How to overcome your fears

Fears have been passed down to us from our ancestors. During those times fearing potential danger such as huge animals ready to devour you was well reasoned but today, we fear so many things. Fear has a benefit on our body, it makes our body realize it is in danger and therefore focuses only on how to keep it alive. Which is great, if you really are in immediate danger. But lately we tend to overreact with this fearing. I mean we fear needles, ghost, darkness, evil powers, spiders, snakes, heights, cockroaches, water, enclosed spaces, tunnels, bridges, social rejection, failure, examinations and my all time favorite public speaking. These types of fear make your mind think it is endangered and therefore consume a lot of essential energy to help you make it through. That is wasted energy, your body needed it to work properly. 

Here are some tips to help you overcome your fears:

1. Get more information about it 

Most of the times we fear the unknown. We grew fond of certainties. I personally believe fears are just lack of knowledge. Your fear of darkness it's not really the fear of darkness, it's the lack of light that could reveal what's hidden in the darkness that scares you. Most likely, the images you make inside your mind of what could hide in the darkness scare you. If, for example you fear snakes try to get as much info on them as possible. Look for the types of snakes that are around your area and their behavior. Maybe the snakes you've seen around aren't even poisonous.  

2. Know that you are not alone 

There are a lot of people that have fears. Frankly, I think everybody fears something, so try asking around. Ask your close friends or family (or look it up on the Internet)  about their fears and what helped them get over them. They may give you some precious advices that'll help you as well.

3. Imagine your way out of it

You can also visualize the situation you fear. If, for example you have the fear of talking in public, you can close your eyes, relax, and imagine the way you would like things to go. Take in as many details as possible, the people around you, the way you are dressed, the tone of your voice and their reaction. Visualize it until you calm down completely, until you are satisfied with the outcome.

4. Deal with one fear at a time

I know you probably have multiple fears and you want to get rid of all of them, but you don't have to deal with all of them at the same time. Deal with one fear at a time, and take as much time as you need to get over it. 

5. Write it down

I once read about this technique in a book. You'll need a pen, a lot of time and a lot of paper. Take your time away from distractions and write down on little sheets of paper everything you fear. And I'm talking not just: I fear snakes, or I fear public speaking. Write down EVERYTHING you fear. For eg: You might fear rejection, you might have a fear of losing your job, or your wife/husband. You may fear you'll get fat, you'll be bold one day or even you'll get really sick. There are plenty of fears running around in our head. After you note all of them throw the sheets in the fire, one at a time. As you see the sheet burning say "I am free from the fear of...". Repeat this exercise every day for a week or until you feel you don't have that fear anymore.

6. Face it

I got rid of my speaking in public fear by just facing it. Of course, I stammered in the beginning but I didn't let that take me down. You need to be aware of the fact that fears won't just disappear, you have to deal with them, and give yourself time to grow out of them. 

7. Laugh in its face

One thing I found extremely inspiring in the Harry Potter series was the concept of the Boggart. A boggart is an amortal shape-shifting creature that takes on the form of the viewer's worst fear. The charm used to combat a boggart was Riddikulus.The correct way to perform the charm is to push past the fear, and concentrate on something that will make the boggart look amusing. The charm does not, in fact, repel a boggart; it just forces it to assume a shape that the caster will find comical, inspiring laughter, which will defeat a boggart (read more about it here ). I think that's a great example of dealing with your fears. Ridicule them, look at your fears from a different point of view. Make them look pathetic and funny; you'll most likely stop being afraid of that. 

Was this helpful?