In this article, I discuss how our apparently irrational fears have rational explanations when our experiential knowledge overrides our analytical knowledge.
Have you ever been afraid to do something even though all the evidence indicated there was no reason for you to be afraid? I had this experience when I once had a fear of public speaking. There was no objective reason for me to be afraid of speaking in public yet I became fearful at the prospect of doing so. Eventually, I faced my fear by taking small steps over time until at one point I overcame it. Now I give speeches regularly as part of my professional practice and enjoy doing so.
I’ve wondered how I could have been so afraid of public speaking for so long when there was little to be afraid of. I eventually learned the roots of my ‘irrational’ fear in the distinction between analytical and experiential knowledge. In the following sections, I will distinguish between these two types of knowledge, why one type tends to win out over the other when they are in conflict and how you can use this to help you overcome your fears just as I overcame my fear of public speaking.
Analytical knowledge: What the evidence tells you about your fears
Analytical knowledge is based on information, facts and evidence. Recognizing evidence that there is little chance of harm occurring if you try something you’ve been avoiding out of fear is an example of analytical knowledge motivating you. For example, in facing my fear of public speaking I relied on analytical knowledge which told me both that there was little reason to fear public speaking and that research indicated that the more I engaged in this activity the more my fear would decrease.
Experiential knowledge: What your experience and emotions tell you about your fears
Experiential knowledge is based on your personal experience with the issue at hand. It is also emotion-based knowledge in that the emotions you feel as a result of your personal experience play a critical role in your evaluation of the issue and your readiness to take steps to address it. Because experiences in the first part of my life resulted in my feeling highly anxious and thinking negative thoughts in public speaking situations, I associated these situations with strong fear, anxiety, insecurity and embarrassment. In turn, the prospect of my experiencing these emotions in future public speaking situations led me to believe I could not perform effectively in them.
What happens when the two types of knowledge conflict?
When analytical knowledge ‘collides’ with experiential knowledge, experiential knowledge tends to win out. That is, even if information, facts and evidence indicate you have little to fear by engaging in a behaviour or activity you will be very reluctant to perform that behaviour or activity if your experiential knowledge says you should be afraid. Thus even though my analytical knowledge told me there was little to fear by speaking in public, I was still very reluctant to engage in this activity because of the fear residing in my experiential knowledge.
How you can face your fears when your experiential knowledge warns you not to do so
So what do you do when your analytical knowledge says you can face and overcome your fears when your experiential knowledge won’t allow you to do? First, begin by taking small steps toward facing your fears. The fear and anxiety stemming from your experiential knowledge will be manageable if you start with easier situations. In my case, I began seeking opportunities to speak in front of small numbers of people and gradually progressed to more challenging public speaking situations in front of larger groups and crowds over time.
Secondly, while you’re getting used to facing your fears in small steps you can conduct experiments which allow you to gather new experiential knowledge. This new experiential knowledge will confirm what your analytical knowledge has already told you: That you can handle the situation and it is not one to be feared. This is contrary to what your ‘old’ experiential knowledge has been telling you.
For example, as I entered more and more public speaking situations, I amassed new experiential knowledge which confirmed my analytical knowledge that I could handle such situations effectively and that I should not fear them. Eventually, I had accumulated enough new experiential knowledge of this kind that I began to enjoy and seek out public speaking opportunities. My new experiential knowledge that I could do well at public speaking and that there was nothing to be feared had supplanted my old experiential knowledge which had told me that I could not perform effectively in this activity and that I should fear it.
You may find it helpful to work with a psychologist specializing in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) in implementing the ideas discussed in this article. In my work as a Calgary psychologist and a Cochrane psychologist, I have helped many clients in anxiety counselling to learn and apply these ideas to overcome their fears.
May you synchronize your analytical and experiential knowledge,
-Dr. Pat
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