What to do when you feel afraid.

Fear is not real. But it can be a strong illusion! And sometimes it can sneak up on you. One moment, you feel just fine, centered, and dandy. The next...not quite so fine. Often something happens in between the fine and  the not fine moment. Some "stimulus" to go back to psychology days.  In my experience the stimuli can be subtle or they can be anything but.
Subtle...you hear of the death of someone round your age. You feel a bit sad, remembering what that person brought into your life. And underneath is the disquieting thought...That could be me. That will be me, one day. I wonder when....and how will I cope. Suddenly you realize you've gone quite a long way down a route of speculation about how and when the "end" will come. And your thinking is clouded by fear. The unease is because you don't quite trust the Love that you really are to sustain you in every moment of this life, and beyond.
And the not so subtle...work is demanding, and you don't know how you will get it all done. Trying to meet deadlines is causing you stress and there are a multitude of tasks to do. You feel like a juggler trying to keep 300 balls in the air. Suddenly you are feeling anxious and possibly lie awake, tiring yourself out with fretting about what you have not done and what you must do. Guilt and fear, the toxic cocktail.
A third common "stressor" is finances these days. Another bill. Any prompt to feel ashamed or panicky. The ego mind is immediately off on a race to find its solution. Isn't that the responsible thing to do?
Well, actually, no. The ego mind is not really looking for a solution, but for an escape.
Three examples of "temptations
" to wander into fear.
What as an ACIM student can you do when this "wandering" starts.
A 4 step process...
A for Awareness. Be aware, alert, sensitive. Just notice what is happening. There is no point in saying to yourself, I am an ACIM student. I don't feel like this. Notice the discomfort however mild. Hey, you will say to yourself, I don't feel so good, what's going on here?
C for Choice... something in me in choosing fear in some form. That's what doesn't feel good. Love is letting go of fear. So simple...But not on your own. Choose to ask for help from the Holy Spirit. That's Something outside the person commonly known as me.
Holy Spirit, I've got these worries. Death. Work. Money. You know, the little things that just won't go away. I should be able to handle them all. That's what I came here for, isn't it? To worry about problems and work hard to solve them. But after so many years, my attempts haven't worked very well and to be honest I am getting mighty tired of all that solving.
What's a better way?
Reply: Give them to Me. They are burdens (or so they feel to you) and the more you work at them, the bigger the burden will seem to become. Ask for My help.
Me: I feel like a child and it's not very sophisticated. I'd rather carry on coping...
H S.  That's your choice. Or at least your ego's choice, "I'll do it my way." So you prefer to keep the burdens?
Me:  ....actually no. I choose freedom. I accept that You are the solver, and the solution. I just dream up the problems and then I should just say, here's another fine mess I've got me into.
HS  That's it. I don't need more permission than that.
Me. I feel better already.
HS   Another word for this is forgiveness. You just forgave yourself for the bad dreams you're having. That's why forgiveness is like waking up. That's step 3, the insight...
Me  And step 4...
HS   Is always a miracle. Seeing that Love is Perfection and that it the truth. Nothing else matters.
Accept that truth for yourself now, in this situation. No matter what seems to be happening, Love is.
Awareness. Choice. Insight. Miracle.