The Art of Conquering Fears

Many citizens have a fear of something. These fears can range from a fear of falling to fearing animate or inanimate objects. Myself as most people have fears. This article will go through how I conquered my fear of heights and took the plunge in jumping out of planes and rappelling.

Fear in my theory is an imprisonment. It imprisons the individual from accomplishing the things the individual may have always wanted to accomplish. Fear holds the individual from following his/her dreams because the person may encounter the particular fear in order to achieve the dream that is pursued.

No matter what you are trying to do, your body may have the natural instinct to not attempt a feat that may be dangerous. This is natural. If an act is perceived as dangerous your body’s natural reaction will be to keep you safe. Certain methods that will be discussed in this article may help you override these instincts and trick your mind into enjoying or seeing fearful scenes.

Let us first grasps the understanding of why we fear. Your brain is hard wired to fear situations and certain act that could be harmful to you. The part of your brain that controls your reactions to fear is called the Amygdala. This almond shape part of your brain is no bigger than your fingernail. This part of your brain controls the fears that you feel.


Figure 1 Image of the Amygdala

According to studies the Amygdala responds to severe traumas and other fears responses. Some scientists believe genetically some people are different in their fear or have higher levels of fear than others such as panic disorders.

When you are afraid, and I can attest to this, you can have worried thoughts. You start to feel physical sensations such as sweating, increased irrational behaviors, and behaviors to escape the situation.

Flight or fight is a common term and is associated with the Amygdala. The fight or flight theory is associated with reactions such as increased heart rate, muscle tension, sweaty palms. The palms can sometimes be cold to the touch and an upset stomach can sometimes be associated with the acute condition.

Most cases with fear you could develop a physical conditioning from this. According to some Psychologist, in your developmental stage you could have been chased by spiders and the sight of spiders could be etched in your brain for the rest of your adult life and create a fear. Minor stimulus such as seeing the object of your fear can cause a fear reaction.

Myself, I had to override the natural instincts that once imprisoned me. I broke free of this prison. I know, different methods work for different people. The following exercise worked for me and hopefully it will work for you.

There are four steps that I have developed help quell the anxiety at the moment of facing your fear and trying to place your mind at ease. This method has helped me in anxious moments such as skydiving, rappelling and public speaking.

The four steps consist of the following:

• Goal
• Breathing
• Visualize
• Speaking positive

The four steps you can be applied to any situation that may be fearful or cause great anxiety to you. The first step is the Goal. Place in your mind what you want your goal to be. For example, for the four steps we will say your fear is heights. Place what you want to eventually achieve such as skydiving or just being able to look over the ledge of a tall building (i.e. The Sears Tower in Chicago, IL). The goal could be to move closer each week to the ledge of a building. Have the goal set in mind and move to the next step.

The next step is breathing. Earlier in the article I mention some of the symptoms you may experience with fear? Breathing can calm your nerves, heart rate and alleviate some of the anxiety symptoms you may experience. The breathing technique that worked for me is breath in for a count of four and then breath out for a count of six. Repeat this step until you feel you have a grasp on the situation.

The next step is visualizing the situation. Visualize yourself stepping towards that ledge and visualize your self eventually peeking over the ledge of the building. Most people fear the unknowing but with this step your mind can think you have already done it once before. You can start conditioning your mind and prepare yourself for the experience.

Finally, speaking positively. If you tell yourself over and over again that you cannot do this. You will not be able to do it. You might as well talk yourself and motivate your self by speaking positive that you can do it. With negative thinking come negative results.

Everyone has fear or a little anxiety about something. Remember that is normal. Some fears are hard wired in us. We just have to overcome them and not be imprisoned in ourselves. These steps should be helpful on your journey to break out of your fear prison. Good luck!