That Uneasy Feeling: Fear or Aliveness?

We all know the feeling.

You scroll the news. Something hits you: A war, a policy, a climate stat, a cost of living update. A flicker of thought runs through your mind, almost silently: What does this mean for me? For my future? For my family? It’s barely conscious. But your body already knows. Your chest tightens. Your breath shallows. A quiet, persistent unease settles in. And without even realizing it, you reach for something—your phone, your to-do list, a snack, another coffee.

Not because you’re hungry. Not because you’re excited. Because you’re trying to not feel what you just felt.

That’s fear.

Not the dramatic kind, but the subtle background hum we’ve learned to ignore, avoid, or override.

Most of us have 3 default responses to fear:

1. We numb it: Distraction becomes our drug of choice. The fear stays buried, but it builds in the body.

2. We push through it: We try to think our way out. Affirm it away. Act over it. Often with a sense of urgency.

3. We learn to sit with it: To notice it. To not make it mean anything dramatic. To let it exist without giving it control.

This third way? It’s a muscle we build. And Human Design can help.

In Human Design, fear is often associated with the Spleen Center—our instinctual awareness system. If yours is defined, you may have consistent access to fear-based signals—your body alerting you to something unseen. If it’s undefined, you may be highly sensitive to others’ fears—and feel them as if they’re yours. But here’s the truth for all of us:

Fear is part of the human experience.

It’s not something to eliminate.

It’s something to understand.

And once we understand it, we can reframe it. What if that buzz under the surface isn’t fear at all—but the frequency of being deeply alive? Think about the moments when everything was new—when you moved, started something big, made a leap.

Was there fear? Yes. But was there also a sense of vitality? Awareness? Intensity? That’s not something to numb. That’s something to trust. When we stop making fear the enemy, we can listen to what’s underneath it:

Intuition.

Aliveness.

Clarity.

And the next time that unease shows up? You’ll know what to say: “Welcome back. You can sit beside me. I’ve got this.”

Want to explore how fear shows up in your energy—and how to shift it? Your Human Design chart reveals your unique relationship with fear, intuition, and safety. Get your free HD chart & begin decoding your energy. The shift from fear to aliveness isn’t out there—it starts in your body.