How to face and overcome your fears

Are you wondering how to face and overcome your fears? Then you’re in the right place!

Fear is a powerful and natural human emotion that can affect you physically, mentally, and emotionally. You can have a fear of public speaking, fear of failure, fear of flying, or fear of heights. 

When your anxiety levels are high and you’re going through intense fear, your body will quickly respond. 

Some of those symptoms of fear include an increased heart rate, your heart beating very fast, sweating a lot, your stomach churning, feeling dizzy, and your muscles becoming tense or freezing on the spot. These physical sensations are normal and prepare you for the emergency or dangerous situation you’re about to face. 

While fear can help us respond to a perceived threat or dangerous situation, everyday fears can affect you, stop you from reaching your goals, and distract you. 

When fear becomes a pattern, it paralyzes you and stops you from taking steps forward in your life. These are the top strategies and tips to help you fight fear effectively.

What’s the difference between fear, anxiety, and phobia?

Fear has to do with the present and is an emotion caused by real danger or a perceived threat. It results in a fight-or-flight response that energizes you to move away from the threat. 

Everyday fears can include fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of being lonely, or fear of being judged. Intense fear can cause high blood pressure or even a heart attack. Fear is related to anxiety and phobia. 

Anxiety is a type of fear that has to do with the future so you can think of it as long-term fear. It’s the not knowing what’s going to happen that triggers the emotional response. 

Symptoms of anxiety include feeling nervous, restless or tense, sweating, trembling, or having trouble concentrating or thinking about anything else except what you’re worried about. 

Phobia causes high anxiety levels and can disrupt how a person functions. It’s related to a specific situation, place, or object. They are not based on present danger yet can be persistent 

to the level where someone avoids contact with the cause because it makes them anxious. 

Common phobias include aerophobia, or the fear of flying, acrophobia which is an intense fear of heights, or social phobia which involves fear centered around social situations and interactions. 

A fear of flying can actually make you avoid the airport and social phobia can result in social anxiety disorder which can be a long-term disorder that affects you socially. 

How to face and overcome your fears

Fear is a basic human emotion designed to motivate us to avoid danger. It can lead you to get stuck in your comfort zone, get stuck with negative thoughts, or avoid taking on new challenges. 

There are various ways you can use to overcome fear and gain the capacity, courage, and confidence you need to achieve your goals and dreams.

It’s important to take small steps and adjust to your specific situation. The ultimate goal is to be fulfilled, have joy, and experience personal growth. 

1. Identify the fear

Fear can lead to anxiety disorders, and panic attacks, which affect your mental health and make you physically sick. That’s why the first step to overcoming fears and anxiety is to acknowledge they exist and be willing to face fears head-on, especially if it’s something you can’t avoid like using an elevator or being on a plane. 

Identifying your fear includes understanding the patterns, symptoms, and impact of the fear. You can jot these down in your notebook or journal and as you do it helps to demystify the fear. A powerful tool in this step is to identify the type of fear you have.

Types of Fear

Understanding fear and the different forms it takes is a step toward fighting fear. These are the 3 different types of fear you should know namely rational fear, primal fear, and irrational fear. 

Rational Fear occurs when there’s a real danger or a real threat. Examples could be the fear of being followed when walking alone at night, the fear you experience when you face a dangerous animal, the fear of death when you have a terminal illness, or the fear of homelessness after losing your job or business.

Primal Fear is programmed into your brain like the fear of spiders, darkness, or isolation. This is something you can’t control and triggers our fight, flight, or freeze response. Primal fear is your survival instincts at work. 

Irrational fear is fear that doesn’t make sense and is unique to a person. You can be scared of something but not understand why. Examples include being scared of enclosed spaces (claustrophobia), needles, driving, germs, clowns, or ghosts.

2. Reframe how you look at fear

Fear is a natural human emotion that can signal that life-threatening situations are present. 

Instead of wondering if it’s good or bad to be afraid, think of fear in a different way. Listen to what your body is telling you and evaluate the action plan to take. 

You can even write a letter to your fear or anxiety to understand what they are teaching you about yourself. You may end up making a safer choice and reaching your full potential because you listened to what your body was telling you about a scary situation. 

3. Evaluate the Risks

There are everyday fears like fear of public speaking, fear of elevators, and fear of driving that can affect you negatively and stop you from achieving your goals and living your dream life. 

These you need to face head-on. Research the risk or perceived threat in your mind. The more statistics and facts you have, the more you may realize that you have nothing to be scared of. 

For example, if you are scared of driving, you may learn that your country has less than 2% of deathly car crashes which will give you a positive attitude about the experience. You can also read about people who overcame the same fear and learn from their successful stories.

4. Use visualization

One of the most effective ways of fighting fear is to use the power of imagination positively. Go to a calm environment and think of worst-case scenarios where you normally would experience anxiety and feelings of fear. 

For example, if you’re afraid of meeting new people, a good idea is to imagine a positive outcome where you are confident and capable of introducing yourself to someone you don’t know at an event. 

Go further and visualize the benefits you’ll enjoy such as making a life-long friend or connecting with someone who will help you reach your goals. Imagine how you’ll celebrate overcoming your fear. You can use positive affirmations, and soothing music to enhance the experience. 

5. Use relaxation techniques

When you’re scared, you start breathing faster than usual. The regular practice of deep breathing exercises helps to calm your body so you can think clearly and rationally in a scary situation. 

Keeping calm and focusing on something other than what you’re afraid of is a great way of fighting fear. 

You can try using progressive muscle relaxation. It’s a practice where you tighten a muscle group at a time then you release the tension. Anyone can learn it and it only takes about 10-20 minutes a day. It’s a great idea to research more about it and practice how to do it safely. 

6. Go into nature 

Spending too much time on social media and reading people’s opinions about events can increase fear and anxiety. Go for a short walk, visit the park, go hiking, or go to the beach or lake. You can even watch nature documentaries. 

Being in nature can help reduce anxious feelings, reduce blood pressure, and improve your mood and happiness levels. If you can’t go into nature, you can also try exercising as it refocuses your mind and makes you feel more capable and confident in fighting fear.

7. Adopt a Growth Mindset

Fear can cause you to be stuck in one place. Tony Robbins, a motivational speaker and author of best-selling books, and a professional and personal development leader says “No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow your progress, you’re still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying.” 

The road to success is not straightforward. Don’t let fear stop you from making progress. Having a growth mindset is understanding that you can stop aiming for perfection, get comfortable with not knowing all the details, and forge ahead to achieving your goals and plans. 

8. Get professional help

If fear is affecting your work and reaching your goals in daily life, take time to see a professional therapist and talk to them about the patterns you’ve identified so they can help you with coping mechanisms and practicing relaxation strategies for overcoming fear. 

Sometimes your fear emanates from having experienced or witnessed a painful experience or been in dangerous situations. When these past experiences are not dealt with, they can lead to flashbacks, nightmares, or feelings of anxiety which are some of the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. 

That’s when it becomes important to talk to a therapist or health professional and deal with the real reason for the symptoms affecting you.

Exposure therapy is a form of cognitive behavior therapy that’s highly effective for treating a specific phobia you may have. Using a safe space you gradually face what you fear over time. Psychoanalytic theory aims to cure the fear or phobia by rooting out and solving the original conflict.

9. Prayer and Faith

Every human needs a connection to God who is a higher power. Prayer, and connecting with others can be what you need to encourage and support you to overcome fear and live a more joy-filled life. 

The best way to deal with fear is head-on. There are a lot of ways that fear can paralyze you and stop you from experiencing a great life. The good thing is there are ways to fight fear and live a joy-filled life where you accomplish your goals. 

If you’ve been wondering How to Face and Overcome your fears, take one or a few of these 9 tips and strategies and try them out. You don’t have to do it all alone. You can get a family member or professional therapist to keep you accountable and support you along the way. 

As you implement these strategies, they’ll help you break through those mental obstacles and barriers that are stopping you from tapping into your inner power and achieving what you’re capable of.  

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