The Terror Barrier
- Sep 6, 2025
- 8 min read
Updated: Sep 25, 2025
Life can be full of reasons why not to do something - what if we start learning how to smash these barriers down. You can't control what life throws at you but you can control your reaction to it.
Let's look at the terror barrier - what is it?
The terror barrier describes the psychological wall of fear, anxiety, and resistance that people hit when they try to move outside their comfort zone and pursue big goals.
What it means
When you set a new, ambitious goal, your subconscious mind wants to protect you by keeping you in familiar territory (the comfort zone)
As you begin moving toward change, you encounter intense feelings of fear, doubt, and worry—this is the terror barrier
Many people interpret those feelings as a “warning” and stop, retreating back into safety
Characteristics of the terror barrier
Sudden overwhelm or panic before taking a bold step
Mental chatter like “What if I fail?” or “I’m not good enough.”
Physical symptoms: tight chest, nervousness, sweating, procrastination
A strong urge to quit or go back to what’s comfortable
Let's look at how fear, doubt and worry work...
Breaking through the terror barrier
Recognize it’s normal – fear is a sign you’re growing, not that you should stop
Reframe fear as energy – it’s your body preparing for change, not danger
Take action anyway – courage is moving forward with fear, not without it
Visualize life beyond the barrier – focus on the benefits of what lies ahead
Build small wins – each step forward reduces the power of the barrier
Stay consistent – the more you face it, the weaker it gets
I know I've simplified this but I want to point out that I'm well aware of how debilitating fear can be. I've lived so much of my adult life in this zone and it's absolutely crushed me at times. When we spend too long in this zone our anxieties will deepen and turn into depression.
When we get into depression we've got a serious problem because you can't just think your way out of this state. Depression is felt by an intense emotion of sadness and despair which can feel like waves of hurt & pain smashing against you - this can make us feel hopeless.
Depression also manifests itself as frequent irritability that often leads to frustration, anger or rage and is usually connected to being uninterested in doing anything that involves normality. (Depression separates you from others and yourself - be mindful of substance misuse) I'll talk about this topic in very specific detail in a different post.
The best thing we can do for ourselves to avoid getting to this stage is through awareness. So how can we better understand this and increase our awareness so we take preventative actions in the future?
One thing I'd highly suggest is to start, if you don't already do this, is to become aware of the negative effects the terror barrier has. Doubt and fear are powerful emotions, and when left unchecked, they can lead to self-sabotage and limit growth. Here’s how:
1. Paralysis / Inaction
Doubt makes you second-guess every decision
Fear makes you avoid risks
Together, they can stop you from taking any action at all (“analysis paralysis”)
2. Missed Opportunities
You may pass up chances for growth (career moves, relationships, personal goals)
Fear convinces you the risk is too high, while doubt convinces you you’re not capable
3. Reinforcement of Limiting Beliefs
Every time you avoid acting, your brain “proves” the belief “I can’t do it” or “I’m not enough.”
This builds a cycle of shrinking confidence
4. Stress and Anxiety
Fear keeps your body in a state of alert (fight-or-flight)
Chronic doubt fuels overthinking, leading to mental exhaustion
5. Unfulfilled Potential
Over time, doubt and fear can prevent you from discovering your abilities
This can lead to regret, frustration, and even depression
In short: Doubt and fear lead to stagnation, missed opportunities, and a cycle of self-limitation. But when you face them, they can become signals of growth—pushing you to stretch beyond your comfort zone.
Maybe not right away - BUT IT'S A PRETTY GOOD START!
Just My Opinion:
My personal view point is that it's necessary for people to experience doubt & worry from time to time as it helps keep them on track with their life ambitions and goals, (as long as you know what they are).
In addition, I also witness that society fails to educate people sufficiently to become independent thinkers which teaches them the value of having clear and defined goals, rooted in passion & desire - connected to purpose & drive which is inspired from self-reflection & awareness of what one truly wants from life; that is created through the higher mental faculty of goal oriented imagination.
What does that simply mean?
HARSH TRUTH - it's not about fault or blame, it's about being aware of your thoughts & inner chatter. Your inner chatter matters - trust me. It's an extension of your outer world experience. Everything you say in your mind that appears to be quiet because it has no voice, carries emotion - this is then impressed on the subconscious mind and boom - now we're feeling worse!
Our terror barriers can be overcome but you can't change what happened before. The good thing is, you can learn from everything that's happened already. The hard aspect of this is that we have to go within and this is scary by itself and it's usually this fear at the start of self-reflection that stops peoples journey before it's even started.
For now, you can at least begin a self-reflective mini journey by following prompts that I suggest. This is to build up your self-awareness but this is not for the faint hearted. It's tough work. It can be incredibly challenging to do all of this by yourself and for that reason I will also suggest this...
Talk to your local GP. Contact your local talking therapy services and ask for assistance. I am not in the game of setting people up for failure. I've had to do most of my journey by myself and it's taken me years and years to get to this point. My aim here is help quicken up your journey without rushing you or forcing you into something that could overwhelm you.
However, if you feel confident and able, then you can try self-help. (DOING IT YOURSELF THROUGH GUIDED SUGGESTIONS). I have found that self-help is the key because you can get to know yourself bit by bit - this is where patience, compassion & honesty step in.
Suggestion for action exercise:
Patience - give yourself the time & space to sit with your thoughts & emotions. Naturally you will want to rush away from negativity; tell yourself that you are visiting a good old friend and you want to get to know them again.
Compassion - these are your personal thoughts, feelings & memories that belong to a version of you from the past who struggled with them in the first place so treat yourself kindly, with care, sympathy & without judgement.
Honesty - whatever you reflect upon don't try to alter it in anyway. Allow it to be raw, authentic & real. You might not like it but remember that it was avoidance that supressed this in the first place...
When you reflect I would try asking yourself the following couple of questions to get you started. Keep in mind that you aren't asking the big life questions when you do this exercise, you're attempting to be intentionally curious and specific.
REMEMBER: you must be personally specific with your own reflection. You will already know of something that you do which is not in your best interests...start with that.
For example.
Sometimes I get stressed out when things don't go my way or people tell me no or disagree with something I've said...why do I think I do this?
I often smoke, drink, take drugs or isolate when I get bored. Have I always done this?
It will help if you write down what you asked yourself, record your thoughts, feelings and specific memories or images that popped into your mind.
< Some people will tell you that you shouldn't even attempt self reflection without a trained professional and to a point I agree - but only with the big life questions >
Just my opinion:
I firmly believe that we should be taught how to self reflect from a younger age because it's a healthy way to learn from the things that happened. Doing these types of exercises feels a little weird and uncomfortable to start with but I think they should be common practices as it could potentially prevent bad habits taking hold of us that can lead to mental ill health, substance issues and relationship/friendship or work difficulties.
Here's some science about FEAR!
The terror barrier is something that has caused me not to take chances, not put myself out there, not to go within (positively), not to say what I have to say, not to do what I want to do, not to be who I want to be etc.
If you aren't truly happy with yourself or your life then you are misaligned - if you're misaligned, something of either mind, body or soul needs your attention. Once you start paying attention to your needs you will become aware of your wants and when you're aware of your wants you know where you are.
Now you know where you are, you can choose where you want to be - this is the starting point of success. Success is knowing where you are, where you want to be, then consistently aiming, with intention, for the achievement of that goal.
DON'T BE AFRAID - your answers are on the inside, they're already within you. Stop looking externally, there's nothing but distractions out there. 'The truth you seek lies within.'
You'll notice that the more posts you read, the more you'll start to see how things are related and I've created these blogs this way for a reason. It's why I take my time with them as I want to be able to build up a picture to help you navigate through them.
I'll leave you with this...
Getting to know yourself, deep down at a soul level, is where our true nature exists. At this level of awareness & understanding, we have golden pools of wisdom, authenticity & purpose.
DON'T WORRY - I'M NOT SUGGESTING YOUR JOIN A CULT OR START A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY - I'm merely suggesting that through awareness you start to become aware of negativity, in all its forms. If you couple this awareness with mindfulness, you have another tool kit of coping strategies - but that's a separate topic.
The terror barrier exists for all of us and we must individually learn what our barriers are made up of. Then with courage, we smash that sucker down piece by piece, bit by bit, over time. Sometimes all it takes for the barrier to start melting away, is the conscious decision to face it - but that is only the start. Then through repetition and consistency, we chip away at it until we smash straight through it.
I hope you found this helpful and I do welcome your questions. Take care & join me next time.
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