Fears/Phobias, how to deal

   Our lives today are controlled by fear more than we know. Fear can control our actions, decisions, and even our habits. Many people all over the world are constantly living in fear of many things. When in reality you may be able to overcome those fears in just a few simple steps. For instance; Have you ever feared something? After doing it how did you feel? Silly? Relieved? Thankful? The feeling right after is usually, wow that wasn’t so hard after all. I don’t know what I was afraid of! According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIH), approximately 12.5% of adults in the U.S. will deal with a specific phobia in their lifetime. So next time you fear something try your best to simply just do it, you may surprise yourself with how you feel after.

How to deal with fears

   Some of the most common ways to overcome fears can be practices like, talking with a mental health professional can help you manage your specific phobia. Exposure therapy and behavioral therapy are the most effective treatments. Exposure therapy can help focus on changing your response to either the object or situation that you fear. Another factor that can contribute to helping overcome certain fears are trying to not avoid them. For example, if you are afraid of being in huge crowds maybe try to slowly ease into putting yourself out into crowds. Doing this until it becomes normal for you and not something you fear is one of the simplest steps to overcoming something. 

Practices to overcome fear

    There are also ways you can try to fight off your fears if you are unable to overcome them. Doing some simple steps to make them go away may also be helpful. Some things you can do are, Imagine the worst-case scenario, visualize a happy place, and reward yourself when you expose yourself to fear. Another thing that can help is trying to spend 2-3 minutes each day focusing on your fear. The more you are exposed to something that makes you fearful the better it may get.