“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” said Franklin D. Roosevelt famously. But the truth is, most of us are afraid of something, or afraid of a lot of somethings.

This fear might drive us to abuse drugs or alcohol. Substance use disorder also can create new fears. Even if we choose to seek treatment for such abuse, we still might be scared. Some of our fears might include the fear of

• not recovering
• the physical and emotional pain of detox
• encountering pain and feeling that pain
• the judgment of others and stigma
• making life changes
• not succeeding

These fears can prevent us from seeking treatment, even though we know that finding treatment is the right thing to do.

Fear prevents us from doing so much. We might be so wrapped up in this fear that we don’t realize just how fearful we really are. After all, we might think that we’re fearing something because we’re trying to protect ourselves, to prevent pain. But fear ultimately produces more pain than it prevents.

Confronting fear is scary. We don’t always know what’s on the other side of that door or what someone else is going to do. It’s the fear of the unknown.

But maybe we should compare what we don’t know to what we do know. Are we making progress in our present lives? If we aren’t, maybe it’s time we should re-evaluate those unknowns. As scary as we imagine these unknowns might be, are they any scarier than what we’re dealing with right now?

Faced with all of our options, confronting our fears might be the way to go. Maybe we should remember that everyone is scared and has to face their fears at some point. Maybe we can ask other people how they overcame their own fears.

Fear is a natural part of life. Acknowledging it is acknowledging life.