I don’t know if there’s specific evidence regarding this intervention, but in the absence of scientific evidence my fairly confident prior would be that it would be highly counterproductive—it would result in a spiral of SNS activation and paralysis.
I wouldn’t suggest it as a long-term strategy, because fear-based motivation can have negative consequences. But the first step in handling a fear/anxiety problem is to do something and if what motivates you is fear, then use what you got.
A stop-gap would be to motivate yourself with fear: if you can’t avoid being afraid, try to use it.
For instance, imagine specific catastrophies that could occur where you would need money, to motivate you for a job hunt.
It probably won’t solve your problem long-term, but if it motivates you, then any port in a storm.
I don’t know if there’s specific evidence regarding this intervention, but in the absence of scientific evidence my fairly confident prior would be that it would be highly counterproductive—it would result in a spiral of SNS activation and paralysis.
I wouldn’t suggest it as a long-term strategy, because fear-based motivation can have negative consequences. But the first step in handling a fear/anxiety problem is to do something and if what motivates you is fear, then use what you got.
Even given this caveat I stand by my estimate.