Facing Your Fears Head On

Fear can cause you to experience heart-racing, unsettled, gut-wrenching feelings. Fear can be normal, it’s a helpful mechanism that alerts you to danger and helps you prepare. Unfortunately, it can also become irrational to the point of getting in your way and preventing you from enjoying your life. Even if you know your fear is unrealistic, it can still interfere with your daily activities.

Unmasking Your Fears

Almost everyone is afraid of something. Whether you’re scared of hairy spiders, afraid of the dark, or fearful of being rejected, you likely live with anxiety in some form. Maybe your palms get sweaty or your stomach churns, but no matter how real and scary your feeling is, it’s only a product of your mind. Fear is often related to negative, imagined thoughts about what will happen in the future. We don’t know what will happen and it is often natural to be afraid of the unknown.

In truth, fear can keep you in the background. It has a way of convincing you of your shortcomings and inability to accomplish your dreams. When you’re afraid, you prefer to keep quiet in your corner, limit your potential, make your world smaller, and separate yourself from the people you love. Fear can leave you feeling paralyzed and keep you from living your best life. How many times have you lost opportunities or turned away from a relationship because your fear got the best of you?

The Antidote to Fear

Some fears are healthy and helpful, especially when you need to avoid situations for your own personal safety. Some fears relate to concrete things, such as fear of heights or water, while others are about your own inadequacies or incompetence, like fear of public speaking or failure. In most circumstances, it feels easiest and safest to steer clear of whatever it is that you’re afraid of in order to avoid being hurt, humiliated, or rejected.

Avoidance may only reinforce your fear. It deepens that anxious illusion and proves that your fear is valid. Running from fear doesn’t work; it will follow. On the other hand, facing your fear and doing the thing you’re most afraid of can be positive. In conquering your fears, you can gain a sense of your own power and abilities. Facing your fears head on, rather than backing down, empowers you while your anxiety and phobia lose their hold.

When Fears Overpower You

Fears don’t always cause significant disruptions in your life. For example, if you fear cats, you can simply choose not to have one as a pet. On the other hand, if you have a severe phobia of heights and you live in a high-rise condominium, the fear would be a daily problem.

If your fears don’t make your life more difficult, there’s nothing to be worried about. However, if you constantly avoid everyday objects, activities, or situations that trigger anxiety, consider seeking help.

The following may be indicators that your fear is getting the better of you:

Your phobia disables you and triggers anxiety and panic.
Your fear is excessive and baseless.
Your avoidance disrupts your daily living.
You have been suffering from negative and fearful thoughts for at least six months.

Taking Your Fears by the Horns

It’s not easy to manage fears, especially if you don’t really understand them. Anxiety and phobia can get the best of you and leave you feeling totally helpless each day. Some people use alcohol or other substances just to run away or hide from their fears. Keep in mind that this can only make things worse in the long run. It’s important to know the facts about anxiety to improve your life.

Facing fears head on, rather than avoiding, can lead to recovery. Finding a therapist that is skilled in treating anxiety and phobia can help you to take your power back. The right therapist will be able to meet your needs and help you to move forward in a safe and supportive way.

Call Carolina Counseling Services — Pittsboro, NC to get started!