With regard to pain, I've used writing to get relief from pain. I get so involved in the writing that I forget about the pain and eventually, it goes away. If hat doesn't work, there is water. And if that doesn't work, there is aspirin.
On fear, I've seen fear conquered by curiosity, even after a fall or bump on the playground with my kids. They fall, they cry, they want me to pick them up and hold them. A few minutes later they are squirming and kicking for me to let them down so that they can try again, only more carefully this time.
I have seen fear and mental pain through my life and walked through it with introspection, support groups and reading. Lots of reading. It's a funny thing about reading, how I can use it to change the way that I think.
There is one more point about fear. Fear retards the learning process. I've seen that first hand and in watching my kids grow up. So I am all about collaboration for solutions to the problems that my kids need to solve. Cooperation is the foundation skill of all of mankind, an collaboration is just one form of cooperation. When I collaborate with my kids to solve problems, I teach them the skills they need to get along with other people. That is a very good antidote to mental pain.