Each of us has experienced fear at some point in our lives, and for many people, fear still plays a significant role. We have a variety of fears, ranging from everyday individuals to concepts and objects. Fear has the power to control you physically as well as mentally if you let it. However, despite knowing the importance that fear has for personal development, many people nonetheless choose to live in fear of particular objects and people. People wouldn’t be able to defend themselves from real threats if they weren’t afraid. Fear is an essential emotional and physical defense mechanism that has played a crucial role in human evolution, particularly in prehistoric times when men and women frequently confronted life-or-death situations. The risks are fewer now, but some people still react violently to particular situations or items, even though elevators, public speaking, and spiders don’t pose the same kind of immediate danger that early man did. Many people occasionally get the “nerves” or feel afraid before a flight, a first date, or a big game. Nonetheless, a person may have a specific phobia if their fear interferes with their daily activities, is persistent, and is tied to a particular threat.
Therapy might be helpful when a person’s life is disrupted or taken over by fear. Exposure therapy, in which a therapist helps the client progressively and frequently deal with the cause of their phobia in a secure environment to help remove the threat associated with it, is a key component of treating fears. For instance, a person with a phobia of flying might be encouraged to consider airplanes, see images of airplanes, go to an airport, board an airplane, and eventually finish a flight. Exposure therapy is frequently used in conjunction with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to assist patients in challenging and reframing their negative beliefs.
Here are four things we frequently forget while talking about fear.
1. Fear doesn’t have to be permanent
We shouldn’t get into the habit of letting our anxieties take up residence in our life permanently, even though it could appear that the things and/or people we dread are just insignificant things that are fine as long as they are “out of sight, out of mind.” It is self-defeating to accept the idea that worries will always remain. Recognize that you don’t have to let your fear rule your life. The fear is continuing to live there permanently only because you haven’t made the decision to serve an eviction. The wonderful thing about fear is that, unless you let it, it doesn’t have to last forever.
2. Fear often works as a disease
Fear has the power to stifle your personal development and prevent you from becoming your best self, just like illnesses do to your body. It’s crucial to avoid dismissing anxieties that are impeding your progress in life, just as you wouldn’t ignore a disease that is taking over your body. Both have the capacity to spin out of control, which would severely restrict us.
While we would need to accept a sickness diagnosis before even starting to seek therapy or change, the greatest way to cope with fear is to acknowledge that it even exists. The only way to get over your concerns is to address them.
3. Fear is often disguised as disinterest
Some of the very activities we continually claim we simply don’t want to undertake, we genuinely fear. Anything that causes us discomfort is simple to reject, justifying our decision with a lack of interest. The truth is that lack of interest frequently results from feelings of inadequacy, ridicule, or injury-aversion. You are acting out of dread of that same thing if you avoid doing anything because of those kinds of feelings.
It does not imply that it is always detrimental. We all experience legitimate anxieties, and some of them help us stay safe and make wise decisions. Yet, it’s crucial to stop letting your anxieties stand in the way of your development by passing them off as lack of desire.
4. Fear is a comfort zone
Even when we make a concerted effort to avoid the things and people we dread, the reality remains the same. The reality is that we often build a comfort zone and attitude for ourselves out of fear in order to prevent us from leaving our comfort zones and facing things that can make us uncomfortable.
Don’t misunderstand me. This in no way lessens how terrifying the things we fear are. It doesn’t lessen the validity of your reasons for being terrified of these things or these individuals. This fact simply states that the mindset born out of fear frequently acts as a comfort zone we are unwilling to leave.
If you stay in your comfort zones, you will never be your best self since growth cannot exist there. Without your agreement to take actions aimed at conquering problems that have caused fear in your heart and mind, no amount of significant improvement in your life can occur.
