We are all afraid of something in our life, someone loneliness, someone hunger. Some are spiders and snakes, others – diseases, others – public transport, etc. D. Both ordinary people and outstanding personalities have their fears and phobias. For example, Sigmund Freud suffered from agorathobia, fear of open space, was afraid of weapons, fern, the number of “62”, even to look people in the eyes and was afraid. Julius Caesar panicked with a thunderstorm, Napoleon hated white horses and cats, Stalin avoided flights on airplanes, and Hitler was horrified to be afraid of mud and took a bath several times a day.
It is difficult to list the fears and phobias of human. It is also interesting that even every nation has its own fears, although there are some and general. For example, the British are afraid of spiders, the Japanese – thunder, fire, earthquakes. It is curious that the number “13” is terrifying the inhabitants of many countries. In England, officially, at the level of the law, the exit of ships in the sea is prohibited, surgeons do not conduct operations on Friday 13th. In the USA, for example, in most houses there is no 13th floor, there are no 13th wards or rooms in hospitals and hotels, and if 13 guests are gathered in Paris, then a special person can be hired for a fee, who will be the 14th guest.
It must be admitted that these or other fears or phobias are for everyone, just every person has his own scale or a measure of maximum and minimum. For some, for example, a trip to the elevator causes only a slight excitement, while in others the same situation provokes a panic state with all the ensuing consequences. Fear is a natural protective reaction of the body to a possible danger. But when he makes himself felt in situations where life does not really threaten life, he has to talk about phobia. Most of our phobias invented, drawn by our imagination. One thing is indisputable: the presence of fear prevents us from fully living. With fear and phobia, you can and should fight.
First you need to admit to yourself that fear exists, not to pretend that it is not, to accept it, in other words, look into the face of your “enemy”. Succumbing to our phobias, their chole and cherishing, we, first of all, inhibit our personal development, we prevent ourselves from growing and developing further. Your fears must be overcome gradually, step by step. For example, you are afraid to ride in public transport, this happens. To overcome the feeling of fear for starters, just stand at a stop, get used to buses, trolleybuses. After some time you can drive one stop, and go on foot and so on the remaining distance. Yes, it will be very difficult. Shaking knees, cotton legs, lack of air, knocking in temples, increasing blood pressure – these are integral satellites of panic and fear. But you can’t stop halfway and give fear to win over you, you need to pull yourself together and move on.
There is such a method of combating panic attacks as visualization or modeling. Drawing in your thoughts the situation with fear, you seem to “lose” possible circumstances, experiencing them. Such a regular playing of one’s own fears in the head gradually reduces their significance. Moreover, when modeling a terrible situation, try to come up with the most successful finale. Believe me, it works well!
The next important stage is relaxation and proper breathing. When a person feels fear, the muscles of our body begin to contract involuntarily, strain. Try to relax as much as possible, it will reduce fear. You should also consider how you breathe during panic attacks. The right breathing technique is perhaps the best assistant in the fight against fear. Breathe calmly and rhythmically, that is, 5-6 seconds slow inhale, then holding your breath for 5-6 seconds and a calm exhalation at the same pace of 5-6 seconds. Such breathing contributes to the most complete relaxation.
A very good and effective method in the fight against the phobia recognize creativity. For example, the recognized king of horror Stephen King is afraid of the darkness, aircraft, black cats and the number “13”. He sublimes all his fears into creativity, splashing them on paper. His colleague in Peru Edgar Allan in his life was also afraid of the dark. The family and the school that the boy attended was so poor that they could not even buy textbooks for children. Mathematics teacher came up with classes in the cemetery. Each student chose a grave monument to himself and, by calculating the date of birth from the date of death, determined how many years the deceased person lived. Knowing such facts from the biography of Edgar, it is not surprising that it is the founder of the world’s literature of horror.
If it happens that you are not able to cope with your fear, then you can no longer do without the help of a psychotherapist. An experienced and sensible doctor, having conducted all the necessary examinations, will surely tell you a way out of the situation, will help you choose the appropriate treatment. Why do I focus on the phrase “Explanatory doctor”? The fact is that many people suffering from a particular phobia do not even suspect their internal hidden capabilities. They think that they cannot help themselves, but they just don’t know how to do it. And here the psychotherapist plays a huge role. It happens that a person just needs to be directed in the right direction, tell him that he himself can cope with his problem without resorting to the use of drugs. It would be too easy to drink a pill with fear and self -doubt and that’s all – the problem is solved. The most unpleasant thing is that the problem can only be temporarily alleviated with medicines or vice versa to aggravate, but will not get rid of it. Yes, of course, we will not succeed in getting rid of any unpleasant situations that have become the rootaches of the emergence of phobia, since they were forever imprinted in our subconscious, but you can learn to control and manage their fear. It is necessary to instill in a person the belief that he can if he does not get rid of, then manage his fear. We need a huge desire. Believe me, our thoughts are material, you just have to make efforts and start acting!
As an epilogue, I would like to give a parable about the plague. Once one pilgrim, having met the plague, asked where it goes. She replied that she was going to Baghdad to be killed by 5 thousand people. A couple of days later, the same pilgrim again met the plague and reproached it for the fact that 50 thousand people died. But the plague objected to him, saying that she ruined only 5 thousand, and the rest died of fear.
Instructive, true? Solting the question of whether to give a residence permit of fear in his head, we can think about whether he (fear) should be controlled by us, prevent our development, interfere with harmony with ourselves and the world around him? I think no, not worth it ..