“Believe in yourself, take on your challenges, dig deep within yourself to conquer fears. Never let anyone bring you down. You got to keep going.” – Chantal Sutherland

Many of us live with different fears for years, if not during a lifetime. It is normal to feel anxious or afraid when you perceive there is a real threat to your or a loved one’s security, safety, and welfare. However, many fears we drag with us are not adaptive and don’t represent the real threat. Yet, we cannot get rid of them.

According to findings in neuroscience, fear can affect your memory and your perception of reality. It can damage the hippocampus, a small organ in our brain’s temporal lobe, the part of the brain that regulates emotions and is associated with long-term memory. According to researchers from the University of Minnesota, fear can have other longstanding consequences on our health such as chronical depression, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal diseases, accelerated aging and even premature death.

Therefore learning how to control your fears can help you stay healthy and literally save your life.

The Childhood Fear

For years I’ve had a fear of swimming. I believe it originated when I almost drowned in a swimming pool as a small child. I never had swimming lessons as a child and never went swimming after the incident. Recently, I decided that it’s a perfect time to learn how to swim and conquer my fear. The first day of my swimming lessons I was able to learn how to feel comfortable in the water. After many other lessons, I learned the basics of floating and breathing while in the water. I was astonished to discover how relaxing and fun it was to swim.  I spent my whole life denying the pleasure of this activity just based on my fear.

But where does fear come from? We all have fears, but we also manage our anxiety differently. However, what I learned is that fear shouldn’t hold us in place and not allow us to move forward. Whether it’s the fear of spiders or fear of dealing with difficult people; how we handle it will impact our lives.

How to Conquer your Fears

There are some simple strategies available to help us cope with our fears and with a bit of luck, conquering them completely. Try building these strategies into your daily routine, and you’ll be amazed!

1. Understand your Fear

Fear exists to keep you safe. Try to understand your fear and use it to plan your actions, instead of letting the fear control them.

2. Practice Mindfulness and Breathing

Focus your mind on the present moment and don’t interpret or judge your emotions. Just be aware of them. Breathe deeply and calmly until you feel totally relaxed. Repeat this exercise a few times each day.

3. Get Control of your Thoughts

Your imagination can be your worst enemy sometimes. Learn how to control negative thoughts. Calm down and breathe deeply. Then imagine the situation you’re dreading, but picture yourself calm and composed in that situation. Repeat this every time you start imagining the worst possible scenarios.

4. Get Informed

Most of the time, we are afraid of the things we don’t know much about. The fear is based on a lack of information, so make sure you get the knowledge needed to understand the situation that triggers your anxiety instead of speculating about it.

5. Seek a Therapist

Sometimes confronting your fears on your own may not be sufficient. If your fear disables you from moving forward with your life, seek a professional mental health help. A therapist can provide you with the tools and strategies you need to untangle the causes of your fears and ways to overcome them.