It's no secret around here that anxiety is my enemy.. anxiety and of course the skanky old black mongrel who comes sniffing around from time to time.
But I also have another nemesis, one that likes to creep up on me at the most inconvenient times. One that likes to grip me around the throat and squeeze tightly whilst it whispers in my ear until such a point that I either admit defeat or find the strength to beat it away.
I'm talking about fear you guys.
Fear is an unpredictable asshole who shows up out of the blue and steals both your thunder and your confidence... if you let it of course.
For me, fear manifests in so many different ways... fear of failure, fear of letting people down, fear of not being good enough, fear of something happening to the people I love, fear of someone not liking me, fear around whether I am a good enough mum, wife, daughter, friend, sister etc, fear relating to health, wealth and happiness...
And fear of fear itself.
Now I am no expert on this matter by any means. Heck I am a work in progress, possibly even one of those half ass attempts at a project you have lying around that you go back to every now and then when you can be bothered. Except this is one thing that does bother me and will continue to bother me until I get a better handle on it.
I am sick of fear dictating how I feel on any given day and I am tired of it constantly wearing me down and so I have been working on some strategies that I use as ammunition in my fight against fear and I don't know... I thought it might be useful for any of y'all who might be struggling to get the better of your own fears too.
1. TALK ABOUT THEM
Dead set, fears are so much bigger and scarier when they live in your head.Often when you talk about whatever it is you are fearful of, out loud to other people, it doesn't seem so scary anymore. In some cases, those fears might kind of look a little ridiculous and believe me - nothing beats fear like laughing at it.
2. GET REAL
So many of my fears are completely irrational in that they are based upon things that could but probably wouldn't ever will happen.. or at worst are highly unlikely to happen.So why do I give them any air time?
Get in to the habit of asking yourself - Can I prevent it? Do I have any control over it?
If the answer is no then chuck that fear out of your mind and let the universe take care of it for you.
Believe that the universe always wants what is best for you, and so let it be the watchman for those worries on your behalf.
3. DON'T GIVE THEM ENERGY
You've all heard about the Law of Attraction right?It is something I very much believe in and the basic principle of it is - you attract what you give energy to.
So if you give energy to positive, happy and peaceful thoughts... then that is what you will attract. On the contrary, if you spend all your energy worrying about stuff and being scared of things, then, it pretty much goes without saying what you will end up manifesting for yourself.
4. TELL YOUR HEAD TO SHUT UP
Our brains are not who we are. By that I mean our brain is not our soul or the essence of our spirit. In actual fact our brains are just another body part... and yet we give it so much power.If your hand started randomly slapping you in the face... would you just sit there and let it?
OK so you might be for a moment or two because... well let's face it the shock of your own hand hitting you would probably be a bit freaking funny at first, but if it hurt you, then you sure as hell wouldn't let it keep doing it right?
So why do we let our brains constantly hurt us through our thoughts?
It doesn't make sense does it?
That matter in our heads is just a misbehaving body part - so tell it to "Shut up".
5. STARE THEM DOWN
You see the thing about fear is that they are much like your classic bully in that they don't like to be called out on their behaviour.They want you to be scared... that's what they feed on and how they control you.
So stand up tall, take a big deep breath and stare that fear down.
If that means taking a few short moments of ridiculous courage to actually do or think about something that freaks the hell out of you... DO IT. It is in the bigger picture such a small price to pay for destroying that fear once and for all.
Conquering a fear empowers you. It's like that victory gives you a rush of confidence that if used efficiently, can help you to battle a whole army of fears.
Celebrate every victory for what it is... you winning, and that it something totally worthy of celebration right?
Right!
Are you a fearful person?
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by your fears?
This week is World Mental Health Week, aimed at getting people talking about their mental health and to educate and create awareness. You mental health is just as important as the health of any other part of your body, so make sure you are looking after it OK. For more information on World Mental Health Week visit here
Header Image Source: Michael Ramey - Unsplash