The power of facing your fears

We often allow fear, worry, and insecurity to dominate and define our lives. We give them the opportunity to steal our fun, dreams and our most precious dreams. If you want to achieve happiness and fulfill all your desires, you must be prepared to face your fears.

We learn to live in fear from our childhood due to traumatic experiences or negative messages that we see everywhere. However, very few people teach us how to overcome them, or show us that we have the power to face our fears. In this article we will examine several strategies to overcome that feeling of dread.

Fear is a natural reaction

Fear is an emotion inherent to human beings. It is there from the moment we are born until the very day of our death.. A magazine article Current Biologyentitled biology of fear, points out that this emotion activates behaviors that help us adapt to avoid or face the dangers of the environment.

Therefore, it is very important to know how to live with this feeling and accept that it will always accompany us in any decision we make. Therefore, although at times it overwhelms us, it is important to learn to overcome it so that it does not paralyze us.

Feeling fear is not bad, in fact, it has its functional properties, such as persistence, learning and scalability, as indicated in an article published in Nature neuroscience. This emotion is usually activated when we are faced with a dangerous situation.

The problem is that, sometimes, it is irrational. That is, it is not a real fear. Being afraid of speaking in public or the possibility of a relationship breaking up is the result of insecurities. Although, also, certain beliefs are probably acting that will need to be questioned.

Many people think that having this emotion is typical of a cowardly person, who does not know how to face their life. Nothing could be further from the truth. And it is that, Fear is also a form of self-protection in the face of any dangerous situation, especially when we put our physical integrity at risk. If you are a person who regularly experiences fear, don’t worry, it is very normal. What you have to avoid is letting yourself be carried away by fear and losing control.

“Never let fear be so great that it stops you from moving forward.”

-Anonymous-

What is the difference between fear and phobia?

Although phobia and fear are associated, they are not the same. On the one hand, Fear is a natural and adaptive reaction to a real threat. For example, if you see a grizzly bear near you, during a walk in the forest, you will most likely get scared, since you are facing real danger.

On the other hand, a phobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by a intense, irrational and persistent fear that is not proportional to the danger posed by the object, feared animal, situation or activity. As pointed out in an article by Learning & memorypeople with phobias avoid phobic stimuli even though they are not a threat.

In short, fear is a normal and adaptive response to a real threat. On the other hand, a phobia is an overwhelming, disproportionate and irrational emotional reaction to a stimulus that is not an imminent or true danger.

How can you face your fears?

Although facing fears is not easy, it is not an impossible mission either. Therefore, today we will give you some simple tips so that you can deal with them without adding more doses of anxiety and stress to your life. Put them into practice and you will see how facing your fears is something that will stop worrying you. Let’s go there!

1. Take distance from fear

Distancing means moving away from the emotion to see it from another perspective. We are not talking about avoidance, but about contemplating what you feel from another place. This will create a different way of looking at your emotions and will allow you to analyze the context in which they arise.

To achieve good emotional distancing, Susan David offers several tips in her book Emotional Agility: Break your blocks, embrace change, and succeed at work and life.

Think about the process: See yourself along a path of continued growth. You are what you are doing, not the goal you aspire to reach.Look for the contradiction: Embracing the conflict and contradictions of your emotion makes you better tolerate the uncertainty that accompanies it.Change your point of view: observe fear as if you were on the moon and it on earth. Or analyze it as if you were seeing it from a friend’s perspective.Verbalize what worries you: Talk about fear and recognize it for what it is: an emotion, and not as the tragedy it announces. Fear is not reality, it is just a reaction. Verbalize it this way: “I am feeling the emotion of fear.” Under no circumstances do you identify with him.Talk to yourself in the third person: Speaking in the third person helps you distance yourself from your fear. Likewise, it facilitates the regulation of your emotions.

Each of these recommendations are effective for distancing yourself from emotions, since they require the use of perspective to fulfill them. By reflecting on yourself and your fear you may be able to distance yourself. Choose the one you like the most and with which you feel comfortable.

2. Expose yourself to your fears

Dare to put yourself in situations that scare you, take a deep breath and take the leap.. Only in this way will you learn to break your limits, even if it seems crazy to you.

Exposure has been shown to be effective in reducing fear. In people with specific phobias, exposure therapy has been observed to eliminate the fear of phobic objects or situations. Therefore, its use is appropriate if you want to overcome your fears.

3. Accept the emotion

To face your fears, accept them unconditionally. Don’t fight them, but embrace them and look at them head on from every possible point of view. Getting familiar with them, accepting them will take away their strength.

Acceptance of emotions, thoughts, and events is useful as an emotional regulation strategy, so don’t hesitate to use it to work on your fears. In addition, it benefits your psychological health, as stated in an article published in the Journal of personality and social psychology.

4. Educate yourself about fear

To face your fears, investigate their source, because almost every fear is associated with a lack of information. If you are afraid of flying, read a lot about the subject, find out what others think about it. This will help you better accept what you feel.

The Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) maintains that fear, like that of flying, is fueled by ignorance and catastrophic thoughts. Thus, by informing yourself you reduce its intensity because you limit your thoughts to the facts, that is, to reality.

5. Identify your resources

Fear makes you feel inadequate and miserable. In fact, sometimes it leads you to forget everything that you are capable of doing and facing. Fear can sometimes eat away at you inside and lead you to perceive yourself as someone who is tied hand and foot.unable to act.

Therefore, it is very important that you change your perspective. Think about everything you do day after day that requires resilience and character. Doing this will allow you to overcome your fears, especially if you focus your attention on the personal strengths you have.

Strengths are a very powerful component of personality to face and overcome fears. According to Cleveland Clinic, They help reduce the fear of failure and loss. They even have a very close relationship with well-being, which helps to put aside the various shocks.

6. Prioritize positive thoughts

To face your fears you have to make your positive thoughts dominate you. Thoughts that are related to terror will only bring more fear to you, so leave them behind.

Instead of always expecting the worst, train your mind to see and expect the best. Make room for the best ideas about the future; This will reduce your anxieties and worries, according to a study published in the journal Behavior research and therapy.

So, with a dose of positivity you can face what you fear. This is so, because to reducing worry and anxiety that are often associated with them. In this way, we can see, for example, how a student’s fear of failure is considerably reduced when their worry about failing disappears.

7. Subtract energy from fear

Take time, energy and attention away from fear. Become conscious of the way you spend these three elements. It is important to be awake, prepared and focused on finding solutions that reduce the situations that cause you dread. Don’t try to run away. He begins to counterattack your fear by withdrawing your attention.

Attention processes are involved in the maintenance of fear. Therefore, intervening on them is necessary to overcome fear and to find relaxing stimuli that reduce the physiological activity associated with that emotion.

One way to use attention to control fears is to distract yourself. The results of a 2014 investigation published in Yo nternational Journal of Psychophysiology point out that get distracted facilitates the regulation of emotions. Therefore, do not hesitate to scatter your mind during those scary moments.

8. Be aware of your victories

Fear is fueled by failures and negative ideas that arise from negative events in our lives. That’s why, To face it, it is important that you remember and know every victory you have had. By doing this, joy and satisfaction will counterbalance your fears.

These types of positive emotions are very good for improving your mood, especially if you are afraid. When they activate, They are capable of buffering negative reactivity and improving recovery from stressful events.. This is very helpful when you face circumstances in your life that trigger panic.

Besides, Those pleasant sensations cause your brain to release dopamine and serotonin, which promote the reduction of the fear you are feeling. So, rejoice and enjoy your achievements.

9 Ask for support

Ask your family and friends for support to face your fears. They are one of the most trusted sources. When you feel like you are about to be overcome by your fears, ask them for help. They will surely help you see the alternatives and take the necessary risks. This way, you will be able to see the situation from other angles and open your eyes to a different reality.

“True strength comes not from pretending to be strong all the time, but from recognizing one’s own weaknesses and knowing how to ask for help.”

-Melody Beattie-

In addition to the above, Social support, as a protective factor, can reduce the intensity of fear, as well as anxiety and stress. In addition, It is capable of attenuating the…