeling fear. Just like dealing with pain always includes feeling pain. So far I have not found a way to block that experience, only minimize it; so, until and unless I do, feeling the stuff you're dealing with is going to be a normal thing, and the faster you do it, the more obviously you will experience it. That's just how this works.