How to get rid of fear, fear. The worst turn of events. Fear of repeating bad experiences

Fears and phobias greatly complicate existence, making it difficult to adequately perceive reality and enjoy life. There are several ways to overcome phobias, but in order to know exactly how to overcome fear, it is important to understand the reasons for its occurrence.

What is fear?

It is one of the strongest human emotions. Fear creates a psychological barrier that is difficult, but quite realistic to overcome on your own.

There are several types of fears:

  1. congenital;
  2. Acquired in the process of education through the fault of the immediate environment;
  3. Acquired as a result of bad experience;
  4. Irrational fears.

Inborn Fears- these are almost self-preservation instincts: fear of falling or loud noises. They do not need to be overcome, it is enough just to control them - after all, absolute fearlessness is also fatal. For example, kremnophobia (fear of an abyss, abyss) is quite understandable and even justified.

Acquired in childhood through the fault of the surrounding society:

  • Atychiphobia (fear of mistakes, failure);
  • dysmorphophobia (dissatisfaction with one's own appearance);
  • gelotophobia (fear of becoming the object of ridicule, jokes);
  • hypengiophobia;
  • decidophobia (fear of responsibility and decision-making, respectively);

Fear of repeating bad experiences:

  • Dentophobia (internal fear of dentists);
  • nosophobia and nosocomephobia (fear of illness and hospitals, respectively);
  • gamophobia (fear of marriage);
  • agraphobia (fear of rape, sex, harassment).

These phobias arise as a result of an already existing unpleasant experience.

Irrational phobias:

  • Iophobia (fear of being poisoned);
  • psychrophobia (fear of the cold);
  • megalophobia (fear of large, large objects or objects);
  • gravidophobia (fear of pregnant women);
  • verminophobia (fear of becoming infected with something through bacteria, worms and microbes);
  • crystallophobia or hyalophobia (fear of touching glass products).

These fears are logically inexplicable, it is difficult to understand where they came from, although they can also be overcome, like other phobias.

This is just a short list of phobias inherent in people and recognized International Association Psychiatrists. In fact, the list is much longer, but the causes (and therefore the methods of getting rid of them) are for the most part similar. Having understood the general system, you can completely overcome any fear on your own.

How to understand the cause of a phobia and overcome it?


First step is to try to understand yourself and classify your fear. If you decide to deal with the problem yourself, get acquainted with the materials on this topic, read articles and publications of psychologists. Although, it is far from always possible to understand the information received the first time or it gives a complete picture. For example, you suffer from atychiphobia, read a couple of articles and already know that its roots go back to childhood, but you cannot understand how exactly it arose.

Psychologists explain- Atychophobia, hipengiophobia or decidophobia, as a rule, affects the children of overly demanding, authoritarian parents who require constant success from the child, prevent the manifestation of initiatives, stop attempts to express desires or claims, solving all life issues for them. All this is strengthened in the child's psyche and turns into a fear of making independent decisions that can lead to defeat. It is more difficult to overcome such fear.

Important! In order to overcome this fear, think about your present, list all your achievements that you have the right to be proud of (it is better to write it down on paper), remember all the situations when you had to make any decisions. After reviewing all this, you will understand that you have long been an adult and independent person who is responsible for your life.


It is not superfluous to remember that in real life successes always alternate with failures, ups and downs. This will help to overcome self-doubt and overcome phobia.

The same is true for gelotophobia. It is clear that it arises against the background of self-doubt, when in childhood there was already an experience of ridicule from classmates. Children are sometimes cruel towards each other, and ridicule from adults testifies to their complexes. Gelotophobia needs to be suppressed and simply outgrown. Think about it, because you are no longer a frightened child, you are an adult, a successful person. By working on improving your self-esteem, you can also overcome your fear of being ridiculed.

It is a little more difficult to overcome acquired phobias, it is not only a matter of the subconscious. You have already experienced this situation and are quite aware of the specific emotions. In this case, imagining and re-enacting the scene on your own will not work to overcome the fear. You need to include logic in the matter and, relying on facts (for example, the percentage probability of the return of the disease, in the case of nosophobia), convince yourself that the past should be left behind. Then it will be possible to overcome fear.

Causes of irrational fear: how to overcome?

If other types of fears, as a rule, are tied to certain objects or cases, from where various strange, irrational phobias appear, no specialist can say with certainty. This is very individual and depends on many other factors. The vast majority of people themselves do not understand the cause of their fear. What can be dangerous, for example, in a crystal vase (crystalphobia) or in a cheerful yellow color (xanthophobia). There is also globophobia - the fear of balloons. One should not think that a person suffering from globophobia is afraid of the loud sound of a bursting balloon. He is afraid of the balls themselves and, seeing them, tries to get around a kilometer. In these cases, it is most likely not possible to overcome fear on your own. It is better to turn to a psychologist who will help overcome it.

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Children's fears: treatment

Children also often experience various kinds of fears - fear of the dark or loud noises. But mostly children's fears are of natural origin and do not develop into phobias.

Psychologists have determined what fears are normal for children by age:

  • babies under 2 years old are afraid of loud noises, strangers, large objects;
  • it is normal for toddlers from 3 to 6 years old to be afraid of imaginary monsters in the closet, ghosts, darkness, strange sounds. They also do not like to fall asleep alone;
  • at the age of 7-16 years, such fears as fear of public speaking, natural disasters, death, illness, loss of relatives appear.

Important! All these fears are completely normal and do not speak of any mental disorders of the child, you can not even try to overcome them.

Ways to overcome fear

First of all, you need to remember that not all fears should be fought - some of them are an internal defensive reaction to danger and are important for self-preservation. You just need to learn how to control this emotion so that it does not develop into a phobia that complicates your life.


The advice of psychologists will help you overcome the feeling that prevents you from living a full life:

  • How to overcome fear the gradual way. Suppressing fear in stages leads to excellent results and does not make you feel stressed. For example, when aerophobia(fear of flying, most often manifested against the background of a fear of heights) you need to gradually get used to the height. Try to get as close to the window as possible and look down into the street to overcome your fear. When you get used to the sensations, open the window, gradually reach the point of leaning on the window sill at the open window (start from the 4th floor and gradually move to the higher floors). Don't expect fear to be completely overcome. Your goal is to make it controllable. At the same time, start looking for information about aircraft and aircraft construction. The facts will help you to make sure that the mechanism of this vehicle is safe, to overcome fear. By the way, according to statistics, the number of human victims in air crashes is much less than in car accidents or train wrecks. That is, air transport can be called the most safe means movement: the chances of dying while flying are 1:10,000,000.
  • How to overcome fear with a sharp method. This method advises you to simply decide and do what you are afraid of. Many say: "I can't, I don't want to." We need to act decisively. The method works when dental phobia. If you are afraid of going to the dentist because he has caused you a lot of pain in the past, choose another dentist and, when you meet, let them know about your concerns. To overcome heliophobia (fear of the sun and tanning), read the sun safety information and take a step towards the warmth and light of the sun. Do not blindly believe information about the dangers of UV radiation - sunlight necessary for the life of all living organisms, it is only necessary to follow the rules of being in the sun and use protective creams.
  • How to overcome fear logically. This method advises you to discuss your fear with loved ones. For example, with herpetophobia (fear of snakes, reptiles), you can talk about them, study the facts - which types of reptiles are really dangerous for humans, study their color. The next step to overcome fear will be looking at pictures of snakes and visiting a serpentarium. There you will be completely safe and able to overcome fear. You already understand the types of snakes, and "he who is warned is armed." Knowing which of the reptiles presents the danger, you will feel much calmer. This is how you get rid of and overcome your fear.
  • How to overcome fear with self-hypnosis. Is one of the most effective ways conquer your fear. If you suffer from doxophobia (fear of expressing your opinion) - remember where it came from. Maybe as a child you were ridiculed for speaking your mind or even as an adult. Replay that situation in your own way to overcome fear. Imagine that your opinion was respectfully heard, or (if you think your previous statement was incorrect) play your answer in a new way. Write down on paper all your achievements and successes. Think about how many times you have been asked about something, at least in the professional field. Every time you need to speak out, think about the fact that if you were asked, it means that your opinion is important and necessary for someone. This is all you need to do to overcome the fear of expressing your own opinion.

When should you contact a psychologist?


It is best to first try to fight your fears on your own. This will significantly increase your self-confidence. But if you feel that fear is getting out of control and developing into panic attacks, you should contact a specialist.

Symptoms of panic attacks that you need to know to overcome fear:

  • Dizziness;
  • Weakness in the knees;
  • Increased sweating;
  • Trembling in limbs;
  • Nausea;
  • Labored breathing.

Important! In severe cases, vomiting and fainting are added. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, you should not delay visiting a psychologist to overcome your fear.


People who have overcome their fears are advised not to give up and overcome them in every possible way.

They shared their experiences of overcoming phobias and made a list practical advice how to overcome fear:

  1. Most effective remedy in order to overcome phobias - gradually and repeatedly expose yourself to what you fear in a safe and controlled way;
  2. Take some time to figure out (identify) your fears and ask yourself why you have them. If you prefer, write down what you come up with and analyze each thought so you can better understand the cause of your fears and overcome them. This will help to reduce their importance and significance, and perhaps completely rid you of them.
  3. Feel free to talk to a family member or friend about your fears in order to overcome your fear. Your loved ones may experience similar fears, or they may be able to help you overcome them. Talking to loved ones may not overcome fear, but it will ease your anxiety anyway.
  4. If you are afraid of airplanes, book a short trip to overcome your fear. If you are afraid of dogs or cats, visit an animal shelter. If you're afraid to speak in front of a large crowd, take part in an activity that requires public speaking to overcome your fear. Whatever your fear, face it face to face. You need to prove that you are stronger than your fears. Only in this way can you be sure that all the fears in your head are unreal and can be overcome;
  5. Be an optimist, try to think only about the good and never predict negative events. You cannot control the future, but everyone knows that thoughts have the ability to materialize, especially negative ones. Therefore, enjoy life to quickly overcome fear.

Some useful tips from psychotherapists about how to overcome fear:

  • In no case do not try to overcome your fears with the help of alcohol. It changes psychic receptivity, distorts reality, and can push to commit rash and life-threatening acts;
  • Avoid coffee and caffeinated drinks. It has the ability to excite, increase anxiety, increases the heartbeat and can cause tremors in the limbs;
  • During a panic attack, take deep breaths and slow exhalations. Deep breathing has been proven to calm the nerves and help overcome fear;
  • Get enough sleep and rest;
  • Find an interesting hobby. It will fill your thoughts with enthusiasm and positivity and help overcome fear.

Conclusion

How to make the fear disappear? Try to overcome it as quickly as possible. Even children understand that fears poison life. At the presentation of the social studies lesson in the 6th grade, the students made several wise statements:

  • “Fear is the weakness and enemy of man”;
  • “Fear prevents the achievement of desired goals and the fulfillment of dreams”;
  • "Fear leads to failure."

Remember this! A person who was able to overcome his phobia feels relieved and proud. This noticeably increases interest in life and the chances of success in all its areas.

Many people are aware of their own and even want to cope with it, overcome it once and for all, but not everyone overcomes their fear. You can even calculate approximately how many people have overcome their fears and complexes, and what is important, they do it systematically. That is, it is not enough to defeat a single fear (people have dozens and even hundreds of different fears), in order to achieve happiness, freedom, success, you need to learn how to overcome any fear as it is activated. What is Fear - read. About fearlessness -.

In the world of successful people who consider themselves happy about 2-3% of the entire population of the earth, it was they who were able to cope with their fears, and therefore they have such results that are different from most of those who are enslaved and enslaved by fears.

The destruction of each subsequent fear opens up another opportunity for a person to receive some valuable prize. Defeated the fear of expressing your feelings - get a happy personal life, overcame the fear of people and public speaking - you have an open career as a leader and the success of a leader, etc.

In this article, we consider the general and most important principles and techniques to overcome fear, almost any fear.

Different fears are destroyed in different ways. Sometimes it is enough to understand, to find the root cause of fear, and it leaves forever and never returns. But often this is not enough. In some cases, it is necessary to use special techniques. But it happens that the fear goes away only thanks to its direct overcoming, only after several repetitions of what you are afraid of, the fear goes away forever.

For example, jump into the water from a tower (or from a pier). The most difficult thing is to decide to jump for the first time (the greatest overcoming force is required), the second and third times are already easier, but overcoming is still required, but after several dozen repetitions, you no longer feel fear, but enjoy jumping into the water. Pleasure, joy, happiness - this is a well-deserved reward for the fact that a person was able to overcome fear. The same thing, when entering the stage and the first public appearance. For the first time - your knees are shaking, there is a lump in your throat, and sweat is pouring down, but after a while - you can’t drive a person off the stage and you can’t take the microphone, he likes to perform so much.

Of course there are individual characteristics how to deal with various types fear. We will consider a universal algorithm for almost all types of fear, relevant knowledge, methods and practical tasks.

The main root causes of existing fears

In order to overcome fears, you need to know the main root causes of their occurrence.

1. Part of the fear arises on the basis of ignorance(the root cause is ignorance). Most often this refers to situations when a person has to do something for the first time, that is, he has never done it, he has no experience, therefore, instead of knowledge, fear lives in a person

2. The second part of fears lives on the basis of past negative experiences. when a person failed in something, pain, suffering, and now, accordingly, he is afraid of a repetition of this situation.

3. The third part of the fears is based on the fear of death. The strongest fear of all that exists is the fear of death, that is, the fear of losing the body (life), moreover, your life or the life of your loved one, it does not matter. How to remove the fear of death is a separate very important topic, read here. Fear of losing children, parents and loved ones - it all applies here.

4. And the fourth kind of fears appears in a person when there is no knowledge of the law of justice(law of cause and effect). When there is no Faith, that never, if a person does not deserve it, he (or those who are dear to him) will not suffer unfairly. And if a person has committed a crime, and knowing the law of retribution, he is afraid, so it’s right to be afraid and wait for his retribution for what he did (fear, in this case, is part of the punishment for what has been done).

How to overcome fear? Basic rules and techniques for working with fear

First, consider what to do with the causes of fear described above.

Fear of the new, or the unknown - how to overcome it? Everything is extremely simple here.

1. If you don't have own experience in any business - study the experience of other people, how it was for them for the first time, what they felt, how they took their first step, what they experienced, etc. Ask everyone you can, read reviews on the Internet, read in books . This will help remove fear by 90 percent, because it is ignorance that most inflates the emotions of fear.

2. If you are afraid of any specific negative consequences, for example, to embarrass yourself when going on stage for the first time - simulate the situation in your mind with different consequences (best in meditation, if you know how to meditate at least a little). Humor will help a lot! Imagine in detail the most ridiculous and terrible outcome of the situation for you (how you were thrown with tomatoes, for example), accept it, and laugh mentally along with everyone. In most cases, the fear will go away, but not completely, a little will remain, the rest of the fear will leave you already in a real situation, but it will be expressed simply in the form of excitement, which you can easily cope with.

Fear of repeating your own or someone else's negative experience - how to deal with it?

You need to understand the logic of any events - if you do not change anything at all, then it is very likely that the experience will be repeated. That is, in order not to repeat the negative experience, you need to change something in your approach in yourself, etc., do something in a new way. And this is where analysis comes in handy:

1. Analyze and find the reasons for your failures in the past, draw conclusions and eliminate the mistakes that you made then. Most of the fear will go away when you really understand the true reasons for your failures and acknowledge them. And then, just do not repeat the mistakes made, start your second attempt in a new way.

2. The second way to remove the fear of negative experience 1:1 coincides with the second way in the previous paragraph (getting rid of the fear of a new one). Modeling and accepting the situation always works very well.

How to overcome the fear of death - read in detail. And if in a nutshell, then we can say the following - as long as a person believes that he is a physical body, a soulless descendant of a monkey, and not a divine immortal Soul, he will never remove the fear of death, only by cultivating in himself an absolute renunciation of life (unwillingness to live and desire to die), and yes, at the same time, the fear of death will live inside.

The fourth type of fear is the fear that something unexpected or unfair may happen to you. It is removed only by the formation of an understanding of the universal Laws, by learning to see the causes and consequences of all events in your life. This is written in almost every book about Success, about the need to think positively, etc., but not everyone moves to the stage where in their own lives they can trace the causes and consequences of everything that happens. Good film, which I recommend on this topic is The Secret.

One more thing! If you want to get rid of most of your fears - start living, acting, speaking honestly, by. One of the common causes of Fear is deceit or another sin. Subconsciously, if a person committed a sin, lied - he will expect punishment, and accordingly they are afraid of him. Because, the soul (conscience, even if it is heavily clogged) knows that a person did not do the right thing and deserves punishment (even if no one else knows about it).

Remember! Honest people have nothing to hide, therefore they have nothing to fear, their Conscience is clear!

Good luck in defeating any fears!

And if you have a specific question about a specific Fear that prevents you from living - ask a question in or write it in the comments - I will answer it with all the details for free :)!

It is difficult to judge whether there are people in the world who never experience fear, however, there is no doubt that this feeling is well known to most of the world's population. We can be afraid for our life and health, for the success of the enterprise, for relatives, experience trembling in the knees before communicating with a beautiful girl or public speaking. Often fears become obsessive, occupy our thoughts and prevent us from moving on. What if we could deal effectively with them? Understand the essence of fear and overcome it? Of course, everything is real. Let's find out in this articlehow to overcome fear.

What is fear?

First you need to understand your enemy. What is fear? How does it appear? Let's look at a very prosaic example. There are two guys, one of whom is afraid to communicate with girls, and the second does it with ease. What is the reason for the fears of the first guy? Probably many have experienced or are experiencing trembling in the knees at the sight of a beauty, and therefore let's remember (I know that it's unpleasant, but without breaking the shell, you yourself understand).

So, before our first hero stands beautiful girl. He wants to be with her, dreams of her... but he doesn't dare to approach and speak. Is this familiar to you? The reasons can be conditionally divided into general and particular.

Common reasons: weak character, may be the result of both hormonal imbalance and programs clogged into the psyche. Such programs are like a snowflake that rolled down the mountain, and below it is already a whole avalanche. They poison the character, manifesting themselves in fears of everything in the world in general - communication with a girl, a fight, companies, extreme sports. Usually such programs are born out of one small fear - a negative reaction to some experience and a strong desire of the body and psyche to never experience this again. For example, once a girl refused. Even worse, it was seen by others. This desire can over time strike the will and become part of the character.

Particular reasons: self-doubt due to lack of communication experience, unsatisfactory appearance, the thought that this girl is “not on his level” (very beautiful, rich, smart, demanding).

There is more evil in fear than in the very thing that is feared (Mark Tullius Cicero).

As you can see, there can be many reasons. But the recipes for dealing with each of them are always the same, except for hormonal disruptions, in this case, you need to increase the level of testosterone in the blood (gym, proper nutrition, dream). All these reasons come down to a negative experience, the repetition of which our psyche tries to prevent. Moreover, it is important to understand that this experience did not have to happen in reality, it was enough to imagine something similar in your thoughts - for the mind there is no difference. The second guy either did not have such an experience, or he is balanced by positive experience, so there is no resistance of the psyche. Here is the secret of their confidence and the indecisiveness of others.

In simple words, fear works like this: we experienced something - we didn’t like it - we are afraid in the future. Moreover, you can experience not only really, but also mentally. That is, the body remembers the reaction to something, and then, in a similar case, reproduces it, often in a stronger form (people love to wind themselves up, adding strength to fear). The more often a person experiences anxious thoughts and emotions, the stronger the neural connection that is responsible for just such a reaction. This must be taken into account if you want to figure out how to overcome fear.

What is important to understand is that most often the process of the emergence of fear by a person is not even realized, because everything happens in the subconscious. Just be very attentive to your inner world people will be able to react in time, while the rest will have to deal with the investigation. How?

This is where the fun begins...

It is very important for each person to be able to cope with fear in order to achieve their goals or just live calmly, and not shake from every little thing. People who often experience fears will agree that life without them, even one quiet minute, is like a breath of fresh air. And there are many ways to overcome your fears. Moreover, you are guaranteed to succeed if you only firmly decide to take care of yourself. This is done in several stages.

  1. Understand your fears

You will definitely understand how to overcome fear if you understand yourself. First you need to understand exactly what exactly you are afraid of, let's bring fear out of the subconscious into the light of day. Let's see how this is done using the example of a conflict situation. Suppose you are afraid of her and usually pass if it comes down to it. But what exactly are you afraid of? Fights? You do not want to bring it to this and often avoid communication and people so as not to provoke such a development of events. Or you just fall into a stupor when someone makes it clear that a fight will start if you don’t give in.

Ok, now let's look deeper. How to overcome the fear of a fight? Ask yourself questions, let the brain find the reason. Are you afraid of pain? In most cases, this is not the case, everyone is afraid of the fight itself as a mythical nightmare. Or are you afraid of losing in front of someone? This often happens. Understand your fears, disassemble them under a microscope, as if you are observing everything from the side. And when you localize fear, then it is much easier to set one specific reaction than to overcome some abstract fear. That is, if you want to know how to stop being afraid of a fight, first understand your fear.

The second example, if you offer a person to choose what is scarier - a ghost or a bandit with a machine gun, most will choose a ghost, because of the mythical horror that lives inside. But in fact, the result of a collision with a ghost (imagine such a stranger) and a bandit is the same ... then why are we more afraid of ghosts? How is this justified? Yes, nothing, they themselves came up with, we ourselves are afraid. Penetrate the essence of your fear, understand its mechanism and, most importantly, the reason, without this it will live inside and it will have to be knocked out with a wedge.

How to use fear?

But there is also a bright side to fear. Sometimes it signals to us about the danger that should be avoided. Sometimes it is a good stimulus to action, drives us to something better. Such fear is even useful and can be used, but everything should be in moderation. Learn how to use this tool to create a good incentive for yourself, but at the same time not to fall into a stupor.

  1. Overcome reaction

Now that we know what exactly we are afraid of and where this fear came from, we need to do something about it. The question is what? There are several solutions that are desirable to apply in combination, the first solution is to replace one reaction (fear) with another (more positive). How to do it? You will laugh, but everything needs to be tasted. In a figurative sense, of course. You should experience a positive reaction to the stimulus that previously caused fear. Well, for example, get high from a fight or from talking with a girl. Agree, it is strange to be afraid of girls if you really like communicating with them. Or remove the cause of the alarm. For example, you are afraid to lose in front of witnesses. You can do boxing and the fear will vanish by itself. You can simply try psychological cunning and overcome one fear with another - start being afraid to chicken out in front of people. But still, the option with a positive reaction is the most attractive.

To make your task even easier, you can do everything gradually. Remember, we have already said that for the brain there is no difference between what you experienced in reality or in your dreams. If you don't believe me, think of something erotic...do you feel a reaction? The brain absolutely does not care whether the girl will actually stand in front of you or in your thoughts. This means that he can safely imagine a conversation, simulate it ... and the brain will remember the reaction.

This applies to any situation, imagine as vividly as possible different variants and try to experience another feeling - pleasure, emotional uplift. Having passed this stage, it will become easier to start working already really, if necessary. You will be interested to know that it takes 3 weeks to develop a conditioned reflex.

  1. How to overcome fear? Don't feed him!

A great way to overcome fear is to ignore it. We must understand that fear exists only in our minds. The more you think about it, the more you feed it, giving your energy. He lives only for this. Obsessive thoughts attack constantly, trying to provoke you to think about them, to calm yourself - don't do it, don't be fooled. Every time you think back to what you're afraid of, you're feeding the fear. But if you ignore it, it won't be able to stick to you.

This may seem like a difficult task, but it is not. Mentally send fear to hell, imagine that you don't care. Remove the significance of everything that happens - in this state there is nothing to be afraid of, because everything is unimportant. How to do it? Just let go of the thoughts, observe them, but don't react. Remember that these are just programs in your brain trying to survive, and fear has nothing to do with reality.

  1. Assess what you can and can't do.

To understand how to overcome fear, you need not only to realize its causes, but also to cut them off. It is important to understand that you have done everything possible on your part, the rest is inevitable, or if you like -. Everything will be as it should be, the future has already happened, your task is to meet it with dignity. Agree, with this approach, being afraid is somehow strange.

  1. Develop a sense of humor

It may seem that this is not so important, however, it is worth starting to take the world less seriously, not forgetting to smile at your thoughts and even fears, as life will turn into other colors and there will be no place for fear in it. Replace it with humor and a smile.

Now you know,how to overcome fear. Follow these simple advice, understand yourself, do not let your thoughts drift. After all, often we are afraid, without even understanding why. And more importantly, it is to realize that most fears exist only in our imagination.

Everyone experiences anxiety or fear from time to time. This is normal, but only if fear and anxiety do not follow too often and for any reason. In this case, a person cannot lead a normal life, because negative emotions do not allow him to live in peace. Let's see what needs to be done to get rid of fear and anxiety, and what psychologists say about this.

Anxiety and fear are natural emotions that nature has given to man. In a difficult situation, they help him by mobilizing physical and mental resources, and in a moment of danger they can even save his life.

But in some people, these negative states appear as if for no reason. In fact, there is a reason, it's just hidden deep in the subconscious. For example, people who have experienced severe hardship or severe shocks begin to fear that a similar situation may happen again in the future.

Pessimists are also often anxious and afraid. A negative outlook on life makes a person expect a bad outcome of almost any event. And if this really happens, the pessimist is even more established in the correctness of his way of thinking, thereby strengthening his tendency to negative experiences.

Symptoms of anxiety and fear

When a person begins to worry or be afraid of something, he experiences not only negative emotions, but also certain physiological reactions. His muscles tighten, his heart rate and pulse quicken, there is a feeling of chills and lack of air in his chest. Hands begin to tremble, sweating intensifies. At the same time, obsessive thoughts swarm in the head, the imagination draws all sorts of unpleasant pictures, reinforcing the feeling of anxiety.

It is often difficult for a person to determine exactly what emotions he is experiencing. Anxiety is characterized by an unpleasant painful feeling in the chest, in the region of the heart, the expectation of trouble. Fear leads to a state of panic, in which a person turns off rational thinking. He cannot calmly sit down and analyze the situation, he is simply afraid and panicking.

If experiences do not leave a person for a long time, his appetite worsens or completely disappears, sleep becomes superficial and intermittent, he wakes up at night and cannot fall asleep for a long time. Some people, on the contrary, increase their appetite, and they try to "seize" their negative emotions.

The state of chronic stress takes away strength, so a person feels exhausted and tired. All this cannot but affect his life. If you do not get rid of the feeling of fear and anxiety in a timely manner, there is a danger that they will develop into the present. mental disorder. Therefore, psychologists advise learning to cope with negative experiences on your own.

Ways to deal with fear and anxiety

Almost every person is able to overcome fears and anxiety, negative emotions and experiences. This is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. You just need to set a goal and follow the advice of psychologists. So let's take a look at the most effective recommendations professionals that can be applied at home.

  • Find the reason for your feelings. If you want to get rid of anxiety and worry, be sure to find their cause. Think about the exact situation that scares you. Maybe you are afraid of heights, crowds, communication with strangers or speaking in front of an audience. Remember when your fear first manifested itself, in what situation it happened.
  • Don't hide from your fear, don't deny it. If you honestly acknowledge his presence in your life, it will become easier to deal with him.
  • Learn to relax. Anxious states make you be in constant tension, take away energy and strength. Therefore, it is very important to learn how to relax. To do this, you can use any methods: a warm bath, a walk in the park, an evening run in the fresh air, yoga or meditation, breathing exercises listening to pleasant, soothing music. Try to distract yourself from the experiences that torment you and give yourself up to the chosen occupation.
  • Discuss your fears with a loved one. There is nothing better than talking about your worries to someone you trust. This may be a close relative or friend to whom you can open your soul. Tell what worries and worries you and listen to the opinion of the interlocutor. Very often, after such a conversation, a person begins to treat his problem more calmly, and feelings lose their sharpness.
  • Put your thoughts on paper. If you don't have someone you can trust, don't despair. Keep a diary and write down all your negative experiences. So it will be easier for you to understand yourself and understand what exactly worries you and in what situations fear manifests itself most strongly.
  • Laugh and smile more often. Bring more humor into your life. Watch comedies or humorous shows, read jokes, search the Internet for various funny jokes. It's good to do this with friends. So you can laugh a lot, relieve stress and forget about your worries for a while.
  • Don't sit idle. When a person is not busy with anything, negative experiences begin to attack him, and gloomy thoughts spin in his head and do not allow him to relax. The best thing to do in a situation like this is to get busy. Do whatever you want: clean the apartment, cook a delicious dinner, pay attention to your husband or wife, play with your child, go to the store.
  • Set aside time for fear and anxiety. Most likely, you will not be able to constantly keep your experiences under control. This is not necessary. Set aside 20-30 minutes a day for them. At this time, let your imagination paint the most terrible pictures. Give free rein to your anxiety, give in to it completely. Don't analyze your emotions, just experience them. When the allotted time is over, return to your normal activities. If anxiety begins to overcome you during the day, simply write down the thoughts that disturb you on paper, and in the allotted time you can worry.
  • Don't dwell on the past. If you have had unpleasant situations in the past that caused inner fear or anxiety, your thoughts may often return to these events. Don't let them. The past has already passed and it is not at all a fact that the negative scenario will repeat itself again. Relax, calm your nerves and live in the moment.
  • Get into visualization. As soon as your imagination begins to draw scary pictures of possible events for you, immediately, by an effort of will, switch it to a positive direction. Brightly and in detail imagine the most successful outcome of the situation that worries you. Visualize until you feel that the anxiety has left you or at least significantly decreased. Psychologists and esotericists claim that regular positive visualization can influence life circumstances, turning them in the desired direction.
  • Don't plan ahead. Usually, before an important event, people think over their every step, rehearse actions and words. If you are very anxious, then let your actions be spontaneous. Very often they turn out to be much more effective than planned. Trust the situation and act according to the circumstances.
  • Don't feed your fears. If you have a tendency to over-anxiety, try to read or watch news, crime reports and other information on TV as little as possible, which will only exacerbate existing fears and create fertile ground for the emergence of new ones.
  • Change your eating habits. Some foods that you eat tend to exacerbate anxiety. This includes tea, coffee and alcohol. Reduce the amount of these foods in your diet or eliminate them altogether. By the way, an excessive passion for sweets also increases anxiety, because with an increase in blood sugar, a person has an unreasonable feeling of anxiety.
  • Communicate with people. If you feel that you are beginning to be overwhelmed by anxiety, do not sit alone. Go to a crowded place - cinema, theater, concert or exhibition. Meet your friends more often. Give preference to live communication, but if this is not possible, do not neglect talking on the phone, Skype, correspondence on the Internet.
  • Use affirmations, mantras, mudras. In esoteric literature, you can find many effective means to combat negative experiences. One of the most popular are Sytin's moods. You can already use ready texts or create your own based on them.

Helping a Psychologist to Deal with Anxiety

If you've tried all of the above methods of dealing with anxiety, but have not achieved anything, don't get discouraged. It is better to seek help from a psychologist or psychotherapist.

Often the roots of increased anxiety lie so deep in the subconscious that a person cannot find them on his own. The task of a psychologist is to help a person understand the causes of fear, remove them from the subconscious and teach him to overcome anxiety.

Some people are embarrassed to seek help from a psychologist. Do not do this. After all, you are not shy about a therapist or dentist, and a psychologist is the same specialist, only in the field of mental, not bodily problems. He will help you deal with your fears and give useful recommendations.

If you can't manage your anxiety, ask your therapist to prescribe anti-anxiety medication for you. You can also use folk remedies. Drink decoctions from medicinal herbs with a sedative effect. This includes mint, lemon balm, valerian root, motherwort, chamomile.

Overcoming fears and anxiety - a step to victory

If you have anxiety or fear, don't be ashamed of it. Many people are afraid of something, but most of them try to overcome and remove their fears and, as a rule, they manage to win. Try it too.

Remember that negative emotions such as anxiety and fear can be turned into a positive direction by making them work for you. Many famous people succeeded in life precisely because of their fear, which mobilized them, forcing them to work and go to new heights.

Doctors, scientists, athletes, poets, writers, artists and representatives of many other professions were afraid of being unrecognized, they were afraid of defeat and ridicule from other people, and these experiences helped them overcome difficulties and go towards their goal, making every effort to achieve it.

As you can see, anxiety and fear can be turned from enemies into your allies. Work on yourself, and you will definitely cope with your negative experiences.

We periodically need to get out of the comfort zone and act in one way or another, taking risks or back. The only thing that gets in the way is fear from time to time. Of course, fear is created by nature as a quality that protects against any misconduct. But it happens that this property becomes so strong that it obscures the clarity of mind and the ability to perceive what is happening in the light of rationality. and rise above them? - This is a question that almost every person asks himself at some point in his life.

The more life experience, the stronger the fear

The newborn does not know fear because he has never experienced it. Gradually, as you gain life experience and the emergence of diverse situations, a person begins to be afraid. He has an understanding that a certain situation can end unfavorably.

Such negative thoughts interfere with living a full life. To improve the situation, you just need to realize the need to solve the problem, since everyone can overcome fears. With an increase in negative experience, a person fears an increasing number of adverse factors. However, the negative experience different people differs from each other. Therefore, it is far from always that what frightens one person causes similar sensations in his acquaintances.

Fear of experiencing fear

Over time, a person may begin to fear situations that cause fear. That is, he is not afraid of any object, namely the feeling of fear. Such a person makes efforts to consciously avoid relevant situations.

In this case, you need to identify the cause of fear, and then engage in the development of self-confidence. Do not assume that the task is large and impossible. In fact, it’s just worth dividing it into small sub-items, which require almost no additional effort to complete. This is especially true for athletes. And after completing small tasks, you should deal with larger issues.

Don't Suppress Fear

Those who are in a state are deprived of the ability to make decisions and act. Fear can arise before some new actions that have not been done before. If a person has become interested in how to overcome fears, then first you need to admit to yourself that they exist. Because only if you honestly discover these qualities in yourself, you can take measures to eliminate them.

It is better to act, despite. If you repeat this several times, then gradually it turns out to overcome your fear. After all, too much fear only interferes. Therefore, you need to make every effort, because to overcome fears is to make them afraid of themselves.

Making a willful decision

As long as there is no clear program regarding their actions, fear increases. Therefore, you need to make a decision about how to act in this situation. After a certain course of action has appeared, fear shrinks into a ball. Of course, he waits for some time to see whether the decision will be accurately implemented. But when it turns out that a person is not going to deviate from the intended plan of action, the fear becomes less and less until it disappears completely.

What is fear? - only emotion. She is able to fill everything with herself, becoming a large jellyfish. Is it worth it to allow this unreasonable “object” to influence your own life? Of course not. That is why it should be turned into a small compressed ball, which subsequently disappears.

When making a decision, a person may worry about its correctness. If you look at the question from the point of view of rationality, it becomes clear that any action is always preferable to fear of the unknown. After the first steps are taken in the direction taken, the situation becomes clear. And it becomes possible to turn it in the right direction.

The worst turn of events

In overcoming fear, it often helps to work out the question "how to overcome fear of the unknown?" That is, in this case, one should reflect on the topic: what will happen if ... Usually, such reasoning lifts the veil of secrecy and it becomes clear that the outcome is, in principle, not dangerous. Often people think that the result will be frightening. But with the help of this exercise, with a good example, it gradually becomes clear that the problem disappears.

If it turned out that the unpleasant sensations persisted, then we should think about what the inner voice is telling us. Therefore, if intuition really saved from an unfavorable event, then this is just wonderful. In such cases, you need to rejoice in your own sensitivity and thank her for salvation.

Analysis of the situation

Careful consideration of what is happening without hiding from oneself unfavorable and “ugly” qualities is the best option to fight fear. The analysis helps to understand the following points:

  1. What exactly is scary?
  2. What causes fear?
  3. Is it worth spending your internal reserve on a negative emotion?

The list can be continued until an internal state of satisfaction is obtained. The essence of the method is a thorough study of the "enemy". Because only knowing your fear fully, you can learn how to overcome it.

And if there are several options for eliminating fear, then you need to work through each of them. It helps to use your own imagination, because when you scroll through the situation in it, it becomes very clear. A person who has overcome fear always figured out in advance how to do it.

Someone might think that analysis is something long and boring. In fact, it is absolutely not true. It is very interesting to reveal the positive and the negative without obscuring it with anything. After all, it is not necessary for anyone to provide the information received. She's only going for herself.

Common phobia: Fear of death

So many deaths that are considered normal. But it happens that everything becomes very serious and turns into such phobias as:

  1. Swim in the sea.
  2. Ride a car.
  3. Touch the handrails in public transport and others.

It is worth accepting your death as a phenomenon that is the logical outcome of the life of every person. Since to overcome the fear of death is to actually understand the beauty of the present moment. Yes, everything will end, and even King Solomon did not escape this. That is why you need to appreciate every breath you take, and make every action consciously.

And if a person is afraid to live?

You should rejoice at what is happening, perceive it from a positive point of view. Even if situations develop in an unfavorable way, they should be taken as a test. It is better to consider them as lessons. After all, a person is born in order to become better, to learn something.

And those individuals who are afraid to leave the house in the morning are likely to wake up in their declining years. They will understand that their whole life has passed by, and nothing has been done. And in order to avoid such a turn, one should think about the questions: is there any point in experiencing the fear of life? How to overcome it?

Childbirth is painful

Expectant mothers are always very worried before childbirth. This is due to whether everything is prepared for the future baby at home. Also, any woman is worried about such issues:

  1. How to deal with pain.
  2. Is there enough strength?
  3. Will everything go well and so on.

Since overcoming the fear of childbirth is already the key to the success of the event, you should work on it. As for the pain, you should realize that it will be very strong and accept it as it is. You need to take care of physical fitness and health for 9 months, following the recommendations of the doctor and attending special courses for expectant mothers. As to whether everything will go well, the doctor should think. Therefore, before giving birth, you should take care of a good specialist.

The main thing is to tune in to the positive. For each of your actions, only favorable views should be taken as the basis. And in such an important matter as the birth of a new person, this rule should be considered an axiom. Everything will be fine, because there are simply no other options.

What if you're scared to board a plane?

The media do not always feel sorry for the public when they talk about unsuccessful flights. Often the information is accompanied by colorful photographs or a meaningful video. At the same time, impressionable citizens decide to travel long distances exclusively by trains.

Trains are very good, although much longer. But how to overcome the fear of flying if you need to get to another continent? The most best recommendation It's the best way to get away from what's going on. If the person sitting next to you is disposed to communication, then you can get to know him. Communication with a fellow traveler is a pretty strong distraction. No need to drink coffee, because the heart rate will increase, and the excitement will increase. It is preferable to pay attention to alcohol, which will help relieve stress.

Fear is part of life. Every person is afraid of something. Even, for example, a very strong and formidable athlete, to whom everyone around respectfully nods, is also capable of experiencing. Perhaps he is afraid to eat a product with the presence of Escherichia coli in it. Options can be very diverse. And this does not mean that you need to surround yourself with a vacuum. After such an act, life turns into existence, and its taste simply disappears. That is why it is imperative to answer the question for yourself: “How to learn to overcome fears?” And first they should be identified and subjected to a thorough analysis.