The 5 keys to fear management

Human beings feel a variety of emotions on a daily basis, and fear is one of them, an emotion like any other.

But in these times it is more frequent to feel it. We have all felt fear at some point, and it is even necessary to feel it for our survival. Nevertheless, If we let fear dominate us and let it grow, it becomes one of the most disabling emotions, blocking our way of thinking and reacting.

In the face of fear, in human and animal nature there are three response options: flight, paralysis, or aggressiveness. They are all innate reactions, therefore, We do not know how we will react until we are in front of what we fear. What we do know is that if this fear is very intense, it can lead to loss of absolute control.

This is why in many societies inoculating fear is a weapon of population control, because in the face of this emotion the population He does not think clearly and defensive responses and mistrust are generated among people, producing a social division.

• Related article: "What is fear for?"

How to handle fear in the best possible way?

There are personalities more vulnerable to this emotion, who are afraid of everything every day, continually fantasize about catastrophic events, generating high suffering for not being able to enjoy life, since they fear that something bad may happen to them.

These people are in a continuous state of hypervigilia, and as a consequence, suffering from extremely high stress, affecting their mood, to the dream and his life in general.

These types of personalities usually end up going to psychotherapy, and often this feeling of insecurity originates in childhood as a consequence of the experiences lived by each one in their families of origin and in their early life experiences.

To do? The way to handle fear is based on the following key ideas and guidelines to follow.

1. Facing it gathering courage

Unfortunately fear cannot be avoided or stopped feeling, it must be faced. There are no magic formulas and you have to have the courage to face those experiences. That is why If your fear generates too many limitations in your life, it is advisable to seek professional help.

• You may be interested in: "The 8 types of emotions (classification and description)"

2. Rationalize what you fear

Do not let your fear grow in your mind, because in most cases, our fears are much higher and far from reality than we think. To do this, keep these options in mind:

• Write down your worst fears and see what you could do to face them; we always usually have creative solutions for it.
• Observing how real there is in your fears and how likely it is that what you fear will happen, you would be surprised how unrealistic they tend to be.
• Ask yourself to what extent your fears limit your life and to what extent they fulfill any function in your life. Sometimes behind a fear there is a wish that we fear to fulfill.
• Regarding externally unfounded fears, keep an objective and critical view.

3. Train diaphragmatic breathing daily

As long as you know how to control your breathing, you will be able to calm your fear and control your body and your head; you will feel that you have control over yourself.

It is advisable that you find someone to teach you how to breathe properly. Breathing is essential to sleep and rest, avoid anxiety attacks, as well as to maintain a mental and emotional balance. If you focus on the breath, you will be able to mitigate these fears.

• You may be interested in: "Diaphragmatic breathing (relaxation technique): how is it done?"

4. Get a list of fears to face

Make it gradual, from less to more intensity. Go facing them one by one following the order of the list and try not to have much time between sequence and sequence, an average of two to three a week. In this way you will gain confidence in yourself, you will see your goal closer and your fear will decrease.

For example, if you are afraid of places with a lot of crowds in closed places, start with places like going to a bakery, a pharmacy, a terrace, later a supermarket, and so on, focusing on your breathing. It is advisable that you seek professional help if you feel very limited.

• Related article: "Self-knowledge: definition and 8 tips to improve it"

5. Positively reinforce yourself

Every achievement, no matter how small, is a breakthrough; be compassionate to yourself. Realize the changes you are making, these often happen little by little.