The Fear of Being Seen: Visibility, Nervous System Safety, and Creative Liberation

Being seen, allowing people to see our work, our ideas and our perspective can be one of the most challenging aspects around our creative journey.......hell, just our human journey.

For us melanated blessed folks, this can be particularly scary because in the past "being seen" actually could equate to a direct and literal threat to your life.

Being seen could have meant being captured, locked up, separated from family or just flat out killed.

I wish I could say that threat is fully gone these days but I cannot.

So of course your nervous system may go into a freeze response when presented with the idea of being visible and people knowing who you are; of course you may procrastinate; of course you may avoid sharing the very thing that might actually set you free in some way or open the very doors you've been looking to step through.

And I just want to say......that's ok. It's ok. You're not alone in that experience no matter how you identify.

As much as some part of us may want to share, there might be another part of us that is also terrified. Both things can be true. This is the foundation of 'parts work' and we can use EFT Tapping to address this contradicting parts of ourselves.

"Even though a part of me would love to share this _________, another part of me is absolutely terrified."

Not everything is meant to be seen but for the things that are meant to be shared beyond just our own eyes, can we start to have more ease around the process? More excitement about the possibility? More confidence about the action?

Yes, sharing ourselves and our art can be scary.......and it can also be deeply liberating and rewarding.

And it also doesn't always have to be hard. I know it's crazy to believe but sometimes things can be easier than you think.......especially when you get your nervous system on board with your vision.

Because I hate to say it......being visible isn't just about you.

Obviously, that's the most critical piece but it's also important to remember or realize that when you allow yourself, your work, your art, your perspective to be seen - you have no idea what impact that will make on someone else.

You may or may not care about that but it's something to consider. That every time you share yourself in some way (that feels right), you not only free yourself but you may help free someone else.

That you may not only open doors of opportunity for yourself, but you may do the same for others.

That you may not only change your life but another person's (or many people's) as well.

To gain access to the exclusive EFT Tapping video that dives deeper into addressing fears around visibility, you can join The Everyday Artist Community here!