How to get rid of pathological fear. How to deal with obsessive thoughts, fears and phobias

Fear... You don't know how, when and why it took over your consciousness. Since then your life has become painful. You can't free your mind from negative thoughts, fear follows you everywhere. He lives in you, in your head. He is always with you. You would like more than anything to forget about him, but you don’t know how to get rid of the feeling of fear and anxiety for yourself or someone close to you, how to get rid of the constant panic fear in anticipation of something terrible. You are tense, tormented, exhausted...

And those nightmarish obsessive thoughts that create pictures in your imagination that scare you more than anything else? From these thoughts, cold sweat appears on your body, you are ready to lose consciousness. It's better to die than think about it. But thought is material, you remember this and are ready to kill yourself so that your terrible thoughts do not materialize, so that this nightmare from your head does not bring real harm to anyone. You resist these thoughts with all the strength of your consciousness, conduct meditations to get rid of fear - no, you won’t think about it, you won’t allow yourself! But from this you only enter colossal tension, unpleasant, painful - even your body begins to ache from this mental intensity. And your terrible obsessive thoughts - they creep into your consciousness with even greater force. How to get rid of bad obsessive thoughts and fears? After all, there must be some way, it can’t be that there isn’t!

How to get rid of fear of people, men, the dark, dogs... Fear comes in all forms

You know well what fear is - it is your longtime companion. He has been with you since childhood. Fear of the dark, chilling a child's soul. Fear of losing parents, fear of death. It's so scary to know from childhood that death exists and you have to die. Excruciatingly scary. You're so used to fear that it feels like it's part of you. Therefore, you have no idea how you can get rid of inner fear and uncertainty forever.

But what is happening now is unbearable! You can't live like that...

Yes, fear has always been with you, it only changed its appearance. Or didn't change it. The main thing for him is to live in your head under any pretext. You may be afraid of heights, water, snakes, insects, dogs - he doesn’t care by and large. You may seem funny to other people when you are afraid of germs on public transport. And it’s not funny for you - there are so many diseases in the world that you can get infected with! And be sick for a long time, and die painfully... You don’t know how to get rid of worries and fears in life, so you follow their lead. Don’t touch the handrails on the minibus; carry antibacterial wipes with you. You wash your hands a thousand times a day.

By the way, about diseases. Who can tell me how to get rid of the fear of getting sick? Sometimes you feel like you're sick. This has happened often in your life. You carefully monitor your body, your health... And suddenly you see that something has changed. You look for information about this on the Internet and find confirmation: yes, you are sick. Seriously. Looks like your song is over. How terrible it is to get sick at such an early age! You are only 20 (30, 40, 50...). Become disabled, lose your health, and even worse - die after a difficult struggle for life. And how afraid you are of pain, torment, of everything that has to be experienced - you are afraid to the point of pain in your heart. To tears. You can't sleep at night, you're so afraid.

You have already prepared for the worst, bought everything you need to take with you to the hospital and... the doctors did not confirm your diagnosis. They didn't find anything. You can’t believe it and go to other doctors! But even there they tell you that you are completely healthy! You cry with happiness, because you won’t die or become disabled! But... what was that? Hypochondria is one of the faces of your old friend FEAR. I would like to understand how to get rid of the fear of illness and pain, and what diseases there are - how to get rid of all fears...

A painful question: how to get rid of fears and complexes?

No matter what happens in your life, fear always makes its own adjustments. Even wonderful events are overshadowed by fear. For example, you are afraid of losing something. Something or someone.

If you are in love, and even mutually, and even happy, this happiness does not last long. Fear drags into your consciousness the thought that your loved one may stop loving you, abandon you, or cheat on you with someone else. Your fear helpfully paints pictures in your imagination, painful pictures of betrayal. There she (he) is with someone else, and it seems to you that in fact her (his) behavior is suspicious. She (he) pays little attention to you, at least less than before. Stopped loving (fell out of love)? You are tormented by jealousy, suspicion, and fear of abandonment. You throw up scenes of jealousy, sort things out, and your beloved (beloved) looks at you with round eyes in surprise and says that you have no reason to be jealous.

You see that you yourself, with your own hands, are gradually destroying your wonderful relationship, making it painful and painful. You are destroying your great love. And it’s always like this: first you don’t know how to get rid of the fear of approach, then - how to get rid of the fear of betrayal, and there is no end to this... Fear always guides you, lives with you, screams at you, makes you hysterical, is jealous of you...

Fear prevents you from living. It brings suffering to you and your loved ones. Get rid of fear! Make him leave your consciousness forever. Because it's possible.

System-vector psychology. How to get rid of fear and phobias

So, what is the technique for getting rid of fear?

Systemic psychoanalysis by Yuri Burlan helps to get rid of fears guaranteed and forever. Many people have already used this method and received excellent and lasting results, getting rid of a variety of bad conditions, including phobias, obsessive fears, and panic attacks.

How it works?

Systemic-vector psychology is the science of vectors, innate desires and mental properties for their implementation, which are indicated on the human body by erogenous zones. If a person is not aware of his true, innate desires, he will not realize them. Then the vectors (that is, the psychic hidden in the unconscious) are not filled, and the person experiences bad states.

You can try systemic psychoanalysis in action completely free of charge at the introductory online lectures “System-vector psychology”. To register for the training, go to.

Proofreader: Galina Rzhannikova

The article was written based on training materials “ System-vector psychology»

Recognizing a person overwhelmed by fears is not at all easy. Not only patients of psychiatric clinics suffer from phobias; it turns out that many quite healthy people are afraid of heights, depths, darkness, etc. We do not know how to eliminate fears, but they can be neutralized.

The difficulty in achieving success is due to a number of reasons. Someone does not believe in themselves and does not know how to gain confidence in their own abilities. Some don’t make enough effort and lack perseverance, while others, even lying on the stove, don’t know how to overcome their laziness.

There are many reasons that prevent us from achieving our goals. Today we will touch upon a problem that concerns most, if not everyone. And this problem is phobias, fears. People who experience obsessive fear are not always unable to achieve success; the stories of many famous people serve as an example. But it is worth knowing that the degree of fear varies.

Sometimes it can take a lot of energy and strength, and sometimes lead to mental disorder. Fears come in different forms; the topic of fear and fear of success was already discussed in one of the previous articles. In this article we will move away from specifics and look at the problem in general. Man is born fearless. A small child is not afraid to touch the fire, trip, fall, etc. All these fears come later. Together with useful fears, useless ones are often acquired. When they become too strong, they are called phobias.

Experts estimate that more than 10 million people suffer from phobias, but the fear of some to acknowledge the problem makes it difficult to know exactly how many. Professor Robert Edelmann, who studies human phobias for the British National Phobia Society, says: "It would be strange if everyone didn't have some kind of phobia, but there are a more limited number of people who suffer from unsettling clinical cases of phobias."

How to get rid of a phobia

You can get rid of phobias, and in some cases even on your own, it is only important to correctly determine what exactly to get rid of. The recommendations will be general in nature, because each specific fear has its own reasons. Don't focus on negative emotions. To do this, you need to cover them with pleasant memories or activities that bring pleasure, and realize yourself in those areas that you do best.

Everyone, even the most timid person, always has a field of confidence - that space, that time, those circumstances and conditions, that business, that person - with whom, where and when everything works out, everything is easy and nothing is scary. There is no need to achieve complete calm in any situation, to expect that fear will evaporate, that stiffness and excitement will disappear. Excitement and combative excitement are precisely what is needed for activity.

It is worth fighting not with fear, but with its intensity. The more a person struggles to get rid of these obsessive thoughts, the more they take possession of him. Feeling fear is inherent in every person, without exception. Fear is the oldest defensive response of all living beings to danger or its possibility. Paradoxically, the best way to truly get rid of fear is to admit that you are afraid and learn to live with this thought. Therefore, you need to acknowledge your fear and even immerse yourself in it, allow yourself to be afraid. And soon you will notice that its intensity gradually decreases.

Play sports. Physical activity and exercise burn off excess adrenaline. Hidden bodily disorders, as well as insufficient fulfillment of life, often make themselves known through failures and disorders precisely at the mental level. Accept yourself for who you are. Every person has everything good and everything bad, every quality you can imagine. Recognize yourself as a single soul - changing, developing and infinitely different in its manifestations. Fear of oneself and one’s manifestations was imposed in childhood by accepting only one’s “bright” image. And this is just a truncated image of reality.

Surely there will be people who believe that the best remedy for obsessive fears is to never be afraid of anything at all. And they will be wrong: if only because, firstly, the absence of any anxieties and fears at all is precisely a sign of a psychiatric disorder. And secondly, of course, a phobia is not the most pleasant phenomenon, but it is probably better to experience fear “out of nowhere” than to lose your life as a result of reckless daring or stupid recklessness.

Getting rid of obsessive thoughts

It is exclusively the mind and ability to think that distinguishes man from other living beings. The brain has made our individual more conscious compared to other inhabitants of the planet. The main goal of consciousness is to create the most rational methods of responding to the world around us. We can be aware of one part of our thoughts because we are purposefully thinking about something. We do not control the other, and it remains in our subconscious. We don't always notice this part of our brain's work as it creates new, significantly more effective behaviors.

As a side effect, our brains, as a result of the “creative” process, can generate truly strange thoughts that can surprise or even alarm. I want to move away from such ideas as quickly and effectively as possible. Let's look at how to get rid of obsessive thoughts and achieve clarity of consciousness. It is not always possible to cope with this task on your own. However, there are a number of exercises from which you can choose one or more that are optimal for yourself.

How to get rid of obsessive thoughts

First, you can try to express your emotions. If disturbing thoughts have taken over your mind, it is enough to list them. This is the method recommended by Gestalt therapist Nifont Dolgopolov. In the event that you are haunted by thoughts like “I don’t have time to do something...” or “I’m worried about something...”, you need to remember the circumstances under which these feelings appeared in you.

Perhaps, when you took on something, you suspected that you would not be able to finish it on time. You need to try to express your emotions very clearly. It would not be superfluous to enhance them with body movements, shades of intonation and gestures. It is better to perform this procedure where you will not be disturbed. Nifont Dolgopolov states that holding back emotions becomes the reason that thoughts constantly revolve around this problem. Once a person has the opportunity to express his emotions, the endless cycle of thoughts stops.

The second method, which helps get rid of obsessive thoughts, is based on proper breathing. In order for disturbing ideas to leave your head, you need to close your eyes and begin to breathe steadily and calmly. When performing this procedure, listen to your body, watch its movements, control your breathing, watch how your stomach rises and falls.

Wellness expert Lelya Savosina, telling how to get rid of obsessive thoughts through breathing, says that while performing this exercise it is better to concentrate on bodily sensations. The procedure helps to focus on something distant and relieves muscle tension. Another way to get rid of obsessive thoughts is the following technique. You need to take a piece of paper and start writing on it everything that comes to your mind. There is no need to select words and focus on spelling. You will be able to watch how your handwriting will turn from choppy and sharp to smooth.

This will mean that you are gradually achieving inner balance. Psychotherapist Alexander Orlov states that this exercise allows you to look at experiences from a different perspective and gives vent to emotions. The same practice is used in the free association method and the guided imagery method. The basis of psychotherapy is free and confidential communication, during which everything that worries and worries is said.

Staying mindful is another way to ensure relief from obsessive thoughts. If a person is immersed in internal experiences, he begins to perceive worse what is happening around him. This mechanism works the other way around. Existential psychotherapist Maria Soloveichik advises focusing on objects and events around you immediately after you notice that you are trapped in obsessive thoughts.

You can pay attention to the most insignificant little things, such as a leaf on a tree. If you don't pay attention to such details, you will return to the realm of thinking. Once you notice this reaction in yourself, again engage in careful observation. Try to expand your field of perception.

For example, after a leaf, start looking at the crown of the tree, from time to time switching to small details. Change your focus periodically. Let not only trees, but also people, houses, clouds and other objects fall into your field of vision. This technique can make your life much easier, since it will be much easier to deal with obsessive thoughts.

Many who are interested in psychology know that a person is constantly in one of three states of his inner “I”: Parent, Child or Adult. Everyone tends to make decisions like an adult, help and care like a parent, and also obey and be capricious like a child.

Doctor of Psychological Sciences Vadim Petrovsky states that constant replaying of obsessive thoughts represents endless communication with one of the “I”. To effectively reduce the notorious internal dialogue to nothing, you must learn to understand which of these three “I”s is speaking at the moment. When your thoughts are focused on a scenario of failure, most likely your inner voice in the form of a parent is speaking to you.

Transactional analyst Isabelle Crespel argues that in such a situation, you need to make sure that the critic begins to speak in the tone of a mentor who tells you how to do the right thing and how to make the right decision. At the same time, you need to mentally support yourself with motivating phrases like “Be sure that everything will work out”, “You can do everything.” This inner attitude will help you concentrate on constructive solutions.

When answering the question of how to distract yourself from obsessive thoughts, it is worth mentioning another method, which is to ask yourself questions. In most cases, we worry not because of real difficulties, but only because of perceived problems. The author of the “Work” method, psychologist Katie Byron, advises that if it is impossible to change reality, try to change your thoughts about it. She suggests asking yourself four questions: “How true is this?”, “Am I one hundred percent sure that this is true?”, “How do I respond to these thoughts?” and “Who would I be without these thoughts?”

Let's say you have no idea what the right thing to do is because you think someone will be upset or angry. Working according to the above-mentioned method, you will come to the conclusion that no one will be angry with you and that you have imagined this for yourself. In another case, you may understand that thoughts of someone’s dissatisfaction are just an excuse for laziness and inaction. This technique will help us understand the relativity of many of our beliefs, change the angle of perception and discover completely unusual solutions to certain problems.

Since it is not always possible to remove obsessive thoughts, you can practice meditation as a way to get rid of unnecessary worries. Yoga trainer Natalya Shuvalova is sure that a person concentrates on good and bad thoughts. Meditation helps us focus exclusively on what benefits us.

You can concentrate on your breath, a specific symbol, or even a sound. To begin with, it will be enough to learn to observe your feelings and mental experiences in a detached manner. Having first taken a comfortable position, begin to monitor all the processes that occur in your brain and body.

Let your emotions, thoughts and sensations flow by. You shouldn't judge them, you just need to try to study them. Natalia Shuvalova says that it is very important to understand that we are able to control thoughts and emotions, and not vice versa. Observation turns off thoughts and frees your head from obsessive ideas.

Another method that helps overcome unnecessary ideas is the method of muting the sound. Business consultant and doctor of psychological sciences Alexey Sitnikov says that we present the most important events and memories for us as vividly and picturesquely as possible.

If you imagine the flow of thoughts as a movie, then the better the quality of the image and sound, the stronger the impact of this or that plot on us. Therefore, the most obsessive ideas and thoughts should be “viewed” with muffled sound and unclear images in order to significantly reduce the level of its impact. This way you will significantly reduce their importance.

If exercises aimed at solving the question of how to get rid of obsessive thoughts do not help, there is a possibility that the latter have become so intense that the above methods do not provide adequate calm. Psychoanalyst Ksenia Korbut believes that obsessive thoughts can be correctly viewed as a defense mechanism of the human psyche, helping to overcome frightening and unpredictable feelings.

They often occur in people who do not know or are unable to show emotions. It is in such situations that a person tries to explain logically certain experiences or reduce them to something rational and understandable. Since this is impossible to do, we are forced to repeat them again and again to no avail. If you cannot escape from obsessive thoughts, it makes sense to contact a specialist who will create the conditions for understanding the world of your own emotions.

Obsessive fears, or nyctophobia, which almost all of us are likely to experience, differ significantly from ordinary fears. This difference lies, first of all, in the fact that with nyctophobia people understand that fear of something - heights, society, spiders, closed spaces, darkness, snakes and other things - is meaningless, but they continue to be afraid.

Nyctophobia is a fairly common phenomenon. There are many types of obsessive fears. Some of them appear in childhood and go away over time, some haunt us even when we become adults. This includes fear of death, thanatophobia, fear of space, agoraphobia and claustraphobia, fear of illness, nosophobia, fear of intimate relationships, intimate phobia, fear of communication, social phobia, and much more.

Panic fears of this kind are often painful and uncontrollable. They appear suddenly, constrain a person’s actions and bring a lot of problems. For example, intimate phobia can significantly interfere with the arrangement of personal life, and social phobia can interfere with normal communication with others. How to get rid of fear and is it possible to cure nyctophobia? In general, each case of its presence is individual. However, there are also general techniques with which the feeling of fear can be, if not completely eliminated, then at least significantly reduced. Let's look at what can be done for this.

Obsessive fears. Signs of nyctophobia

Nyctophobia manifests itself in the fact that people suffering from it constantly and persistently try to avoid situations in which a feeling of fear arises, and panic if they nevertheless find themselves in such situations. Signs of obsessive fears are as follows:

choking, throat spasms;
rapid pulse;
weakness, numbness;
dizziness;
profuse sweating;
severe trembling;
gagging;
numbness in the body;
chaos of thoughts.

The presence of nikophobia can be stated if at least four of all the listed signs are present. Where do they come from, these uncontrollable, senseless fears? According to psychologists, panic fear has a subconscious meaning, and for some reason we need it. But no one can answer why.

One way or another, people suffering from some kind of phobia have a hard time. They reflexively avoid frightening circumstances, knowing full well that in reality nothing threatens them. An obsessive state of fear is painful; it can arise at the most inopportune moment and turn off a person’s consciousness, forcing him to sometimes do crazy things. Let's try to figure out whether it is possible to recover from nikophobia and how to get rid of panic fear using available methods.

How to get rid of a phobia. Time for excitement

Despite the fact that experts have not determined the meaning of panic fears, the reason for their occurrence always exists. It is difficult to identify it without the help of a specialist - this reason lies deep in the unconscious of a person, and its roots may be due to his genetic memory. Therefore, the most effective way to get rid of panic attacks is traditional psychoanalysis. However, this is a rather expensive treatment method, and, of course, not everyone can afford it.

How to get rid of internal fear on your own and is it possible to do it? In general, yes. One way to get rid of some fears is to change your lifestyle so that the fear ceases to be relevant. So, if we are afraid of closed spaces or heights, and at the same time we live on the eighth floor and we have to take the elevator, then we need to find an apartment on the first floor. If someone has a panic fear of public transport, he should find a job near his home, and so on. However, when trying to change our lifestyle, we must take into account that we will only create relatively tolerable circumstances for ourselves, but will not get rid of the phobia itself. Because for some reason our unconscious needs it. And it is quite likely that its true cause is a completely different, seemingly unrelated to the existing fear, discomfort. For example, fear of public transport may be associated with problems at work, and fear of closed spaces may be associated with conflicts in the family.

In a word, the reason for an obsessive state of fear can be anything. It is difficult to determine this reason, but even without knowing it, you can still fight attacks of panic fear. You should not immediately try to get rid of obsessive fears once and for all - their cause is unknown, and such attempts will certainly create new problems. A better place to start is by developing techniques for postponing worry and setting a time to worry.

How to get rid of phobias using this technique? First of all, let’s allow ourselves to have obsessive fears and begin to pay attention to them, controlling the moment the excitement begins. This will allow you to keep your own thoughts within certain limits and not allow them to constantly revolve around the object of panic fear. At the same time, it is necessary to set aside a certain time in order to think about fears and do it consciously. It would be better if, after this time of conscious anxiety comes, you postpone it once, twice, and so on, as far as possible.

How to get rid of the feeling of fear? This time-saving technique needs to be practiced daily. We set aside two periods of time during the day, ten minutes each, and during these periods we consciously devote ourselves to thoughts about our fear. We think only about negative aspects, without allowing any positive thoughts. The problem can be spoken out loud, while avoiding phrases and references to the meaninglessness of one’s own fears. After ten minutes have passed, let go of your fear as you exhale and return to your daily activities.

The main thing in this seemingly paradoxical technique is to intensify negative thoughts to the maximum level. In order to understand how to get rid of obsessive fears, we must experience very strong emotional discomfort. Therefore, during the period of time for excitement, we do not try to convince ourselves that these worries are in vain. On the contrary, we must convince ourselves that our worries are not in vain. And that danger really exists. If after a few minutes we suddenly stop worrying, we simply repeat the thoughts that caused worry before. This state must be maintained for the entire ten minutes, otherwise all our efforts in the fight against panic fears will come to naught.

We usually think that we can worry for quite a long time, but this is not so. Our psyche can withstand the storm only for a while, and then it turns on defense mechanisms and comes to a state of relative stability. And in order to know how to get rid of fear, we need to remember that if we allow the psyche to calm down during the time allotted for excitement, fear will only lurk and then return again. But if we concentrate all our attention on it, artificially forcing ourselves to be afraid for all ten minutes, anxiety will gradually begin to decrease.

No matter how incredible this method “How to get rid of fear” may seem, in practice it works well. This is explained by the fact that previously uncontrollable emotions of horror are processed through the consciousness within ten minutes, and if you pass anxiety-provoking thoughts through it twice a day, the emotions eventually change. After a few days of using the worry-delay technique, it may happen that there is nothing to fill the ten minutes allotted to fear, and instead of anxiety, we begin to experience boredom. Our body's stress system will no longer turn on in response to the appearance of stimuli every time. But, in order for these changes to occur, it is necessary to strictly observe the condition of intensifying negativity during the period of working with panic.

To make this work easier, you can invite someone who can listen to us for ten minutes. This person must have an idea of how to get rid of panic fear in order to support us in a certain way: ask to tell us more about the object of fear, ask what else frightens and worries us, and so on. The main goal of such a person is to keep our attention within the topic and increase the emotions of anxiety, artificially whipping up panic attacks.

Ten days after the start of such activities, anxiety towards the object of fear should decrease significantly. Fears will seem outdated and outdated, and you won’t want to think about them anymore. The essence of this technique is to answer the question. how to get rid of phobias is that we, as it were, agree with our fear when it should act, and it is gradually tamed, waiting for its time allotted by us. If he appears at an inopportune time, there is no need to resist him, let him show himself. However, you should try to put your worries aside for at least a few seconds. In this way, we will gradually begin to gain the upper hand over attacks of panic fear, and over time, the unconscious process will begin to move into the framework of conscious action.

There are several techniques to get rid of obsessive fear.

How to get rid of fear. Assistive Techniques

Our goal is not to stop worrying altogether. In order to understand how to get rid of fear, you need to realize that this fear itself is not the problem. The problem is the reaction to it. Therefore, you need to get rid of fears by changing the way you perceive them. To facilitate this action, you should for a second imagine the event causing panic horror and try to restrain your emotions at least for a few seconds. To do this, let’s mentally step away from the fear-inducing event, admit to ourselves that we are experiencing fear and realize that this is normal. There is no need to analyze your own state; it is enough to simply reconcile your consciousness with it. Then we begin to perform actions that help change the emotions experienced in relation to obsessive fears. How to get rid of internal fears with the help of these actions, and what are these actions?

Act one. Writing down our fears

In order to get rid of panic attacks, you can take a notepad and pencil with you and write down these fears on a piece of paper throughout the day. You need to do this word for word from the moment when anxiety suddenly appeared until the moment when it disappeared. You should write down all mental images, all impulses, formulating them in several phrases. You need to write until the fear disappears. There is no need to try to retell what is happening in your head during this period. It is enough to lay out everything word for word, like a stenographer at a meeting. Every word that comes to mind should be reflected on paper.

How to get rid of obsessive fear with the help of notes? As soon as anxiety appears, we immediately take a pencil and record every thought in a notebook, regardless of whether it has already been written down or not. The essence of this method is that fears laid out on paper seem to take shape, materialize and look primitive and meaningless.

It is quite possible that after a while it will become inconvenient to take notes and you will have to work not to overcome the obsessive fear, but to experience it again. It is quite difficult to write down the same phrase hundreds of times and see some meaning in it each time. But in the end, fears will turn from our overlords into a tedious duty that we want to get rid of as quickly as possible. And the obsessive state of fear will disappear, replaced by the occasional slight anxiety that appears.

Act two. Singing our fears

The next method to answer the question of how to get rid of internal fears is to sing the thoughts that cause anxiety. We sing them exactly as they are imprinted in our heads. For example, if we are afraid of spiders, then we sing: “What a terrible spider! Now he’ll bite me and I’ll die!” As stupid as it may sound, it works great. If we sing about our fears, we simply physically cannot remain in a stressed state.

It is better to do this as follows. We choose a short phrase that reflects our fear and sing it to some simple tune. The meaning of the pension is not important, the main thing is to maintain the motive for a few minutes. As soon as the negative ones associated with obsessive fears begin to weaken, we switch our attention to something else.

Act three. Changing the picture in your head

The previous actions work if fears have been formed into words. How to get rid of fears if they are just a picture that appears in our head? It needs to be replaced with another image that reflects the fear-causing situation in the opposite form. For example, if we are afraid of death or illness, we imagine ourselves happy and healthy, we are afraid of closed spaces, we imagine ourselves in a clean free field, and so on. Or you can, closing your eyes, try to give your fear the shape of, for example, a cloud and send this cloud away. The further it floats, the less negative emotions we should have. You can create different images, the main thing is that they help restore a comfortable state.

Before using any techniques to get rid of panic fears, we need to make sure that we really decide to get rid of these fears and stop the unexpected appearance of obsessive thoughts and images. In the intervals between using techniques, you should try to repeat positive statements to yourself, convincing yourself that thoughts about fears cannot help, therefore there is no point in allowing them to arise. In order to fight fear, faith is necessary.

The techniques proposed above will not be useful immediately, of course. It takes some time for their use to have an effect. After the anxiety subsides, it is advisable to use some simple method of breathing relaxation to consolidate the result. As soon as anxiety drops to a minimum, you will need to switch your attention to some other aspects of life that require a lot of activity, otherwise fear may return again.

The main thing is to remember that it is impossible to suppress panic fear, so you cannot simply fight it. The emotions of fear need to be directed in a different direction, and then it will stop disturbing. Progress can happen quite slowly, but if you persistently pursue your goal, it will definitely happen. Therefore, we do not stop, do not give up, and do not give up, and we will certainly defeat this soul-corroding disease - panic fear.

Fear is a natural and necessary emotion for life, or rather an affective state. Healthy fear ensures self-preservation. This is a sign of intelligence and imagination, the desire to live. Justified fear, such as the fear of a fire caused by an electrical appliance being left on, is useful. Like pain, it alerts us to a possible or emerging problem. But what to do if fear is out of control and interferes with life? Read on.

Like any phenomenon, fear can be viewed from two sides, positive and negative:

The negative power of fear is that, being uncontrollable or turning into anxiety, behavioral disorders and the like, it ruins the life of an individual.
The positive power of fear is that it ensures development. Out of fear of ignorance, schools appeared, out of fear of death and injury in road accidents, mechanics are improving cars, fear of poisoning forces us to process and store food more carefully.

Differences between fear and anxiety

Fear is an emotion that is closely related to another one - anxiety. Sometimes these definitions can be confused. However, there are 3 characteristics that distinguish these concepts:

Fear is more specific, for example, there is a fear of heights. While anxiety does not have clear outlines.
Anxiety is a subjectively significant emotion. It is caused by things and values that are significant for a particular individual. Anxiety arises against the background of a threat to the personality itself, its essence, and worldview.
When faced with anxiety, a person is often helpless. For example, if uncertainty during an earthquake causes anxiety, then a person is unable to influence it.
Anxiety is a constant phenomenon, fear is determined by a specific situation.

Specifics of fear

You can distinguish between real and false fear:

We experience the first in critical situations. For example, when a car is caught in a snow drift and is about to roll over.
False fear - imaginary worries about what did not happen (“What if I get into a skid?”). It is precisely false fears that need to be fought.

When we experience fear, there is an increase in sensory attention and motor tension. That is, we are more actively observing and are ready to quickly run (act).

Uncontrolled and unprocessed fears turn into phobias and anxieties, which provokes neuroticism of the individual.

Signs of fear

Signs of fear include:

anxiety;
anxiety;
jealousy;
shyness;
other subjective states;
uncertainty;
physiological changes;
avoidance of the object of discomfort.

Causes of fear

Among the reasons are:

self-doubt and other disorders;
childhood psychological trauma;
constant stress and frequently recurring critical situations;
the instinct of self-preservation.

The last reason encourages normative fear.

As V. A. Kostina and O. V. Doronina note, fear can be hereditary. Moreover, women are more likely to have social fears, while men are more likely to have a fear of heights. Fear of heights, darkness, fear of doctors, punishment, and loss of loved ones is inherited.

Why is fear dangerous?

When fear occurs, a number of physiological changes occur in the body. The work includes the hypothalamus, pituitary gland and adrenal cortex. As a result of activation of the hypothalamus, corticotropin is produced. It in turn includes the nervous system and the pituitary gland. It triggers the adrenal glands and produces prolactin. The adrenal glands secrete cortisol. At the same time, adrenaline and norepinephrine are produced. All this manifests itself externally and internally:

increase in pressure;
increased heart rate and breathing;
opening of the bronchi;
"goose bumps";
decreased blood flow to the organs of the digestive and reproductive systems;
dilated pupils;
release of glucose into the blood;
rapid fat burning;
increased acidity in the stomach and decreased enzyme production;
shutting down the immune system.

That is, the body comes into tension and takes a low start.

In real danger, this allows you to think faster, see better, hit harder, run faster. But if the fear is imaginary and constant, then the body is not benefited by everything that happens to it at that moment. This is why psychosomatic diseases develop against a background of fear:

stool disorders,
bronchial edema,
dyspnea,
chest pain.

Thus, a vicious circle arises. For example, you are afraid of getting sick, but against the backdrop of fear you get sick. In addition, the more often you experience fear (stress), the less you can rationally assess the situation, which results in chronic phobias.

Don't say that you now have a fear of fear (that wasn't my goal). In any case, we’ll deal with him now. Read on.

The most popular fears: description and solution

One of the popular fears is the fear of death (your own or loved ones). This is the most ambiguous phenomenon:

On the one hand, it can reach such proportions that a person will close himself within four walls and simply rewind the allotted time.
But on the other hand, this is a normal fear that makes us look around when we cross the road.

There is only one way to cope with it - accept it. All people are mortal. There is no point in experiencing death several times in your thoughts and darkening your whole life with this.

Other popular fears include fear of others, of oneself, of time, and of fear.

Fear of others

The basis of fear is criticism, and yours first of all. To overcome this problem, try not to criticize, but to praise. It is human nature to project our shortcomings or problems onto others, that is, in people we notice and criticize what we do not accept in ourselves. And we seem to be playing ahead of the curve until they notice it in our country. That is, we are afraid that our shortcomings will be noticed. This also includes:

pickiness;
grievances;
vindictiveness;
unpleasant character traits (conflict, deceit, dishonesty, avoidance of problems, indecisiveness).

If you notice this in people and are afraid to experience it yourself, then you have probably already experienced it in yourself a long time ago. On the same basis, there is a fear of appearing funny, of falling under the evil spirit of someone. Solution to the problem: demonstrate yourself what you want to see in others.

Fear of yourself

We are talking about the fear of one’s own ailments, imperfections of the body, loss of strength, and the like. The solution to such a problem is to achieve harmony of the body, brain and soul. This is a very difficult and wide path. Simply put, this is getting rid of psychosomatics.

Learn to listen to your body and accept the fact that it is a system capable of self-regulation if it is not interfered with by imaginary fears. Have you ever said: “I don’t understand how I could do this. I won’t repeat it now on purpose”? Here is the answer.

Fear of time

Learn the “here and now” principle. Fear of time passing is often accompanied by self-flagellation due to postponing something for later or to the will of fate. You need to learn to act and take responsibility for your actions.

Get rid of laziness.
Learn the principle “for everything there is a time,” but in the context of your fulfilling your life plan and creating favorable conditions, and not waiting for the intervention of external forces.
Scroll through situations in your head before doing something in practice (only with a successful outcome, of course).

Fear of fear

First of all, learn to call a spade a spade. Not “I’m nervous”, but “I’m afraid of something.” Basically we are talking about fear of the unknown. Read about overcoming it in the paragraph “From fear to freedom” of this article.

Learn to overcome your fears and use them for good. There is no need to be ashamed of fear, but you need to overcome it and resist. The optimal method in this case is “wedge by wedge”. It is important to face your fears. If in alcoholism treatment begins with the acceptance (voicing, recognition) of the problem, then the correction of fears begins with a confrontation.
When working with fears, it is important to understand that it will not work out the first time. You must be aware that it will not be easy, but it will be worth it. In case of failure, have an alternative plan (people with fears are best at coming up with workarounds), but only use it as a plan B.
Pretend you're not afraid of anything. Imagine that you have to play a role on stage. After a while, your brain will believe that you really are not afraid of anything.
Fears about the future are least justified. You create your own future, so pay attention to the present. Fears about him are much more justified. By torturing yourself with something from the future, you ruin your whole life. You exist, not live.
Accept the fact that our life consists of white and black stripes, sometimes gray. Troubles, difficulties and uncertainty will often appear. The important thing is not to be afraid to face it, but to be confident that you can handle it. To do this you need to be the master of your life.
Most fears stem from childhood. But, firstly, a child and an adult perceive the same things differently. Secondly, often fear or disagreement with a specific person is projected onto the subject. For example, you have problems in your relationship with your parents, but you are afraid of the dark (you were once locked in a closet). Then there is only one solution - let go or discuss the grievances.
Have you noticed that fears are always directed to the future (even if they are based on the experience of the past), and fears develop due to the imagination? So why not redirect your energies, for example, into creativity? Learn to switch your attention. Realize that you are expending real physical, mental, and psychological strength working through future events that most likely won't happen. Don't you feel sorry for this?
Fear of the unknown is the most unjustified. You don’t yet know the object (phenomenon) itself, so how do you know that you need to be afraid of it? Give it a try. Haven't been on a plane? Give it a try. And then decide whether you will be afraid or not.

I would like to make a reservation that you should not rush headlong into the pool and neglect your safety. That is, living a full life without fears does not mean going snowboarding, getting hurt and remaining disabled. Living without fear means making your own decisions and taking responsibility for them, understanding all the risks and possible consequences.

The body is capable of self-healing. Your task is to bring him out of the state of eternal tension. And this is what relaxation was invented for. We are talking about conscious relaxation of the body, replacing negative emotions with positive ones. But let me remind you once again that you only need to get rid of unhealthy fear.

Healing Plan

To overcome fear, you need to consistently solve a number of problems.

Replace faith in the bad (this is fear) with faith in the good. There is a recipe for everyone: some turn to nature, others to spirits, God, their own old pleasant memories.
Next, find support from someone and give it yourself.
Learn to listen to your body and trust your intuition.
Find the root cause of false fear.
Create your own recipe for courage. These are detailed aspirations (desires) and ways to achieve them. It is important to describe not only what needs to be done, but also what you can do.
Refocus your attention from the result to the process.

You can read about each of these points and how to implement them in L. Rankin’s book “Healing from Fear.” The work provides practical recommendations on meditation, finding inner strength, and developing courage. For each element (beliefs, courage, search for reasons, etc.) a whole list of techniques with descriptions is presented. The author presented so many techniques in one publication that I think you will definitely find something for yourself there.

From fear to freedom

If you are still reading this article, then you are probably in constant captivity of your own fears and are looking for a way to freedom. Right? Well, he is. Includes 5 items:

Exit from the unconscious. Avoiding risk takes more energy than taking the risk itself. A person is driven by the thought “better security than regret.” In order to step over this step, ask yourself the question: is the comfort zone really what it is for you? Imagine who you could be if you didn't have fears.
Getting out of your perceived comfort zone. At this stage, a person is driven by the conviction that uncertainty is the only constant and clear thing in his life. That is, a person understands that he is infringing on himself, but remains in his old place. At this stage, it is important to stimulate yourself with praise. You are a brave person and will be able to get out of your zone.
At the third stage, a person is not afraid of uncertainty, but also does not seek it. Doubt more, be curious.
Search for the uncertain, the unknown, the new. Learn to see opportunities.
Acceptance of uncertainty as such (in the concept of peace). Realize that anything can happen, but every event has meaning.

The fifth stage is the final one. This is the freedom without fear that you need to enjoy. However, this is the most unstable stage. Your freedom must be constantly reinforced and supported by practice. Otherwise it's easy to lose it.

Emergency help

If fear takes you by surprise, you can quickly find inner strength by switching your attention. Having realized the fear, direct your attention to your brightest passion, desire. Concentrate on this. Want it so much that there is no room for fear. Even if the objects of passion and fear are from different “worlds”. Convince yourself that you will quickly deal with what scares you, and then do what you want.
The second way to quickly overcome fear is to imagine what it deprives you of. Usually people evaluate only one side: what fear saves them from. Imagine how fear clamps down on your potential, your individuality, your originality.
Practice self-hypnosis. Repeat daily in front of the mirror, “I am the master of my life. Everything that happens (both good and bad) depends on me. There is no place for fear, as well as meaning in it.”
If the fear is clearly defined, then thoroughly study all its aspects. Look him in the face. Find the positives.
The most non-standard and categorical method of struggle is worrying about the consequences of worries. This is a dubious method, but it exists. Imagine how the situation will worsen from your worries (after reading this article, you know what your body experiences during a period of fear). Oddly enough, the awareness of “playing against yourself” will calm you down. But I’ll say right away that this method is not suitable for everyone. You can go into even greater self-torture. Be careful!

Childhood fears

Despite the individual nature of fears (although, as we remember, they are not as subjective as anxiety), they are based on the current need of age. Therefore, we can generally classify fears by age:

Up to six months - fear of sudden and loud sounds and movements, loss of support.
From six months to a year - fear of changing clothes, changing what is familiar, unfamiliar people, heights.
From one to two years - fear of doctors, injuries, separation from parents.
From two to three years - fear of the dark, parental rejection, animals, loneliness, nightmares.
From three to seven years - fear of insects, water, heights, fairy-tale characters, misfortunes, disasters, fires, school.
School period - fear of sharp sounds, death, physical violence, loss of loved ones. Along with this, social fears arise that persist in the future (fear of being late, not being able to complete a task, of being punished). If you don’t work through these fears, then there will be a fear of not living up to expectations, of looking stupid; relationship problems.

Age-related fears are normative if the child does not drop out of life (sociable, open). They will pass on their own. But if a child avoids communication, is constantly afraid and worried, then professional correction is needed.

Children's fears can be imitative or personal in nature. In the first case – copying someone’s behavior, in the second – your emotions under the influence of difficult situations.

In addition, fears can be short-term (up to 20 minutes), fleeting (go away after a conversation), or prolonged (up to 2 months, even with correctional work).

Children's fears: what to do?

You can fight children's fears with the help of fairy tale therapy. As part of this, I recommend that you read the book by R. M. Tkach “Fairytale Therapy for Children’s Problems.” In the work you can find not only a description of the method, but also the material (plots) of the fairy tales themselves.

Don't shame your child for his fears, but ask about them. For example, what he saw, what it looked like, why it came.
Accept your child's fear and tell a real or fictional story of personal fear and overcoming it.
Do not lock your child in a dark room for punishment, do not scare him with Baba Yaga or the “evil uncle” who will take him away. This is a direct path to neuroses and fears.
Ask what your child is watching or reading. Discuss this together.
To overcome specific fears, use fairy tale therapy or ridiculing fears.

Ridiculing involves visualizing fear (on a piece of paper) and then adding elements that are funny (for a child).

I also recommend the book by S. V. Bedredinova and A. I. Tashcheva “Prevention and correction of fears: a textbook.” It presents many practical options for therapy with children to overcome fears. I don’t think it makes sense to list the methods here. The manual describes doll therapy, art therapy, a correction program, and much more (with indications and contraindications for each method, features of implementation). The phenomenon of children's fears themselves is also described.

Results and literature on the topic

Fear is the echo of the animal in man, the primitive. Previously, this emotion was justified even if it was constant. But in the modern world this prevents a person from living. The situation gets even worse if fear is intertwined with anxiety, shame, guilt and other emotions.

The danger of fear is not far-fetched. It not only creates psychological discomfort, but also destroys the body on a physical level. In part, the phrase “Whoever is afraid of something will happen to him” is true. And we are not talking about the highest powers, attracting misfortunes and illnesses. The point is that, experiencing fear, our body radically changes its functioning: an excess of hormones arises (with prolonged excessive influence they provoke imbalance and intoxication, destruction of organs), the digestive and reproductive systems fade into the background, the activity of the cardiovascular system gains momentum . A person can really get sick.

You need to get rid of fear (let me remind you, false fear). But only childhood fears can go away on their own. Adults will have to consciously break themselves, rebuild their belief system, challenge themselves constantly, and draw up an action plan.

I recommend reading another book: D. T. Mangan “The Secret of an Easy Life: How to Live Without Problems.” The author reveals his own concept, according to which we are a complex mechanism whose systems require passwords to enable or disable them. The book provides practical recommendations for restructuring your thinking, including getting rid of fears. To solve each problem, Mangan suggests using a unique password. These are the words to say in difficult situations. And from them, supposedly, the situation will turn in your favor. I haven’t tried this approach myself, so I can’t say anything good or bad. But in my opinion, the idea of the concept itself is interesting.

In the fight against fears, as in any business, the main thing is the beginning! You yourself will not notice how it will become easier to fight. Gradually it will no longer be a struggle. Well, the result in the form of complete mental freedom is the highest reward. I wish you success in your fight against your inner demons!

Man is an undeniably intelligent creature, clearly aware of his own actions, but certain reactions of his body cannot be controlled, or considerable effort must be expended to achieve this. In particular, in moments of panic, when, by force of circumstances, a person finds himself in a frighteningly difficult situation, his actions are often devoid of logic - harmless things become a source of negative emotions, the body trembles and weakens, control over thought processes is lost, as, indeed, over any emotions .

As a result, you have to think about how to cope with the phobia and pacify the uncontrollable fear. Some fears are harmless, others can turn into an unbearable burden, since they become an obstacle to social life, communication, work activity, and prevent you from enjoying pleasant little things. The fight against phobias in an advanced form is quite difficult, but quite real - clinics and psychological centers are created for this purpose.

Phobias cannot be ignored, but must be treated correctly

Before you think about how to get rid of a phobia, you need to be sure of its presence - first you need to distinguish such phenomena from the fear of certain events and things inherent in any person. There are four factors that help recognize uncontrollable fear:

Significant intensity attached to certain objects, thoughts or circumstances.
Stability, since the nature of the phenomenon under consideration is constant, it does not go away on its own.
Unreasonableness is when uncontrollable fear arises without basis as a result of certain expectations.
Life restrictions - ordinary fear can be overcome, but an uncontrolled reaction forces a person to avoid participating in certain events and situations with all his might.

A number of signs indicate that treatment of fears and phobias is required:

Exaggerated fear, panic at the sight of a certain object or in the event of a special situation.
Uncontrollable trembling, rapid heartbeat, increased sweating, dry mouth, possible feeling of nausea and dizziness.
There is mental retardation and the impossibility of constructing a logically verified action plan.
An uncontrollable desire appears to run away as far as possible, to hide securely.
After what you have seen or experienced, you feel weak, have nightmares and become paranoid.

Despite the fact that psychiatrists say that a complete logical explanation of fear is impossible, this statement can be disputed, since there are many methods to get rid of a phobia, which requires understanding the root cause of its occurrence. There are many types of fears - a person can be afraid of spiders, sharp objects, water, open spaces and other things. However, there are the most common causes of uncontrollable fear, these include:

Fear of closed spaces - claustrophobia. The phenomenon may be accompanied by strong rapid heartbeat, chest pain and dizziness.
If you have a fear of heights, they talk about acrophobia, in this state a person experiences a real panic attack and is unable to think normally.
At social phobia a person experiences panic when it is necessary to perform public actions. In general, about 13% of the planet's inhabitants suffer from this type of pathology.
At zoophobia a person is afraid of certain animals, and the phenomenon can be a consequence of negative communication experiences or transmitted from other people.

Because of acrophobia, a person behaves inappropriately when he is at a height

The danger of the condition and the possibilities of modern therapy

Now let's talk about whether treatment for phobias is required, how necessary professional intervention is, and how to get rid of phobias and fears on your own.
Considering that panic states, even those that do not occur too often, have a negative impact on the quality of life, it is necessary to ask the question of how to cure a phobia, especially since today there are many techniques that allow you to cope with this condition. The effectiveness of therapy is high both in the case of professional intervention and in self-medication, subject to the basic rule - there must be a willingness to analyze the underlying factors that provoked the development of fear and a sincere desire to eliminate it from one’s own life. When approaching the problem, specialists use a specific scheme on how to get rid of phobias, fear and panic states:

First stage– a clear definition of the phenomenon that causes fear and worsens physical condition.
Second phase– work with the very cause of fear, while professionals at this stage use hypnosis and psychotherapy techniques. Conducting special sessions helps the patient to realize and accept his fears, and allows him not to lose constructive thinking in the event of a critical situation.
Third stage how to treat phobias - controlling fears in practice and the ability to make the right decisions without the desire to escape from reality.

It should be noted that when deciding how to treat phobias in adults, a specialist can use pharmaceutical drugs that help relieve nervous tension and reduce the occurrence of panic attacks. However, such drugs are quite dangerous to health, their use is fraught with the risk of developing pharmacological dependence, and therefore it is undesirable to get carried away with them.

Getting rid of the problem yourself

When considering how to deal with phobias and fears on your own, the most common opinion is that treatment should be handled exclusively by a professional. However, this approach is incorrect - in the case when the patient is determined to have a successful outcome and believes in himself, it is possible not only to reduce the manifestations of panic fears, but also to completely get rid of them.

Phobias need to be treated by a psychotherapist

In many ways, an independent approach to how to deal with fears and phobias resembles the approach of a professional psychotherapist, excluding the technique of hypnosis. First of all, you need to ask yourself what exactly is the source of panic fear - not justified fear, but a feeling that cannot be controlled. After all, fear in the usual sense is a natural instinct of self-preservation characteristic of any living creature.

After determining the source of the problem, you should master the basic method, which will allow you to treat phobias and fears yourself. We are talking about desensitization, which is the ability to relax precisely at the moment when panic begins to manifest itself. Now about how to use it - first you need to completely relax and realize your fear by determining the answers to two important questions. How bad and scary is it really? Is it possible that the victim is exaggerating the danger?

When considering phobias and how to combat them on your own, relaxation deserves special attention. The desired position is horizontal, after which the auto-training session begins. To achieve the desired effect, a voice recording can be used, turned on if necessary. This kind of sessions needs to be carried out not only during panic attacks, but also in a calm state, when there is no source of fear, which in the future will allow you to more quickly achieve the required state.

A very important aspect is proper breathing, which helps restore psychological balance and reduce heart rate and pulse rate. During the relaxation process, it is recommended to listen to your own breathing, while fully surrendering to the physical sensations, which will speed up the procedure and achieve a more complete effect.

To summarize the above, we can distinguish six stages on how to deal with phobias on your own:

analysis of the source of unreasonable fear;
awareness of fear and its acceptance;
a gradual decrease in the strength of the manifested fear;
the ability to relax in a critical situation;
restoration of breathing;
restoration of psychological balance through auto-training.

Effective techniques to combat pathology

There are special techniques that allow you to cope with far-fetched pathological fear.

Breathing exercises help fight phobias

Let's look at the most effective ways to get rid of a phobia yourself using the following techniques:

Turning off negative thinking, which allows you to cope with fixation on negative aspects, suggests using the “electric switch” technique. Your own fear is represented in the form of a relay that turns off with one jerk downwards - you should imagine this process as clearly as possible in all the details.
You get rid of fear with the help of breathing - inhaling gives courage to the body, exhaling eliminates panic. In this case, after inhalation there is a slight delay, but exhalation should take twice as long as inhalation.
It is necessary to do exactly what causes panic - in this case, a “drive” arises, a special energy that can help to realize oneself. If, for example, a person has social phobia and fear of public speaking, it should be done at every opportunity.
The principle of “knocking out wedge with wedge” suggests the use of a technique based on the independent invocation of physiological reactions corresponding to the phobia - rapid heartbeat and intermittent breathing. This approach destroys the integrity of the fear response, resulting in the possibility of awareness and taking control of emotions.
The technique of “playing a theatrical role” allows you to overcome subconscious attitudes - you need to portray a confident person, deliberately straightening your shoulders, taking on an imperial posture with your chin held high. A slight smile is also necessary - it is enough to stay in this state for just a few seconds so that the brain can respond to the body’s reactions and eliminate fear.

Consolidating the effect obtained

In order to prevent the panic state from returning, constant work on your own personality and self-esteem will be required.

Focusing on the positive is the best prevention of phobias

For this, there is also a certain scheme of actions that should be followed in order to get the maximum positive effect:

all victories, even the most insignificant ones, must be recorded;
failures are carefully analyzed in order to be able to write the next script that will be aimed at success;
it is necessary to create your own support by building support in the form of faith in science or in higher powers - the main goal is to gain confidence in a successful outcome when using your own capabilities to the maximum;
a person should be focused on the positive; one can rely on the love of loved ones, a friendly attitude towards others and the perception of a reciprocal disposition.