Understand Your Fear
Understanding your fear is essential when it comes to conquering it. Once you identify the root cause of your fear, you are one step closer to overcoming it. Take some time to reflect on the situation and pinpoint what is causing the fear so that you can actively work on addressing it. Understanding where your fear comes from will help you break down the walls and gain control back in your life.
Identify Your Triggers
Recognising your triggers is an important factor in managing and coping with fear. Understanding the fearful situations or mental/emotional/physical events that tend to bring on fear will help you develop helpful strategies for managing it. For example, being aware of elements that trigger intense anxiety when present allows you to take precautionary steps to avoid those triggers, if possible, or to use relaxation techniques or self-soothing behaviours if exposure is unavoidable. Identifying triggers is a valuable tool for those looking for appropriate ways of dealing with fear.
Face Your Fear Gradually
Taking on your fears head-on is rarely, if ever, a good idea. Instead, it’s better to approach them slowly and gradually to increase your tolerance for them and eventually overcome them in the long run. By breaking down the feared task into smaller, more manageable steps, you can take an easy and gentle approach to each step one at a time, so you’re not overwhelmed. Slowly but surely, this incremental progress method will give you the tools necessary to face your fear on your terms and build feelings of confidence that will help you successfully navigate it.
Use Techniques to Help
Relaxation techniques, such as breath work, meditation, progressive muscle relaxation and visualisation, can be powerful tools to reduce stress and anxiety. Implementing these practices into our daily lives can make all the difference in maintaining a healthy balance between body and mind. By allowing yourself to take the time to practice breath work or meditate, you are allowing for a natural break from external demands and creating space for self-reflection. Similarly, progressive muscle relaxation techniques help to alleviate tension throughout our entire body. Lastly, visualisation is an effective tool for calming overactive minds that may constantly be ruminating over negative thoughts or worries. With regular practice, these techniques can become essential components of a consistent routine that supports your overall wellness.
Seek Professional Help
Seeking professional help when life gets overwhelming is the first step to making healthy progress in both your personal and work life. Talking therapy can give you the foundations to build a greater understanding of yourself and others, while coaching can give you clear strategies and objectives for meeting your goals. Additionally, support groups are an invaluable resource for talking to people who have been through similar experiences as you have, allowing for genuine understanding that talking with friends or family can’t quite replicate. Professional help provides a safe atmosphere where those external supports shine through and make all the difference.
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Colin Kingsmill is a Founding Partner at Whole Human Coaching and the Author of “Fear Less — Crossing the Bridge from Fear to Bliss.”
colin [at] wholehumancoaching.com
