Ben Schwartz, MA, MFT, joins Rosanne to explore how fear becomes the source of suffering in our lives, especially during times of uncertainty. They discuss the difference between healthy, instinctive fear and sustained fear that keeps us trapped, and how to reclaim personal sovereignty to make empowered choices.
Mental health, trauma therapy, EFT practitioner, wilderness vision quest guide
Key Insights
Actionable Advice
Ben explains the difference between healthy, instinctive fear that protects us and sustained fear that becomes toxic. He reveals how chronic fear affects every level of our being, including physically, making it the biggest cause of illness. The conversation explores how fear has been weaponized in recent times to create mass compliance and separation.
Fear demolishes intuition by completely hijacking the nervous system and putting us in fight-or-flight mode. While animals naturally discharge trauma and return to calm, humans build identity around fear and carry stress for years. The discussion reveals how our thinking mind interferes with the body's natural healing mechanisms.
Personal sovereignty means determining truth through your own filter rather than external authority. Ben and Rosanne explore how to develop discernment through groundedness and calmness, filtering decisions through intuition rather than reactivity. They discuss the difference between conscious choice and unconscious denial when it comes to consuming fear-based information.
The conversation reveals how medical diagnoses can program toxic fear into our systems with real physiological effects. Ben shares insights about mass formation hypnosis and how entire populations can be manipulated through fear. They discuss practical ways to maintain sovereignty while navigating medical care and cultural pressures.
“when I look back on it now, I just kinda laugh. I mean, I'm like, of course, I wasn't getting pregnant. There was no room in my life for a baby. My life was completely out of I mean, I don't know if there's any real thing called balance. But I was in a constant state of stress.”
— Rosanne Austin▶ 14:59
Fear creates chronic stress that affects you physically and mentally, making it harder for your body to conceive. When you're in sustained fear, there's no room for a baby because your system is focused on survival rather than creation.
“There's a utility to fear. We wouldn't be able to maintain our human safety and and existence without some just basic instinctive fear. You know, all all animals have have healthy fear, you know, it's a it's a survival mechanism. Right? But it's also the biggest cause of suffering on the planet.”
— Ben Schwartz▶ 5:01
Healthy fear is instinctive and helps you respond to immediate threats for survival. Toxic fear is sustained over time, hijacks your nervous system, and becomes the source of suffering rather than protection.
“fear fear demolishes intuition... if you master fear, your intuition can serve in the same purpose as fear does without creating the debilitating feelings of fear.”
— Ben Schwartz▶ 29:09
Fear hijacks your entire nervous system and puts you in fight-or-flight mode, while intuition requires calmness and groundedness to function. When you're in sustained fear, everything else goes into the background.
“to me when I hear the word sovereignty, it to me it it means the opposite of being in a sort of victim mindset. That you determine your truth for yourself, not because somebody tells you what to think or what to believe or what to do.”
— Ben Schwartz▶ 27:04
Personal sovereignty means determining your truth through your own filter and authority rather than external sources. You develop it by using discernment, trusting your intuition, and consciously choosing what information and influences you allow into your life.
“even like something like a diagnosis, oh, you have this condition and you have a a, seventy percent chance of dying from you know, whatever. That is putting a toxic fear into your system, into your mind, and it has a very real effect. You know? It's it's programming.”
— Ben Schwartz▶ 35:35
When doctors give you scary statistics or diagnoses focused on negative outcomes, it programs toxic fear into your system that has real physiological effects. This fear-based programming can actually harm your well-being.
“There's a reason why we get addicted to listening to scary stuff, reason why we see scary movies. There's a reason why we watch the news every day, and now we have to see what's the next thing. We we get kind of addicted to the rush of fear, I think.”
— Ben Schwartz▶ 40:56
Fear can be both entertaining and create a false sense of security. People get addicted to the rush of fear and believe they need to know about threats to protect themselves, but this creates an illusion of control.
A framework for breaking free from sustained fear and reconnecting with your inner authority
Recognize fear patterns
Notice physical signs like sleep problems, tension, reactivity, and easy triggering that indicate sustained fear in your system
Take conscious breaks from fear-based media
Deliberately disconnect from news, social media, and other fear-inducing information sources for set periods to restore your sense of reality
Practice the pause between stimulus and response
When something triggers fear, take time to ask 'Is this true? Is this something I need to take on?' rather than immediately reacting
Filter decisions through your own authority
Use discernment by checking how choices feel in your body rather than automatically following external authorities or experts
Allow natural trauma discharge
When your body wants to shake, tremble, or release during emotional experiences, allow it rather than suppressing it with substances or distraction
Reconnect with nature and stillness
Spend time in natural environments without technology to remember your connection to something larger than fear-based narratives
Fear has utility for survival but becomes the biggest cause of suffering when sustained over time
Ben Schwartz, MA, MFT with 25+ years experience, explains that while healthy fear is a survival mechanism, chronic fear literally affects you on every level including physically, making chronic stress the biggest cause of illness.
Fear demolishes intuition by hijacking your entire nervous system
Ben Schwartz explains that fear is a survival mechanism that takes over everything else, while intuition is a spiritual faculty that requires calmness and groundedness to function properly.
Humans build identity around fear while animals naturally discharge trauma and return to calm
Ben Schwartz describes how a deer attacked by a wolf will shake off trauma and return to calmly eating grass, while humans carry stress for years and tell stories about their trauma 15 years later.
The body is designed to shake out trauma naturally, but we pathologize this healing response
Ben Schwartz explains that when your body trembles or quivers during emotional reactions, it's trying to discharge trauma naturally, but instead we take Xanax or get diagnosed with anxiety disorders.
Personal sovereignty means determining your truth through your own filter, not external authority
Ben Schwartz defines sovereignty as the opposite of victim mindset - making decisions through your own authority and intuition rather than being told what to think by others.
Fear-based programming from medical diagnoses has real toxic effects on your system
Ben Schwartz explains that when doctors tell you about percentage chances of death or failure, it puts toxic fear into your mind and body that becomes harmful programming affecting your well-being.
Mass formation hypnosis occurs when entire populations are fed fear-inducing information
Ben Schwartz, whose father was a Holocaust survivor, explains that when people are in deep fear of death, they become malleable and will do things they normally wouldn't do, creating dangerous mass compliance.
Turning off fear-based media is self-preservation, not denial
Ben Schwartz distinguishes that consciously choosing not to watch TV or read news for a month to hike and meditate instead is self-preservation that restores sovereignty, while denial is unconscious.
Discernment requires groundedness and calmness, filtering through intuition rather than reactivity
Ben Schwartz explains that true discernment comes when you're grounded and calm, allowing you to know what's best for you, while reactivity creates biased responses.
Women told they're too old to conceive often have that mind virus, not biological reality
Rosanne references Dr. Christiane Northrup's observation that women in Irish Catholic hospitals at 45-47+ just came in and had babies because nobody told them they were too old - they didn't have that limiting belief.
When you're not afraid, you become the weirdo in the waiting room who's smiling
Rosanne teaches that when you refuse to be afraid and know you're going to get what you want, you become the one woman smiling in fertility clinic waiting rooms because you know something others don't.
Fear has utility for survival but becomes the biggest cause of suffering when sustained over time
▶ 5:01Fear demolishes intuition by hijacking your entire nervous system
▶ 29:09Humans build identity around fear while animals naturally discharge trauma and return to calm
▶ 31:55The body is designed to shake out trauma naturally, but we pathologize this healing response
▶ 33:51Personal sovereignty means determining your truth through your own filter, not external authority
▶ 27:04Fear-based programming from medical diagnoses has real toxic effects on your system
▶ 35:35Mass formation hypnosis occurs when entire populations are fed fear-inducing information
▶ 46:25Turning off fear-based media is self-preservation, not denial
▶ 38:10Discernment requires groundedness and calmness, filtering through intuition rather than reactivity
▶ 43:09Women told they're too old to conceive often have that mind virus, not biological reality
▶ 36:37When you're not afraid, you become the weirdo in the waiting room who's smiling
▶ 40:04Scroll for more
“You need to stay informed and watch the news to protect yourself from threats”
CONSIDER: Consciously choosing to disconnect from fear-based media is self-preservation that restores your connection to what's real
“Anxiety symptoms mean you need medication or professional intervention”
CONSIDER: Your body trembling or shaking is designed to discharge trauma naturally and shouldn't be pathologized
“Doctors know best and you should follow their authority without question”
CONSIDER: True empowerment comes from using discernment to choose practitioners who collaborate with you rather than shame you
“fear fear demolishes intuition”
“of course, I wasn't getting pregnant. There was no room in my life for a baby.”
“you determine your truth for yourself, not because somebody tells you what to think or what to believe or what to do”
“the truth is we don't know shit. We don't.”
“fear is the weapon”
“you get to be the one woman in that waiting room that's smiling”
“There is some woman on a planet of almost eight billion people that went that has the same diagnosis, same age, if not older, that figured it out. You will too in your own way.”
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