If I hurt, today I can own it and if I am afraid, I can admit rather than hide it. Experiencing my own fear can make me so anxious that I try to pretend it isn’t there. This is when I look for crutches to hold me up. Owning my own fear actually gives me strength. It allows me not to be caught off guard or get overly triggered by whatever frightens me.
When I know I am afraid, I have a stronger psychological position than when I deny that part of myself.

It’s okay for me to be afraid.

[We] frame the situation in such a way that we can once again open ourselves to new possibilities of response to suffering. They can turn our attention to an examination of the reactions that suffering triggers off in us. Up to now these reactions have been rooted not only in fear but in the denial of fear. Merely to be mindful of this pattern is to be
one step closer to our own truth and, in turn, to the truth of someone else’s suffering. Truth is where we will meet. Simply acknowledging our reactiveness to pain, therefore, is itself an initial act of service.
Ram Dass and Paul Gorman from “How Can I Help?