How to get rid of fear and anxiety - advice from psychologists and useful techniques. Fears within yourself: how to fight? Psychology Fears and how to deal with them psychology

It is difficult to list the number of life situations that frighten us, the possible consequences of a decision made, responsibility for an act committed, and fear for loved ones.

• insurmountable obstacles in achieving your goals;
• decreased quality of life;
• activation of internal brakes when necessary to quickly respond to a changing situation.

It is important to understand the nature of this negative feeling and answer the question - how to cope with fear?

One of the effective ways to combat this phenomenon is to study the nature of fears, their classification and methods of overcoming.

Writer, psychologist, psychotherapist Vladimir Levi created an original classification of fears in the form of a tree.

How does the phobia tree work?

1. Root system This tree is formed from an unreasonable fear of something. This is where all the panicky sentiments are fueled.
2. At the very bottom of the trunk There were general fears - fear of darkness, loneliness, aging and the most depressing feeling, fear of death.
3. At the top there are evaluative social fears. They are also called fears of life.

The real situation is not always connected with our panic and its manifestations in everyday life. The common cause in many cases remains a fundamental anxiety inherent in the genetic character from birth.

Irrational fear has no real causes and seems to be a phenomenon that cannot be corrected. But it is quite possible to fight it; the main condition is the person’s focus on results.

Some of the recipes offered by Levi are humorous, but have a great effect. Try to imagine a visual picture of yourself in the role at least three times a day:

• a predator trainer in a circus - where predators are your fears;
• a night watchman in a zoo - where phobias are represented in the form of animals under their care;
• a doctor in a mental hospital who keeps patients under his control, i.e. your fears;
• a kindergarten teacher - where, accordingly, phobias are small defenseless children.

The methods are humorous, but have positive results even when deciding how to cope with the fear of death.

How to deal with fear

1. You should calmly and logically consider the worst case scenario. developments in a situation where you begin to act despite the presence of fear. What will be the result of your analysis? It turns out that everything doesn’t look so scary - the unknown, the expectation of bad things and the fear itself are much worse than the most negative consequences. Specificity in this matter allows you to get rid of the fear of the unknown. In case of remaining bad premonitions, do not forget that fear is a defensive reaction, and there are times when it is better to listen to its voice.
2. Learn to make decisions. Fear lives only where uncertainty and emptiness reign. The mood to complete the task and make a decision drives out fear. Fear controls our emotions and programs our thoughts on everything negative. Once you can make decisions quickly and decisively, your mind will be focused on the positive and constructive, and you will be able to cope with fears and anxiety. Drive away any negative thought. It is enough for one to appear for hundreds of others to immediately appear behind her.
3. Learn to fight fear not only with logic, but also with emotions.. The visualization method is visualizing what could happen to you in the future. In a calm environment, scroll through pictures in your mind of what is causing you anxiety. Having overcome your fear many times in this way, it will be much easier to cope with fear in reality.
4. Train your courage. It is necessary to realize that this is a process, just like training muscles, memory or professional skills. Each stage must correspond to the basic principle - from small to large. The fear of communicating with people can be overcome with the help of classical training. Try talking to a stranger on the street. He will definitely say some kind of remark in response. The next day, try to establish contact with two or three passers-by or fellow travelers on transport. By gradually increasing the number of people you talk to, you will soon forget about your bias.

Non-standard coping methods

• Don't dwell on your phobias, and to treat them with some sense of humor will help to transform into a director who skillfully stages the production of a future play, in which there must be a happy ending.
• You are hesitant to start communicating with a girl out of fear of being rejected? This behavior is quite natural, because in my thoughts there are only imaginary troubles from such a step - her neglect, ridicule, insulting words, a request to forever forget about the opportunity to communicate. And you can cope with your fears on your own and very easily - imagine how you are reproached for something completely different. Because the girl waited so long for your decisive step, that she lacked a declaration of love, like a sip of water in the heat, that for her you are the best and most desirable in the world. Paint yourself a delightful picture of waking up in the morning with a lock of your loved one’s hair resting on your shoulder. Will not fear disappear with such delightful thoughts?
• A way to bring the situation to the most negative option will give an unexpected result. Fear looks like real absurdity in this case. Mentally replaying your actions during such a course of events will help you clearly imagine what you are doing at the climax of trouble. Oddly enough, there is a calm. We managed to survive the troubles and even somehow cope with them. And then a bright streak loomed.

Face to face

This exercise will help you come closer to your anxieties, embodied in funny drawings. Being able to see fear face to face makes it less scary.

In some ways, the exercise is akin to the Halloween holiday, in which all the horror films look funny and even attractive:

1.Draw on three pieces of paper with colored pencils or paints, the most important three fears that torment you.

2. Study your drawings carefully. Each of them should begin to sound and enter into dialogue with you. During this conversation, try to hear the answer to the questions:

• What a specific fear is trying to protect you from:
• what impact does it have on what is happening in life;
• where did the fear come from?
• what happens if you don't overcome your phobia.

3. Determining where a specific fear resides in the body, and put
a piece of paper with his image on this part of the body. Thanks for your help and
warnings about danger and letting go of fear forever.

Why is it so important to know how to cope with fear? Because, having gotten rid of his dominance over his consciousness, a person is able to work miracles, use all the chances presented by fate and move forward.

Video: An expert speaks

In order to answer the question of how to cope with anxiety and fear, it is important to understand that these are two separate experiences. We often use these words without understanding the difference between them. So let's figure it out together psychologist Alina Gulanyan.

In simple words, anxiety- this is a state when we do not know what exactly we are afraid of and do not understand why this state arose. At the same time, the real danger has not yet arrived, but it feels like something might happen. Anxiety is of a vague abstract nature, that is, a person does not have a clear concrete understanding of what should happen.

Fear- This is a response to threatening circumstances. It occurs during the onset of danger and has a certain character. Fear has a specific object - we know what or who scares us. The source of fear, most often, is a traumatic experience of the past.

What is fear and how to deal with it?

Sometimes just a little is enough for uncomfortable experiences to disappear. If we are worried, for example, about our health, in order to get rid of tension we just need to go to the doctor. You shouldn’t waste time reading signs of a particular disease on the Internet. This can plunge you deeper into a state of uncertainty, thereby increasing your anxiety. Advice: make the unknown explicit, understandable, and then your tension will subside. If you are tormented by any question or misunderstanding in a relationship, talk to the person and you will feel better. Sometimes a lack of information or ignorance creates unnecessary stress, and on the contrary, greater awareness calms you down.

You should not resist the fight against anxiety or fear - they need to be explored in order to form a new life experience.

It is important to understand what happens in life and how do we react? Are these experiences adequate to the situation? What's behind them? Perhaps shame or guilt? Anger and irritation? Try to figure out what need is not being satisfied and what do you really want?

How to overcome anxiety on your own?

There are situations of anxiety in which we are able to help ourselves, where the experiences are not very deep and are not all-consuming. To do this, it is important to pause and try to answer the following questions:

1. What is happening to me?

2. What exactly am I afraid of?

3. Does fear have a real basis?

4. What's the worst thing that can happen? If this happens, what will happen to me?

5. Who can I talk to about this?

6. What other experiences am I experiencing at this moment?

7. What do I want?

It is necessary to distinguish between situational anxiety, as an emotional state that passes after a difficult situation, and a personality trait, that is tendency to worry quite often and intensely, perhaps even without reason.

Feelings of fear and anxiety: when should you see a doctor?

If your anxiety- this is not a situational experience that occurs from time to time, but a condition that is present almost all the time and is aggravated by panic attacks, disrupting the quality of life - in this case, it is important to contact a specialist psychologist or psychotherapist. A person will not be able to work independently with personality traits or personality disorders.

Conclusion: it's important not to just try get rid of anxiety and fear, but to understand what lies at the basis, to explore the reason for the appearance of these experiences. After all, there are different circumstances under which they appear, and accordingly, you need to work with them in different ways.

Be healthy and don't be afraid of anything!

Photos used depositphotos

When a person experiences unjustified, irrational fear, the right hemisphere of the brain is activated. Therefore, to restore mental balance, you should use the left hemisphere, which is responsible for logic and rationalism.

Rational therapy is the treatment of fear with persuasion through logic and reason. In the fight against fear, it is important to cool your emotions and turn on your reason.

The basic principles in overcoming fear come down to the following:

• Stop worrying about fear. Don't increase your anxiety.

• Identify the subject of fear and try to understand how absurd and unreasonable it is.

• Try to identify the shortcomings in yourself that provoke fear and overcome them through self-education.

When a person is unable to accept logical arguments, the most productive methods are suggestion, self-hypnosis, autogenic training and neurolinguistic programming, when working together with a psychotherapist.

How to overcome fear? It is important to assess the chances that the worst will happen and understand that they are always negligible. For example, in plane crashes, according to statistics, 1 person per 1,000,000 transported by air fleet dies, which is only 0.0001%. This is significantly lower than the risk of dying from a heart attack or in a car accident. Therefore, when experiencing fear, it is important to analyze the magnitude of the risk.

Sometimes a person may feel like the whole world is against him. Material well-being, career and relationships with loved ones are at risk. It seems the situation is so hopeless and nothing can save it. How to overcome fear in this case? Don't exaggerate or dramatize your situation! Compare your situation with real tragedies, and you will understand that you are very lucky!

People who were able to survive truly terrible moments, being one step away from death, say that they no longer know how to worry about trifles and appreciate every day they live.

2. Imagine that everything you are afraid of has already happened.

In the most critical and dead-end situation, throw away fear and assess the current situation calmly. Imagine the worst that could happen. Now try to come to terms with this. Now you need to relax, throw away unnecessary tension and collect all the energy to try to improve the worst situation that you imagined.

By doing this, you stop wasting all your body’s reserves on unnecessary experiences and free up your mind for useful activities - finding ways out of this situation. Believe me, as soon as you calm down, a way out of the impasse will be found very quickly.

3. Load yourself up with work as much as possible.

The danger that awaits us is terrible only until the moment it is unknown. As soon as it becomes clear, all your strength goes into fighting it, and there is no time to worry.

How to overcome fear even in the most dangerous situation? Don't give yourself a minute of free time. When activity completely fills consciousness, it displaces fear. Intense activity is one of the most effective ways to overcome anxiety, worry and fear.

As D. Carnegie wrote: “A person suffering from anxiety must lose himself completely in his work. Otherwise he will dry up in despair. Roll up your sleeves and get to work. The blood will begin to circulate, the brain will become more active and very soon your vitality will increase, which will allow you to forget about anxiety. Keep busy. This is the cheapest medicine against fear – and the most effective!”

4. Remember: you are not alone in your fear.

It seems to every person who comes to a session with a psychologist that their problem is the most complex and unique. It seems to him that only he has problems with communication, sex life, insomnia, courage, while others have nothing of the kind.

In this case, group therapy is a very effective cure for fear. When people meet, get to know each other and discuss common problems together, the severity of the experience is significantly reduced.

5. Act as if the fear is no longer there.

Physiological and emotional reactions of a person are interconnected. Even if you don't feel the way you want at this moment, you can pretend, and this will gradually bring your inner feelings into line.

The best conscious way to become cheerful is to sit cheerfully and talk and act as if you are full of cheerfulness. To feel courageous, act as if you are inspired by courage. If you exert all your will, the attack of fear will be replaced by a surge of courage.

6. Live here and now.

This advice applies more to those who are worried about an uncertain future. As the English philosopher Thomas Carlyle said: “Our main task is not to look into the foggy future, but to act now, in the direction that is visible”.

Scaring yourself with a terrible future is one of the stupidest things to do, and yet many are happy to spend their time on it. The burden of the past and the burden of the future that a person takes upon himself turns out to be so heavy that it makes even the strongest stumble.

How to deal with fear of the future? The best thing is to live in the present, enjoy the present and hope for a better future. Even if it doesn’t turn out that way, in any case you won’t be able to blame yourself for ruining the present with your painful experiences.

Psychologists advise taking the “here and now” not just a minute and a second, but the current day. As Carnegie wrote: « Any of us can live with hope in the soul, tenderness and patience, with love for others until sunset ».

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A small digression, it was a beautiful spring day, the warm and gentle sun was shining, birds were chirping cheerfully outside the window and at the same time the sounds of dripping, the noise of passing cars, laughter from the playground could be heard into the office...

Almost at the end of the working day, a girl of about 18 came to the reception. She was a pretty, smart student, but her gaze was shifty and uncertain. When I asked her to tell me about the reason for seeking a consultation, she began to say with tears in her eyes that for the last few months afraid to die. The fact is that a number of events (a friend of hers died in a car accident, while on a camping trip the cuckoo crowed twice to answer a well-known question), which happened about half a year ago, contributed to the emergence of a fear of death, which then turned into a real phobia.

Fear is a normal reaction of the body to external stimuli.

Psychologists often say that fear is a normal reaction of the body to external stimuli. Fear is an instinct of self-preservation, it is a normal reaction in a life-threatening situation, and in a situation of age-related personality development it is even useful. Fear, like any other emotion, appears spontaneously and is difficult to control.

If fear becomes an increasingly intense, everyday feeling, accompanied by various physiological symptoms, and turns into a kind of personal problem, it becomes a phobia. It accompanies a person everywhere: at school, at work, on the street and at home, in the company of friends, etc. Increased tearfulness, dizziness, sweating, suffocation, rapid heartbeat, nausea, and general psychological and physiological discomfort are frequent companions of phobias.

Fear of death- This is an existential fear that, to one degree or another, is always present in the human psyche; it is one of the most common phobias. This fear often occurs in people who are sensitive and impressionable, as well as in children and the elderly.

Its intensity can be reduced using special techniques. Over time, many people independently get rid of certain fears, gain new life experiences, become calmer and gradually their lives improve. Although this is a long process. A psychologist will help you cope with fear and phobia quickly and effectively.

We met with my client a month after several consultations. The girl’s calm and confident look was what caught my eye first. We talked with her about her successes and new plans for the near and distant future, she shared some of her thoughts about life, which she came to after our classes. I was very happy with these new thoughts, because... they were indicators that the phobia had gone away, and it was replaced by mental order and calm!

Cultivation of myths creates even stronger fear

Unfortunately, such myths today are actively cultivated by the media, various healers and soothsayers, as well as numerous false psychologists. Having nothing to do with reality, they can nevertheless greatly influence our lives and our perception of the world. By convincing himself that “something is wrong” with his life, a person thereby programs his own failures.

When a person believes that he was born under an unlucky star or that he was cursed, he begins to see around him only what corresponds to his belief. He looks and sees his own fears. And indeed, after some time, health and luck leave him.

Law - like attracts like

“Like attracts like” - this psychological law was discovered by the ancient sages. Feeling fear and anxiety, a person actually begins to attract misfortunes to himself. He acts and gets into situations provoked by his own fears. So your fears, like a mirror, reflect what is inside you, creating the illusion that the world is evil, unfair and full of enemies.

Fear in the victim position

If, following the lead of your fears, you place the cause of your experiences, the cause of your problems outside, and not inside yourself, you thereby become in the position of a victim. It is not you, it is someone else - parents, teachers, friends, husband, wife, the state - who are constantly in charge of your life, and you yourself have nothing to do with these events - this is the position of the victim.

Unfortunately, today many people find it convenient to live this way. And profitable. After all, the position of the victim always gives a lot of dubious advantages. It gives you the opportunity to do nothing yourself, shifting responsibility for your life to others.

It helps to manipulate the guilt of those whom you blame for your failures. You gain power over those whom you make feel guilty for your “suffering.” Are you just happier because of this? Have problems and unhappiness gone from your life? Are you thriving? Very doubtful.

If at the same time you are convinced that only a fortune teller grandmother who “pours on wax” and “rolls out an egg” can save you from all misfortunes, things are completely bad. We will not talk about whether this method of “psychological assistance” is effective. In the end, a person can always be helped by what he firmly believes in.

A powerful psychological tool. Simply by shifting responsibility for your life to another person, you are thereby handing over the keys to your own soul. Keys that he can use as he pleases. And it’s not necessarily for your good. Much more often - for their own benefit.

When we believe that someone else is capable of bringing success and prosperity into our lives - God, the devil, another Fuhrer, an astrologer-astrologer - anyone, but not ourselves - this is also the position of a victim. We become very easy to control.

1. authorities,
2. money.

He wants it for himself, not for us...

Hatred and envy of others

In principle, the position of the victim is no worse than other roles that we all play in life. But there is one peculiarity in it. It always gives rise within us to a feeling of worthlessness, powerlessness and, as a result, hatred and envy of the people around us. To those who are stronger, more successful, better than us. Powerlessness always gives rise to envy, hatred and cruelty. It is very unpleasant and painful to realize these feelings in yourself, but believe me, you have no other choice but to admit to yourself that they exist. Do it right now, without delay. And then begin to honestly experience them, gradually letting go of yourself. And then powerlessness will begin to transform into strength.

Try to understand that even Providence itself will not solve our problems for us. He can only help us in our good endeavors. This is how the world works, these are its laws. If a person has the strength and intelligence to create a problem, then he will always have the internal resources to free himself from this burden. The main thing is to learn how to manage these resources. And then you will no longer need external crutches to move through life on your own. You yourself will be able to solve your life problems without resorting to the help of psychic healers or psychological consultants. You just need to put in the necessary knowledge and effort, and the world will immediately take a reciprocal step towards you. You will begin to move towards health and perfection.

The key to your own life is to replace fears

By shifting your attention from the external causes of your own failures to within yourself, you receive the key to your own life. You replace old fears and limitations with new constructive thoughts, and after some time a completely different reality opens up before you. Those who have tried to work on themselves in this direction are convinced of the effectiveness of this method. The American dream of going from paperboy to millionaire is of the same nature. People who managed to escape poverty were able to overcome the negative programming that they received along with their fears. They allowed themselves to create new mental images: “My future is in my hands!”, “I am learning to think positively and act constructively!”, and as a result they got what they wanted.

So what should we understand about ourselves and the world around us? What to do?

• First, you need to understand what the basic prerequisites for success in life are.
• Secondly, learn to work with our fears and problems that stand in our way.

Success in life is always associated with the basic purpose of human existence - the need for self-realization. Misunderstanding or denial of this need makes a person unhappy. After all, you can achieve high material well-being and a position in society, but at the same time not feel happy, because the need for self-realization remains unsatisfied.

A person realizes himself in society only if he has a sufficient level of mental energy. The latter determines his performance, and at the same time sufficient plasticity and harmony of the psyche. This allows you to effectively adapt to society. Psychologists say that only a harmonious, strong and stable personality can achieve success in life. We will conditionally call such a person psychologically healthy. The state of psychological health is characterized by general mental comfort and effective self-control.

Basic characteristics of human psychological health

• Adequate self-esteem and a sense of self-respect.
• The ability to adapt to ever-changing living conditions.
• The ability to effectively satisfy your needs and the ability to compensate for those that cannot be satisfied at the moment.
• A person’s confidence that he usually manages his own life. Such a person is aware of the limitations of his freedom, because he understands: there are things that do not depend on him. Therefore, he does not necessarily strive to subjugate the whole world to his will.
• The ability to make independent choices, make decisions on your own, stick to your own life plan. The ability not to follow the lead of various soothsayers, political leaders, “great teachers” and other “masters of thoughts.” The ability to resist their influence and not succumb to the magic of their dubious authority.
• The ability to courageously overcome difficulties and disappointments without resorting to alcoholism, drug addiction, etc.
• The ability to care for other people. A selfish person is usually unhappy because he has many unsatisfied and insatiable needs.
• The ability to treat other people kindly and trustingly. Lack of envy of the successes of your colleagues, relatives, friends and acquaintances.
• Ability to work effectively and enjoy the work done.

The more points that correspond to your actual (and not desired) attitude towards life, the closer you are to true psychological health. After all, it is psychological health that largely determines our achievements in life, because it:

• directly influences body functions and thus the physical aspects of our well-being;
• helps adapt to different living conditions;
• promotes the formation of a sense of self-respect and self-worth, which are necessary to motivate life achievements;
• influences relationships with other people and, through them, successful personal and professional growth;
• largely determines working capacity and material well-being;
• gives a feeling of completeness and meaning in life, which makes people happy.

How you can and should work with fears and problems

It is fear thoughts that very often create problems and illnesses in our lives. Remember the psychological law: “Like attracts like” .

• Why are the actions of qualified doctors often ineffective?
• Why are the manipulations of psychics who influence a person’s biofield often unsuccessful?
• Why does some time pass and a person with his past complaints again turns for help, but to another “healer”?
• Because we have not changed our attitude towards ourselves and the world around us.

Our fears have not gone away; they remain with us. Looking at the world, we continue to look only into our soul, which is full of fears - we see not life, but our fears and nothing else. Therefore, the first stage on the path to success is getting rid of fears and psychological harmonization.

It all depends on my desire and taste

There are countless methods that allow you to harmonize both body and soul: sports and conditioning, massage and manual correction, psychotherapeutic techniques and yoga, martial arts and meditation... All of them represent a complex of general health-improving methods. You can influence the body, obtaining a secondary psychological effect. Or it can be the other way around. It all depends on your desire and taste.

In our opinion, it is reasonable to focus on meditation because of its ease, accessibility and extreme effectiveness for internal harmonization. We suggest that you regularly perform a short meditation exercise that will help you achieve beneficial results. We suggest doing it for real, and not just trying to imagine it in your mind. To really feel and understand any exercise, it is always necessary to test it in practice. Only then will you acquire specific skills and be able to change your life for the better. Mental comprehension is nothing compared to practice

To calm through relaxation

Generally speaking, meditation is relaxation that promotes calm. The essence of meditation is to simply sit and look ahead. You just sit, just look, hear, realize what is happening in front of you and inside you.

You can sit in a “lotus”, “half lotus” (yogic poses), cross-legged or on a regular chair. If you are sitting on the floor, place a small pillow under you, which should be positioned at an angle to make it easier to keep your spine upright. Be careful! When you sit, your whole body should be relaxed. This will help fear blocks rise to the surface of consciousness more easily and go away. The ideal state is when you sit and see what is in front of you, hear every sound, then you are open to the world. If your attention gradually and unnoticed by you becomes clouded and floats away, do not reproach yourself, but simply resume your sharpness of perception. Do this and meditation will happen.

When you meditate, many extraneous thoughts may appear in your brain. Don't fight them, let them come and go. As the feeling of relaxation begins to spread throughout your body, your mind will calm down and thoughts will disappear on their own. Then you will begin to truly discover your own inner world.

If you have thoughts that create fears

If you have problems in your life, and you have a lot of thoughts and fears living inside you, do this:

• When you enter a state of meditation, you “pose” a specific fear, a problem that worries you, and allow it to “be.”
• You remove all moral assessments like “good or bad” from the problem.
• You are not trying to improve things. Gradually your soul, which you have driven into a dark corner with the help of your fears, will begin to awaken. After some time, you will see that the world is unfolding before you in the right direction - because the solution to all problems is always within us, you just need to listen to your wisdom and trust the flow of life.
• Next, you simply look at your problem or fear, experiencing and letting go of the feelings that arise.
• If you think it necessary, you can ask yourself an unpleasant question: “What will happen if...” For example, if you are afraid of being deceived or you have already been deceived, and this has become your problem, you can ask yourself: “What will happen if all in life will everyone, anyone deceive me? By posing the question in this way, you raise your deep feelings of fear. Start experiencing these sensations! Remember! What you experience when letting go leaves you forever!

This way you can work with any negative emotions. Just don't stay in them for too long, otherwise you might get sick.

If you devote some time to meditation every day, without straining yourself, and if you ask yourself questions that you would like to understand, then gradually the quality of your life will improve.

Remember! Meditating with a fear or problem will never bring it into your life, because what you pay your attention to, what you are aware of and experience, loses its power over you.

Physical activity will help fight fears

While doing meditation, it is very advisable to allocate time for physical exercise: physical labor, sports, running, aerobics, martial arts, etc. Physical activity will help balance the transformation process that will gradually begin to occur within you.

Mistakes that reduce the effectiveness of meditation.

• Tense body - in whole or in part.
• Curved spine - to the side, forward or backward.
• Incorrect head position. (Neck line should be straight)
• Irregular or interrupted breathing.
• You strain yourself internally to get results.
• Rush yourself, don't give yourself time.
• You get attached to extraneous thoughts and get distracted.
• Arrogance.
• Arrogance.
• Arrogance.

If you did the meditation correctly, then after it you will have a cheerful state and a crystal clear mind. Your thoughts will become sharp as a blade, and you will be able to calmly “cut through” any problem that arises in front of you.

If fog appears around (or inside) you, and something incomprehensible begins to happen to your head, stop meditation. Rest for a few days and get on with your current affairs. If you are attentive and vigilant, if you listen to yourself, you will always find a way out of any situation. Remember, the quieter you drive, the further you will go.

If you feel irritated after meditation, this is a sign that either a mental block or unclaimed creative energy is rising within you. Exercise and sweat until the irritation goes away.

As you work on yourself, you will have both ups and downs. Highs happen because old fears leave you. You begin to trust yourself and others. A new attitude towards life awakens in your soul.

Fear is an emotional state in a person that encourages avoidant behavior. It has physiological and genetic components that signal danger. The occurrence of a phobia depends on internal, congenital, acquired and external causes. To learn how to deal with fear, you need to understand the principles of its development and functioning. Only gradual movement towards getting rid of the disorder will help avoid relapses.

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What is fear

Fear is a psychological state. Its development is caused by the work of two neural pathways. Normally, their reactions occur simultaneously, causing a protective reflex and an assessment of the overall picture. For example, if you burn yourself with a hot frying pan, your hand will involuntarily withdraw, and when the neural pathways work harmoniously, the psyche will not fixate on the object of danger. That is, the frying pan will not be assessed in the future as a mortal danger, causing panic. Blocking one of the neural pathways causes a painful fixation.

Formation of fear using the example of an experimental mouse.

The first neural pathway is the point of rapid response. In its presumption there are emotions and the action caused by it is accompanied by a large number of errors, which cause fears. For example, the sharp exhaust of a passing car could cause an association with some scary movie or event, causing fear. That is, the assessment of the overall picture did not have time to happen. The second way processes information more carefully, so the process of responding to a situation occurs more slowly, but almost always without errors.

The manifestation of the work of the first path is an instinctive response to danger. And the second way assesses the situation and gives more accurate information about further actions.

If fear is caused by the work of the first neural pathway, the work of the second is blocked. That is, at the moment of reaction to the stimulus, some signs are not assessed as unreal. For example, a sharp sound was not identified as a normal occurrence, but was recorded in the mind as a threat. Result: painful condition. If we talk about loud sounds, the patient may faint when hearing car horns, loud screams, thunder, etc.

The second way interacts with phobias, working in an abnormal state. It associates feelings of fear with stimuli that are not a real threat. This is how a persistent disorder arises. A person whose neural pathways are disrupted is often afraid of completely ordinary and completely safe things.



The nature of the phobia

Fear is based on the instinct of self-preservation and fixation on an object as a potential threat. The phenomenon is accompanied by a number of unpleasant sensations: a panic attack or anxiety, which are a signal for action - self-defense. The expression of emotions in patients varies in strength and influence on behavior.

Fear is an emotional process that develops due to an imaginary or real danger. It can be long-term or short-term.

A phobia is not a disease, but a psychological condition. The term "disease" is used for ease of understanding.

Common manifestations of phobia include:

• Obsessive actions (counting, hand washing).
• Intrusive thoughts (ideas, rituals).
• Panic attacks.

The occurrence of pathology is associated with many factors that are not always obvious. Or vice versa, due to stress or trauma. Patients often claim that fear came “out of nowhere.”



Causes of fear

Despite the variety of manifestations, the nature of phobias is the same for everyone. It is associated with the characteristics of thinking laid down in childhood. Their formation is influenced by upbringing, which provokes the development of traits of an anxious and suspicious nature. The world is perceived by such a child as something alarming and hostile.

Almost all people with mental disorders tend to exaggerate and dramatize a stressful situation. They worry about trifles and are sensitive to the opinions of others. Such an attitude towards the world is formed at an early and school age.

The main factor in the development of anxiety in childhood is excessive parental strictness. Such children always strive to be first and are ashamed of mistakes. They are required to be the best in everything, and for misdeeds they are physically or mentally punished. Having received a bad grade at school, such a child is very worried and is afraid to admit his mistake to his parents. A stable habit appears: after a mistake, punishment follows. As a result, a suspicious personality is formed. Internal dialogues from childhood move into adulthood and become a stable pattern of behavior.

All the prerequisites for the emergence of a problem have been laid; all that remains is to wait for the activating factor. It can be unique for each person. Severe stress or trauma undermines an initially weakened psyche, increasing sensitivity and anxiety.



What are the fears?

Professor Yu.V. Shcherbatov created a classification of phobias according to their nature, forming three groups:

1. 1. Biological - these are fears associated with a real threat to life, for example, fear of heights or fear of childbirth.
2. 2. Existential - touches on the problems of existence. The patient not only concentrates, but reflects on issues of death; he is tormented by the meaninglessness of human existence. He is afraid not only of dying, but also of time itself.
3. 3. Social - they are based on the fear of responsibility and the fear of not meeting expectations. Therefore, all actions that can undermine social status can cause panic attacks and other anxiety symptoms. These include difficulties in creating social contacts and problems with socialization. In its advanced form, fear leads to alienation and the emergence of a new phobia - fear of loneliness, stage fright, losing a loved one, etc.

There are borderline phobias, they affect several groups at once. Fear of illness is a social and biological group. Social factor - detachment from society, decreased income, dismissal from work, poverty, disruption of the usual way of life. The biological factor is pain, the presence of damage and suffering. The fear of death of loved ones is on the border of the existential and biological groups.

It should be noted that all types of phobias include elements of three groups, but only one of them is dominant.

There are fears that have been passed down to humans through evolution. For example, fear of the dark, snakes or spiders. These are instinctive reactions aimed at preserving life. In modern realities, many of them have lost their relevance and only interfere with a full-fledged existence. Snakes are a serious threat and should be feared, but not all. Spiders can be deadly, but fear of the common house spider is a real nuisance. In this case, it is necessary to concentrate on restructuring the reflexes.

Formation of obsessive fears

The formation of an obsessive phobia is facilitated by an initially weakened psyche in the process of growing up. The situation can be clearly seen using the example of a young mother with many children. A measured life is disrupted by constant lack of sleep, fatigue, and a large number of irritating factors. Fatigue and anxiety gradually increase and provoke physical ailments: dizziness, weakness, etc.

The next stage is fixation on a certain thought. It could be anything: a memory of a terrible event from the news “ someone killed their child” or thoughts about your health and sudden death “What if I die now? " There are a lot of options, but they all create an anxious fixation.

The further development of the phobia is formed around a logical chain:

1. 1. It’s scary to think about what the criminal was thinking while committing a bad deed.
2. 2. I’m thinking about this, does that mean I’m capable of this too?
3. 3. Would a normal person think about something like this?
4. 4. If I think about this, then I am capable of it.
5. 5. I'm abnormal, I'm dangerous.

When a person is under severe stress, the line between reality, emotions and action is blurred. Subsequently, the condition worsens and confidence in one’s own insanity is formed. He believes that if any disturbing thought has crept into his head, something like this will definitely happen in reality. Be it illness, natural disaster or crime.

The basis of treatment: to convince the patient that there is always a stable line between emotions and actions - one’s own choice.

How to deal with phobias on your own

Most people who decide to cope with a problem on their own begin to fight the effect, not the cause of the condition. For example, the patient becomes fixated on obsessive thoughts, frightening rituals, panic attacks and any other manifestations that cause anxiety, instead of focusing on finding the cause. Working with behavior and thoughts is the next stage of treatment.

To remove obsessive fear from the subconscious, find out:

• The nature of the phobia (character: physiological, emotional, fictional, etc.).
• How it arose.
• From where (From childhood, youth, adolescence. It was provoked by an experience or a traumatic factor present on the physical level).
• Which increases anxiety.

When treating a phobia, it is important to maintain self-confidence within yourself. The main mistake of self-therapy is to rely on outside help, forgetting that the patient is self-sufficient and able to resist the development of psychological disorders. By avoiding objects that cause panic or unpleasant thoughts, the patient only strengthens the fixation. Ignoring is not a cure.

Treatment

The basis of treatment is strengthening the body. It is important to approach the process comprehensively and deal with not only the psychological, but also the physical component. It is necessary to adhere to proper nutrition, walk in the fresh air and do exercises. The body must gain tone. The psychological component of treatment consists of working on thinking: correcting suspiciousness and the tendency to exaggerate. It is necessary to get rid of false attitudes.

It is important to understand that every person has the right to negative emotions. You just need to learn how to express them correctly.

The first step in eliminating a phobia is not fighting anxiety, but restoring psychological tone. You need to let go of your thoughts and stop concentrating on them. To do this, they use the practice of complete immersion in action. During any activity you need to fully concentrate on it. And if unwanted thoughts appear, you need to abstract yourself from them, distracting yourself with another action.

For a speedy recovery you need to:

• Follow a daily routine and sleep at least 8 hours.
• Play sports: running, swimming, race walking, aerobics.
• Regularly use relaxation techniques: yoga, acupuncture, aromatherapy.
• Eat properly.

Additional Information

The main reason for the ineffectiveness of treatment is a person’s desire to control all areas of his life. On the one hand, this is good, but in the case of psychological problems, concentrating on avoiding an obsessive thought only leads to its consolidation. When a person tries with all his might not to think about something, he is already thinking about it. This is the main trap of the mind.

Psychology is a complex science based on interaction with all the intricacies and loopholes of consciousness. The human brain always strives to return to habitual patterns of behavior, even if they are harmful to the person.

The basis of conscious thinking is to live in the moment, concentrate on ongoing processes without reflection and strive for a positive attitude towards the environment.