Step1: Learn more about your fear
This first step can be the hardestone, but it’s also absolutely necessary. You can’t overcome a fear that remainshidden in the dusty regions of your subconscious. You must face it. When youturn your face toward a person, you see that person and learn what he lookslike and how he is acting. When you turn toward your fear (rather than awayfrom it), you notice things about your fear that you didn’t know before. Thisawareness helps you overcome it.
To help yourself face your fears andanxiety, try keeping a journal over a period of two or three weeks. Record anypatterns you notice. Do your hands turn clammy and your stomach clenches whenyou hear the doorbell? Do you experience more symptoms of anxiety in themorning or the evening? What do you tend to do when your fears arise? Jot downanything that seems significant. Transferring your fear patterns and symptomsinto writing can help demystify them. They are no longer so big andinsurmountable.
Most importantly, learning all aboutyour fear gives you an idea of how to counter it.
The journal can also be filled withpositive reaffirmations, rational thoughts regarding one’s fear and also ideasor inspirations that strike through the day
Straight away send a mail to [email protected] for a free Anxiety Journal with subject anxiety Journal.
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Step2: Use your Imagination in Positive Ways
An imagination is a wonderful thing.It gives you power, creativity, and the ability to think outside the box.Unfortunately, an active imagination can be a harmful tool when it causes youto think about negative things. Your imagination can magnify your fears, makingyour situation seem much worse than it actually is.
Instead of letting your imaginationlead you down the dark corridors of fear, purposely use it for overcoming fear.
How do you do that? Pick a calmmoment when you are relaxed and not anxious. Close your eyes and imagineyourself in a situation that normally causes fear. For instance, if you areafraid of being lost in a crowded building, picture yourself in a busy airport.Now, imagine yourself handling the situation peacefully. You don’t freeze andbegin to cry. Instead, you search for an information desk or a sign that willhelp you regain your sense of direction. You imagine yourself reaching the correctparking lot, unlocking your car door, and driving safely home without any badincidents.
The peace you experienced in yourimagined scenario can actually help you get through the actual ordeal morepeacefully.
Step3: Use Your Brain in a Different Way than Usual
Your fear and anxiety arise out of acertain part of your brain, and they allow emotion to overcome rationalthought. When you feel your fearful symptoms coming forth, try to use adifferent part of your brain. Think about numbers, for instance. A nurse in theclinic might ask a patient to rate his pain on a scale of 1-10. Use this scalefor your anxiety. How anxious are you when 1 is perfectly calm and 10 is yourvery worst symptom? Stop and analyze. Do you rate your fear at 7? Very good.You can work on lowering that to a 4 or a 3. Try using the next step to loweryour fear rating.
Step4: Focus on Your Breathing
Breathing is more important than youthink. Usually, anxiety begins with short breaths. The short breaths cause anumber of negative reactions in your body which quickly become an anxietyattack. The key to overcoming those fast outbreaks of anxiety is to controlyour breathing.
Fortunately, deep breathing is notcomplicated. Once you have recognized that you are becoming fearful, stop andfocus on your breathing. Take a breath in, and then slowly let it out. Makesure your exhale is longer than your inhale. This isn’t just some psychologicaltrick; deep breathing forces your body to physically calm itself.
Torelax your breathing, try this exercise: Lie on your stomach. Count to six asyou inhale; count to six as you exhale. Next, try the same deep breathing whilesitting down. Then, try it standing up. Breathe deeply from the diaphragm, andpractice this daily until it becomes natural
Step5: Use Positive Affirmations
Utilize affirmations to create a more positive,success-oriented mindset. Affirmations are powerful statements that describethe reality you want to create – and they are a powerful antidote to fear. Insteadof saying “I am afraid of doing this because I might fail,” look in themirror and say to yourself, “I have prepared for this. I am ready. I willnot fail.” The more you use positive affirmations, the stronger theybecome. The best way to cancel a negative belief is to develop its positivecounterpart.
Commit to making positiveaffirmations a key component of your morning ritual. By reciting them out loudit’s your way of saying to the Universe, “This is what I want.” Itliterally takes one thought, repeated over and over again, to set you on thepath to transforming your entire life.
Step6: Practice Mindfulness
You’ve heard about mindfulness, butwhat exactly is it? Mindfulness is a passive thinking activity that allows youto become more aware of your fear. As you learned in Step 1, awareness helpsyou overcome your fear and anxiety.
Practice these mindfulness tipsduring some of your less severe times of fear and anxiety. When you recognizeyour fear symptoms arising, sit down and think about what is happening to you.This is like making a mental journal entry. Observe the symptoms as they arise.Don’t do anything about it. Just sit and keep track of yourself as the momentcontinues. Being passive raises your self-awareness, and it prevents you fromdoing the typical things you do when you experience fear. It helps get you outof a rut.
Step7: Use Nature as Your Therapist
Try going for a walk outsideinstead! Natural beauty found in parks, backyards, or wherever something greenis growing does help reduce symptoms of fear and anxiety. Nature calms people,reducing stress levels and changing moods from anxious to relaxed. Plus, thephysical activity of walking or jogging outdoors requires us to use our brainsdifferently, which can cause a switch from irrational fearful thoughts toclearer thinking that can help overcome the fear.
Exercise regularly
Regular exercise, particularly aerobic exercise, may help you combat stressand release tension.
It also encourages your brain to release serotonin, which can improve yourmood.
Examples of good aerobic exercises include:
- walking fast or jogging
- swimming
- cycling
- tennis
- hiking
- football or rugby
- aerobics
You should aim to do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise aweek.
Moderate-intensity exercise should raise your heart rate and make youbreathe faster.
Learn to relax
As well as regular exercise, learning how to relax is important.
You may find relaxation and breathing exercises helpful, or you may preferactivities such as yoga or pilates to help you unwind.
Avoid caffeine
Drinking too much caffeine can make you more anxious than normal. This isbecause caffeine can disrupt your sleep and also speed up your heartbeat.
If you're tired, you're less likely to be able to control your anxiousfeelings.
Avoiding drinks containing caffeine, such as coffee, tea, fizzy drinks andenergy drinks, may help reduce your anxiety levels.
Avoid smoking and drinking
Smoking and alcohol have been shown to make anxiety worse. Only drinkingalcohol in moderation or stopping smoking may help reduce your anxiety.
To reduce the risk of harming your health:
- men and women are advised not to regularly drink more than 14 units a week
- spread your drinking over 3 days or more if you drink as much as 14 units a week
Fourteen units is equivalent to 6 pints of average-strengthbeer or 10 small glasses of low-strength wine. Find out how to stopsmoking easily sending a mail to [email protected] for a free quick smoking guide with subject quit smokingguide.