CONSUMING FEAR OR CONSUMED BY FEAR?

After the terrorist attacks in Paris, I heard a priest give a sermon where he said that we are being consumed by fear, that we are like vultures, and the fear is like carrion. This sounds like we are consuming fear and can't get enough of it.

My patients have shown me that their fear makes them like the carrion and they are being being consumed by the vulture of fear.  If it seems that we cannot get enough of fear, it may be that is because we feel compelled to expose ourselves to stressful events over and over.  An example might be the TV news that seems focused on reportiing stressful events over and over. Maybe we keep exposing ourselves to stress in the hope that it will change and be ok and no longer a stress. Some of my patients saw the planes hit the twin towers thousands of times.  I saw it twice and I was upset with myself for choosing to see it a second time, as that was not necessary and only increased my stress level.  It also seems that stress is related to worries and that worries are almost reassuring in that if you worry a lot you will always know what is going to happen...you will be worrying.  

So, why is it so hard to stop worrying?  As I've mentioned, being able to know what was going to happen each day may be reassuring enough to keep us worrying.  I also wonder if our brains recall past stressful events and bring up a memory of this event as a way of asking us if we are still stressed by this but we think our brains are making statements, telling us to be stressed and worried.  So why don't our brains tell us they are asking questions?  This might have to do with the fact that it is our brain and we are supposed to be in charge and make the decisions that then tell our brains what to do.  This may not sound like the way your brain works, or mine.  Yet this is important as it reinforces the importance of the choices that we make and that it really is up to us.  

So if it is really up to us why does it seem like it isn't?  What do you think?