Everyone is afraid of something. As a child, we are afraid of Babu Yaga, the darkness and punishment of parents. At school we are often afraid of bad grades, boys are afraid of girls, and girls are boys. Then we are afraid of examinations. Next - marriage, or loneliness. With the birth of children, we are afraid for them. Even before the appearance of the first wrinkles, we begin to be afraid of old age, and in parallel with all age-related fears we are afraid of betrayal, ignorance, someone else's opinion, thunderstorms, spiders. We are afraid of death, after all. And so all my life.
Let's try to understand the nature of fears, which makes our heart pound, and our eyes expand to huge sizes. And how to make it so that our nightmares bother us as little as possible. By the way, the science of psychology will help us understand how to overcome your fear and become a little more confident in yourself.
Fear is a reaction to the instinct of self-preservation. When people had to survive in the wild, they had to respond instantly to the emergence of danger. Run or attack. Fear inspired these actions. So we can say that we got the fear along with the genes, as a side effect of the instinct of self-preservation. Another question: is fear justified, or is it exaggerated and is the product of our rich imagination. Most often people suffer from imaginary fear, which is an inadequate perception of the situation and leads to psychological disorders, significantly worsening our quality of life. For example, many are afraid of insects. Within reasonable limits, this fear is completely justified, because there are many poisonous insects on the Earth. This fear is expressed in the fact that we just do not touch these creatures. But if a person, seeing a butterfly in the next room, runs out of the house, then such a fear can be called painful. Destructive fear becomes if it oversteps the critical threshold.
Fear affects not only our consciousness, but also our body. All forces in man are mobilized so that he can defend himself, for example, to escape from the tiger. The body produces adrenaline, all the blood flows to the muscles, the skin turns pale, activation of the nervous system leads to rapid heartbeat, dilated pupils, inhibits the activity of the digestive system, etc. All the processes that occur with us during fear were originally useful, and were conceived by nature for our good. But at the present time, many of them, thanks to evolution, have become irrelevant and even interfere with life. Such fears as fear of heights, thunderstorms, illnesses much less began to excite people. But in their place came a huge pack of so-called social fears: fear of examinations, responsibility, public speaking. And when such fears reach their critical point, they can grow not just into fear, but into its clinical form - a phobia. Do not wait for the moment when without the help of a specialist can not cope. Start struggling with your fears as soon as you feel that they are interfering with your life.
There are many ways to combat fears. At different times the great sages thought about this and said it, now science confirms this psychology. First, you need to find out what exactly you are afraid of. There are many reasons for fear. It can be people, situations, life circumstances, natural phenomena. Often, fear does not have concrete outlines and is called pointless. It even happens that a person replaces real fear with a simpler one, which makes it easier to hide, in which case one must look for a real object of fear. After you have found your specific case, start the fight. And now let's look at specific examples of how to defeat your fear.
Method of visualization. Imagine your fear, watch it, hear everything that happens at that moment, feel it. And then ask yourself a question, what can you do to make this fear disappear. Complete this peculiar meditation with the idea that fear becomes smaller and disappears. You can use any images when rendering. For example, you imagine your fear in the form of a bottle, examine it, feel it and break it into small pieces. As Vissarion Belinsky said: "A man is afraid only of what he does not know; knowledge conquers all fear. "
Method of rejection. Look at your fear as if from the outside. And when fear starts to take possession of you, tell him - "It's not me!". Try to renounce your fear. Look at him as something that has nothing to do with you.
Hidden resources. Remember those situations in which you achieved great success, were proud of themselves and felt very strong. And try to return to that state. Feel that you can overcome any obstacles, and even more so such a trifle as the object of your fear. Huge resources are hidden in you.
Method of humor. Laugh at your fear, fantasize. Think up comic situations in which the main characters will be you and your favorite fear. After all, when there is humor, for fear of time and attention no longer remains.
Counter attack. Do not try to escape from your fear. When you turn your back on him, it becomes even bigger and more terrible. On the contrary, run to meet him and you will notice how he himself will frighten you.
Imagine your fear in a universal dimension. For example, you are afraid of the betrayal of a loved one, but think about what this is nonsense compared to the global financial crisis. Or if you are afraid of mice, just imagine what will happen to you when you see a lion.
And last, try to fantasize less about the future. Live here and now. And you will see, for most fears there will be no reason.
If you want, you can come up with a method to fight your own fears. Nobody knows you better than you do. The main thing, be sincere, do not be afraid to admit to the existence of your own fears. Take them under control. And they will become much more harmless than you thought. Also the science of psychology has the answers, how to conquer your fear. If you are not able to cope with fears alone, contact a graduate.