As humans, It’s normal to have fears and worries. You should also not try to avoid them even though our human nature tends to especially when they scare us. Continually avoiding your fears can make you become hostage to the monster.
Also, running away from your fears can keep you hiding from potential challenges that can lead to growth and joy. You can’t hide forever from fear. It’s going to strike, despite your best efforts to suppress it. And it is likely that it will strike at a time when you most need emotional equanimity. The best way for you is to understand your fears, know the symptoms, then face and overcome them. This will in turn make you free from your fears and worries.
Read: How to prevent Overthinking
The good news is that once you face your fear, it begins losing the ability to rule you and dictate your decisions.
How to Be Free From Fear and Worries
- Understand Your fears and worries: The first step to overcoming your fears and worries is to understand those things that make you afraid and often keep you on edge. When you recognize those conditions and circumstances, it will help you know how to face them.
- Understand the symptoms of fear and worries: Fears often manifest as phobias, for situations (riding, hiking, flying), animals (fear of snakes or spiders), blood, injections, etc. When you experience fear, you may experience symptoms like:
Racing heartbeat
Difficulty breathing
Dizziness
Sweating
Overwhelming anxiety, panic, and other effects. - Facing Your Fear: There are several steps to take when actually facing your fears.
i. Some people grew up being afraid and worried about false beliefs and catastrophic thinking. You may want to analyze your fears and start to question them. Do some online research and understand your actual risk versus perceived risk. Recognize that the worst-case scenario is highly unlikely. Begin to restructure your thoughts to not engage in catastrophic thinking, and start to talk back to those thoughts.
ii. After you have confronted your false beliefs, begin to expose yourself to the fear. Oftentimes we’re afraid of something because we haven’t been exposed to it very much. “Fear of the unknown” is a commonly used phrase to describe the automatic aversion people feel to something that’s different. Confront your fears and worries by exposing yourself to those things you dread the most. For example, if you are always afraid of flying, try taking trips that involve flying, and while on the trip, try to have fun and enjoy it.
iii. When your body experiences fear, lots of triggers ready your body for a “fight-or-flight” action response. Learn to override this response by counteracting with relaxation techniques. Relaxation tells your body that there is no danger and that you are safe. Relaxation can also help you cope with other stress and anxiety in your life. Practice taking deep breaths to help relax when confronting your fears and worries.
iv. Your worries can be controlled when you are able to control your thoughts and your fears. Divert your attention to things that make you happy and always tell yourself that whether you have a solution or not to the problem at hand, you need not worry but face them. - Freedom From Fear and Worries: When you have successfully overcome your fears and worries, they tend to become stepping stones to your victory in life. You may even begin to see the opportunities there and harness them for your good.
