What is fear?:
Fear, according to the Mental Health Foundation, is a “powerful emotion that produces a physical response which helps us react to threats or dangerous situations.” Fear can happen with bigger events like running a marathon, or even with smaller simple everyday events such as an exam or a presentation in front of your whole class. Fear is normal to have and is a natural response to situations where you don’t feel comfortable or under pressure.
How to overcome it:
- Focusing on something else –
Fear makes it hard for your brain to think clearly, so calming down and getting away from what is causing you the fear can be highly effective. Even for 15 minutes, if you decide to draw something or watch your favorite show and try to fully encapsulate your mind into what you are doing, it can really help.
Some things you can do are the following; have a shower, color, make your favorite food/drink, take a walk, call a friend, and much more.
How you make this work is to find something that works for you. Find what you enjoy doing most. Don’t pick something that feels like a challenge.
- Breathe through panic –
People with sleep paralysis have been told to deal with it so as to let the nightmare absorb you. Just let it happen. And status has applied this to fear and as an effect have seen its work. It may feel uncomfortable but allow your fear to happen. Focusing on your breathing by putting your hands on your stomach and sim to get your mind used to coping with panic this way. This can make whatever situations you’re panicking about feel much smaller. Even putting on music while you do this can benefit you. Playing music that is calming like white noises or music you grew up with so it makes you feel happy. Again finding something that fits you is the best option.
- Face your fears (exposure therapy):
Ignoring your problems and fears won’t make them go away. In fact, it can make them become worse. So facing them, making your fears become normal things you deal with everyday, has been proven to help people overcome their fears. This is called exposure therapy. According to PTSD Clinical Practice Guidance Exposure Therapy is a “psychological treatment that was developed to help people confront their fears.” It has been scientifically proven that exposing yourself to your fears can help you overcome them.
There are many ways you can overcome your fears and deal with them. There are just some ideas. What will make a difference in your life is experimenting with the different techniques and finding what works best for you.
