Fear cannot be without hope nor hope without fear.

Both feelings come from the same place: caring about an outcome you cannot control. You only fear losing what you hope to keep, and you only hope for what you might not get. Trying to kill the fear usually kills the hope beside it, which is why numbness feels safe and also feels like nothing. The two arrive as a pair or not at all.

When fear shows up, ask what it is guarding. Name the hope underneath it, plainly, and the fear often becomes information rather than a verdict. Then decide what the hope asks of you, and let the fear come along.