How to overcome anxiety and fear
Everyone has a few things that they fear. Maybe it’s public speaking. Or getting married. No matter how irrational your fears might sound to you or others, it can sometimes feel impossible to tackle them. If you’re not sure how to overcome your fears, here are nine tricks for conquering your fears according to psychologists:
1. Take action
Do something about your fears rather than sitting back and doing nothing at all. Try to remember a time when you were afraid of something, yet you did it anyway. Taking action can significantly reduce fear levels.
2. Question your fears
Feelings aren’t facts. If you’re motivated to take control of your life, that is far more powerful than any fear. Ask yourself why you fear this particular thing so you can do something about it.
3. Motivate yourself
Don’t beat yourself up. Motivate yourself by using positive self-talk. Remind yourself that your fears are there to help guide yourself in the right direction. Give yourself credit for challenging your fears and remind yourself that you can get through this challenging moment.
4. Visualize positive outcomes
Visualize the positive result you wish to happen, which will allow you to take some action in that direction. Walking yourself through positive scenarios like this will help change your perspective about fearful things.
5. Listen to fearful thoughts
Learn to listen to your fearful thoughts. Then, look for more realistic and helpful alternatives. As you learn to challenge your unhelpful and unhealthy thoughts and to replace them with healthier ones, you’ll find that you’ll become less fearful of things.
6. Engage in deep breathing
Take a few moments to do a quick breathing routine to help you overcome your fears as you are thinking about them. This will help to calm and center yourself.
7. Practice mindfulness
Being mindful every day will allow you to be more attuned with your thoughts and feelings. Spend ten minutes every day being present with whatever is happening around you. Use all your senses to focus on the world around you. Use this technique to help you realize that everything is okay in the present moment whenever you start to become fearful.
8. Find the root cause
One of the best ways to overcome your fears is to find the root cause of why you’re feeling these emotions in the first place. If you can come to a place of understanding, then you may be able to see how your fears cause a reaction in you.
9. Embrace your fears
If you can’t embrace your fears and accept them for what they are, then you’ll never overcome them. Instead of ignoring them, acknowledge your fears and let them sit with you. They may then begin to hold less power over you.
You can do it!
There’s no doubt about it — overcoming your fears is a lot of work. But, if you are genuinely determined to overcome them, you can do so in no time.
References
- “11 Mental Health Tricks to Help You Conquer Your Fears, According to experts,” Bustle, June 10, 2016.
- “14 Tips and Tricks for Overcoming Anxiety and Fear,” Business Insider, July 5, 2011.
