Facing Your Fears to Prevent Anxiety and Depression
Very often job loss and subsequent unemployment, following by job search and mounting anxiety and depression leads to a debilitating state of constant fear.
Fear is irrational, it's one of our most primitive instincts, and you can only fight and conquer it by getting to know what you are afraid of.
This is why worst case scenarios and emergency plans made in advance bring us enormous relief.
In fact, they are liberating.
I'm talking mostly about the means to prevent your anxiety, panic attacks and depression.
Once you've got them you will need more serious help.
So, how do you fight your fear? 1.
Worst case scenario.
Sit down and write worst possible outcomes of the situation.
What are you afraid of? Then imagine that it happened and you survived, the world didn't stop.
What would you do in that case? How would you pick up the pieces and move on? Describe possible plan of action in as much detail as you can.
Usually we find comfort in logic, in knowing what to do when something happens.
If you are ready for whatever comes next, your fear diminishes and disappears.
Keep finding out possible ways to go on after facing your fear and you'll get more and more resilient.
2.
No avoidance.
Escapism never works as well as we want it too.
Reality tends to come back and bite us on the back side, so face your fear and do it often.
It will make you stronger and more confident.
3.
Speak up.
Make a habitof voicing your fears, talk to a friend about your worries or in some sort of support group, maybe even with a therapist.
Letting things out diminishes their power, especially when there is someone there to listen to you and to offer their advice and point of view.
4.
Keep calm.
When you start getting afraid of something, use any relaxation or distraction technique that may work on you.
Some people repeat a certain mantra, others prefer nice cup of tea or coffee with a sugary snack.
Find something comforting, something that makes you feel safe and secure and use it.
5.
Full stomach and rest.
Never underestimate the power of big nice comforting meal, a warm bath and a night of good sleep.
The words of wisdom "Sleep on it" have certain logical explanation behind them.
If something worries uswhen we go to sleepour brain is still looking for a solution to solve our problems without any distractions.
When you are awake you might know what to do with your situation and your fear will go away.
Also resting your body and nourishing it, will give you necessary energy and clear head to fight what bothers you.
As usual I would like to hear from your personal experience: how do you fight your fears? What effect did they have on your depression and anxiety? Please share here.
Fear is irrational, it's one of our most primitive instincts, and you can only fight and conquer it by getting to know what you are afraid of.
This is why worst case scenarios and emergency plans made in advance bring us enormous relief.
In fact, they are liberating.
I'm talking mostly about the means to prevent your anxiety, panic attacks and depression.
Once you've got them you will need more serious help.
So, how do you fight your fear? 1.
Worst case scenario.
Sit down and write worst possible outcomes of the situation.
What are you afraid of? Then imagine that it happened and you survived, the world didn't stop.
What would you do in that case? How would you pick up the pieces and move on? Describe possible plan of action in as much detail as you can.
Usually we find comfort in logic, in knowing what to do when something happens.
If you are ready for whatever comes next, your fear diminishes and disappears.
Keep finding out possible ways to go on after facing your fear and you'll get more and more resilient.
2.
No avoidance.
Escapism never works as well as we want it too.
Reality tends to come back and bite us on the back side, so face your fear and do it often.
It will make you stronger and more confident.
3.
Speak up.
Make a habitof voicing your fears, talk to a friend about your worries or in some sort of support group, maybe even with a therapist.
Letting things out diminishes their power, especially when there is someone there to listen to you and to offer their advice and point of view.
4.
Keep calm.
When you start getting afraid of something, use any relaxation or distraction technique that may work on you.
Some people repeat a certain mantra, others prefer nice cup of tea or coffee with a sugary snack.
Find something comforting, something that makes you feel safe and secure and use it.
5.
Full stomach and rest.
Never underestimate the power of big nice comforting meal, a warm bath and a night of good sleep.
The words of wisdom "Sleep on it" have certain logical explanation behind them.
If something worries uswhen we go to sleepour brain is still looking for a solution to solve our problems without any distractions.
When you are awake you might know what to do with your situation and your fear will go away.
Also resting your body and nourishing it, will give you necessary energy and clear head to fight what bothers you.
As usual I would like to hear from your personal experience: how do you fight your fears? What effect did they have on your depression and anxiety? Please share here.
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