Chapter Four : Therapies

When you’re trying to conquer your fears, there is no reason why you should be going it alone. Fear is a very difficult thing to overcome, and achieving your goal of fearlessness is significantly harder if the fears which are holding you back stem from traumatic experiences in your life. This is why you should never say no to accepting help when you’re trying to overcome your fear. Help doesn’t always mean speaking to your doctor or a psychologist – you can find a lot of help and support from friends and family members who are willing to do what it takes to assist you in conquering your fears and gaining control over your anxiety. Talking Therapy Talking therapy is one of the best remedies for many different emotional and mental issues, with fear being one of them. For a large number of people, getting the things which scare and worry them off their chest and out in the open provides a lot of relief and can help to alleviate the burden significantly. Talking to a therapist or other trained professional about your fears provides you with a safe, non-judgemental environment in which you can be open and honest about your worst fears and the ways in which they affect you. Opening up in this way will then provide you with answers as to why you may feel this way along with the opportunity to learn more coping methods or strategies which are tailored to you an as individual. Talking to friends and family members is also another great way to get help and support on your journey to fearlessness. However, if you’re planning on speaking to family or friends, it’s vital to make sure that you choose the right people to confide in. Steer clear of anyone who is likely to mock your fears – choose friends or family members who have an understanding attitude and an open mind, who you can trust to give you the support you need and have your back. Speaking to friends and family about your fears can help to bring you closer, as chances are that the people you speak to will also have fears that they too want to overcome. This can help you to create a ‘buddy system’, where you support each other and take on new challenges together. Having somebody by your side can immediately make facing scary situations a lot easier. Using Imagery Another type of therapy which you can use to help you conquer your fears is image therapy. There are many different uses for image therapy, and it has helped many people to conquer conditions such as body dysmorphia, conquer phobias, and enabled people to achieve some of their main goals in life. Using imagery as a key to help you overcome your fears can be as simple as imagining images in your mind. Picture how you’d like to be, facing a situation which you are fearful of without succumbing to your fears. For example, if you’re scared of dogs, picture yourself petting a cute and cuddly puppy. The more you do this, the more appealing the idea may become. Looking at cute, happy pictures of dogs – there are loads online! – might also help you to overcome this fear. Of course pictures aren’t the real thing, but the more you expose yourself to them, the better chance you will have of realising that the subject of your fears isn’t actually all that scary. Images for Motivation Using images can also help to motivate you to conquer your fears. Let’s say, for example, that you are terrified of flying. This could be because of a bad experience that you’ve had in the past on a plane with bad turbulence, or maybe it’s because of your fear of heights. But, you’d love to vacation in Thailand. So, what do you do? The first step to conquering your fear of flying is to begin thinking more positively about it, using the techniques mentioned in the previous chapter. Then, you can start to use image therapy to gain the motivation that you need to conquer your fear of air travel and achieve your dream of taking a vacation in Thailand. Look at pictures of the destination that you dream of visiting, and imagine yourself there. It feels good, doesn’t it? Go one step further – print out your favorite photograph, and stick it to your refrigerator door so that you can see it every morning when you go for breakfast. As you begin to build the motivation to conquer your fears, the desire to achieve your dream will become bigger than the fears holding you back. This process will work for any destination – not just Thailand! Whatever it is that you are feeling afraid of, for the most part you’ll be able to find images that are able to contribute to your overcoming it. For example, if you’re scared of heights, you can find images of people standing on cliffs or high-up balconies – nothing bad is happening to them, and they’ll most likely look quite happy in the photograph! It’s also vital to remember that the mental image which you create in your own mind is crucial to your success. When you create a mental image of yourself overcoming your fears or achieving your goals as a result of conquering your fears, you should always create the image in a positive light. If you start to create negative images, use the techniques for swapping your negative thoughts for positive ones covered in the previous chapter. At times, you might also need to take a break and start again when you have a better mindset – this is perfectly OK, and you should be proud of yourself for realising when you have to do this. Grab hold of this free eBook "Battle Your Fear" This is a public episode. 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