Nobody is born fearless.
Almost every living being who has taken birth on Earth and evolved over time fears something or nothing at all.
If someone claims that he or she has no fears, it is equivalent to believing that nature has no obstacles.
Fear can be of anything, like the fear of books, people, etc. These may sometimes sound stupid, irrational, or funny to you, but they can cause serious anxiety to anyone who fears them
When these fears multiply themselves into extreme forms, they develop into phobias.
Phobias are often negligible fears of something, but any person who has any of them can become restless as if thrown open to a lizard. It may sound weird to you, but people who have a fear of heights avoid flying even for important events.
Just because they needed to fly high to reach a place, they would eventually drop the plan.
That’s really unacceptable, isn’t it?
It may also frustrate the person who thinks there’s nothing to fear about that and the other person Is just over-reacting and exaggerating things.
Table of Content
Animal phobia, natural environment phobias, situational phobias, and blood-injection-injury phobia are the four types of phobias.
There are other common phobias too, such as social phobia.
According to studies, about 7–12.5% of adults may live with a specific phobia, and 6.8% of adults live with social anxiety disorder.
People who have a phobia of something can be witnessed breathing heavily, sweating, shaking, etc. when exposed to it. It’s totally human to have phobias of any kind.
Don’t think you landed on Earth immediately after leaving Mars.
Don’t be afraid to accept your phobia. It can surely be treated, and you can live your life on your own terms.
A few ways to help yourself psychologically will now be discussed.
1. Challenge your fears
You must have heard from a lot of people that if you are afraid of something, you should face it to overcome it.
Being exposed to our worst fears and nightmares eventually makes us realise that whatever we had considered life-threatening until now, in actuality, has nothing to fear. Your mind has made it monster-like over the years; that’s why you need to actually face it to curb this fear at its roots.
The most common piece of advice you may have received or been given for overcoming your fear of public speaking is to practise as much as possible. It may sound cliché to you, but this is the key!
2. Relax
When you are exposed to your fear, the most common symptoms are the heart thumping against the throat, the body searching for more oxygen, and so on.
You need to calm yourself down and ask, “What would happen? Instead of imagining the worst-case scenarios, which are mostly unrealistic, just try to think of the positive side, and you will realise that it isn’t worth fearing.
Take out the negativity from your mind! Even if you must be afraid of something, make it the spiders!
Practicing deep breathing and other breathing exercises is going to help you when you face such situations. Meditation is known to relieve stress and anxiety.
3. Practice mindfulness
Mindfulness is the ability that humans possess to be fully present and aware of the happenings around them without being overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around them.
This would help, as it says, without overreacting to the activities surrounding us. When you are fully aware of what you are doing and the situation you are in, you will see your body and mind acting in a calm and composed way.
Your mind tells your body that the situation has few adversities and therefore carries less weight than landing into fortune.
4. Group with other people who have the same Phobia
There are people who constantly remind you that it’s actually dumb of you to be scared of something so minor. But this isn’t what you are in search of.
Being with people who possess the same phobia as you would help you stop feeling isolated.
Learning their experiences about how they developed any phobias and what strategies they used to overcome them, as well as their effectiveness, can assist you in incorporating them into your own lives for faster overcoming.
What we learn from other people’s experiences is superior to any ordinary advice.
Also, stop overgeneralizing things. If you were once attached to a bulldog, you don’t have to fear street dogs, who themselves are scared of you.
5. Introduce yourself to Reality
People who have phobias are in the habit of exaggerating situations they are afraid of. It is something that has been internalised in their culture.
But this needs to get thrown out. On the other hand, it’s really easy on our part to say such things, but people going through it aren’t just acting but have serious fears. But how to get out of this?
Let’s discuss one phobia as an example.
If you have trypanophobia, the fear of needles, think of the worst that can happen to you.
You may think that if the needle breaks and enters my body, I might die.
But have you ever heard of people actually dying after being injected?
Just search for the evidence. People with this phobia can intensify their medical health when in case of under medication.
6. Conclusion
The toughest of all the steps Is initiating; the day you start overcoming your fear will help you reach the milestone with time. You will eventually see yourself breaking free and living life to the fullest.
