Fear Spike Before Hitting ‘Publish’

Metaphorical Narrative

Finger hovering over the button.
The body flares: chest tightens, pulse quickens, breath stumbles.
The mind whispers catastrophe — exposure, ridicule, rejection.
One click feels like leaping off a cliff.
But the surge is only a wave, not a prophecy.

Core Insight

This is performance arousal misread as danger. The body prepares for action, but the mind mislabels the signal as proof of failure.

Mechanism: threat attribution error — sympathetic surge linked to imagined shame.
Examples: posting online, sharing creative work, submitting an application.
Spotting cues: racing pulse, sweaty palms, urgent self-criticism right before pressing send.

Emotional Allowing reclaims presence: you let the spike crest and fall, without attaching story. Fear becomes signal, not verdict.

Proof Snapshot + Identity Line

Notice how the wave always subsides once the act is done — even quicker when it’s allowed. That is lived proof.
The sovereign line: “This spike is not judgment. It is signal, and it will pass.”

Saturday Experiment

1. Before pressing publish, pause. Whisper: “Signal only.”
2. Breathe into the surge; let the body shake if it must.
3. Click while the wave is still alive.
4. Record how quickly the spike faded after action.

Sunday Reflection

Journal in third person:

• What did they fear before pressing publish?
• How did allowing the wave shift the moment?
• What happened after the act compared to the story predicted?