Recognising Your Fears and Best Ways To Get Rid Of Them

Recognising Your Fears and Best Ways To Get Rid Of Them

Fears and phobias slightly differ. Fears usually occur when you are in a potentially dangerous situation and you simply get scared, and phobias are fears you cannot explain and can be caused by many seemingly irrational things. Irrational phobias can go from fear of some animals (birds, spiders, frogs etc) to situational ones (social, spaces, driving etc) and there is a solution to almost every of them.

Animal Phobias

It is reasonable to be afraid of some animals. However, what about spiders, frog, birds? Phobias are simply something we are born with, but you should deal with them. To overcome any fear of animals you should firstly learn something about that animal or an insect from various textbooks or by reading facts about them. You have to expose yourself to the source of the fear by looking at their pictures or even going to a zoo or pet store and observe the animal. Gradually work on exposure and become familiar with the animals and you will feel less anxious when encountering them.

Fear of Driving

Like with any other fear, you have to face this one too in order to overcome it. Firstly you need to find out how you actually got this fear. Phobias are usually genetic, but this one you might actually got passed on to you from your parents. If you saw your mother, for example, anxious behind the wheel when you were young, that is probably how you embraced the same fear. Recognize all the symptoms of this phobia and try to explain them to yourself and why there is no reason to be afraid. After all that mental preparation, you should finally sign up for a safe driver course and learn how to drive. This course will teach you how to properly behave in traffic and be a responsible driver, which can help you overcome your worst nightmares.

Social Phobia

Also known as social anxiety disorder, this phobia makes it hard for you to communicate with people. Every day, you feel anxious whenever you have to enter a room full of people, or to simply pay the bills in the bank. This phobia actually makes you think negatively about everything and that you are going to embarrass yourself all the time. The first thing to do is confront the negative thoughts. Instead of saying “I cannot do it” you should switch to more positive thoughts. Also, think about how realistic is your fear. When buying something, if you think dropping the coins or a fruit on the ground is embarrassing, think again. It is not the end of the world if a mistake occurs, it is just part of the life and nobody is going to pay attention to it. You also have to understand that everybody is dealing with some kind of anxiety and not everyone is constantly judging you. So take deep breaths, be realistic and practice overcoming this fear every day.

Natural Environment Phobias

These phobias include fears of heights, storms, thunders and other natural phenomena. To try and overcome this fear you need to gradually expose yourself to them. Have somebody you fully trust take you on the roof of a tall building. Let them help you come close to the edge and hold your hand. Step by step, you will feel more comfortable around heights without any sickness and dizziness. The same goes for thunders and storm; you just need a help of a friend and a good explanation that nothing bad is going to happen to you and you will start to understand your fear.

All in all, every fears and phobias are manageable. It is just like with ghosts, if you know they are not real why fear them. Get exposed to your source of fear, learn that is unreasonable to be afraid and with some practice you will let all that go.