Fear could save us from various situations, but it could also be the reason why we become paralyzed and stop doing important things, so it would be worth overcoming it. Here are the experts’ recommendations:
Sweating, strong palpitations and increased attention are some of the signs that indicate that we are feeling fear, which, says Berta Lida Barco Barrera, clinical psychologist, is a natural survival mechanism. “If we didn’t have it, we would die. Our ancestors would have died when facing a wild animal without feeling fear,” she adds.
Likewise, María Inés Elgueta, a clinical psychologist, points out that fear is “a sensation of the body, an unpleasant feeling, which makes us alert to dangers, real or supposed, that may exist.”
But, although it is a defense mechanism that allows us to survive, “the problem is when it stops being exclusively for survival when we confuse it and act unconsciously because we believe that fear will help us cope with life,” says Barco Barrera.
More than a fear
When we feel fear, “we perceive a stimulus that we unconsciously believe is harmful and we are filled with an uncontrolled feeling that does not allow us to become aware of whether it is real or not, so we react in an altered way,” explains Barco Barrera.
And when this goes beyond the norm, when the fear is unreal, “phobias are generated, which are a type of anxiety disorder caused by a strong and irrational fear,” explains Elgueta. In these situations, Barco Barrera adds that “we have irrational reactions from our psychic system and phobias prevent us from carrying out daily activities when we perceive a paralyzing feeling.”
On the other hand, psychologist Barco Barrera indicates that “anxiety is a problem with very high rates worldwide. Some studies show that, in Guatemala, 27% of people have suffered from some mental disorder and anxiety is one of them.”
How to overcome fears
Some confuse fear with phobia, but Elgueta explains that the latter is when the magnitude of the fear is such that it paralyzes your life. In other words, a phobia is a serious problem and it is important to treat it with psychology professionals to overcome it through therapy and thus not allow yourself to stagnate in some area in which you want to develop or stop doing something that attracts your attention.
Similarly, Alfonso Méndez Alegre, a psychologist at the Central Institute, told EFE that “if we avoid a situation we are in, in the short term we will feel instant relief and a pleasant sensation, but, in the long term, if detours become our resource to face feared situations, we will never end up overcoming them.”
According to Barco Barrera, overcoming a phobia greatly benefits us, because “otherwise, we will continue to suffer from wanting to do many things and not being able to do them.” He adds that one way to overcome them is through a psychotherapy program with specialized methods to heal fears.
“Often, these feelings come from childhood. Children are frightened and believe that life is about fear,” she says, and Elgueta adds that the origin could be rooted in a traumatic situation.
Méndez Alegre therefore advises that you learn to identify fear and name it. “Identifying the sensation can help you continue to act,” he says. Then, you must confront it and work on it. To do this, analyze the situations to achieve change. Finally, if these steps are not of much help, seek psychotherapy.
For this reason, according to Elgueta, cognitive behavioral therapy should be carried out in which the person identifies what their fears are, the symptoms they present, the thoughts that cross their mind in certain situations, and learn to identify when the attack begins and how to control this irrational fear.
Another way to overcome fears, says Barco Barrera, is through like-minded groups in which you share your experiences. The psychologist also indicates that neurolinguistic programming is used, which seeks a change in the unconscious so that the person rationally understands that one cannot fear everything that we experience daily.
The idea is to face your fears so that they do not become an impediment to achieving your goals. If necessary, seek help from experts.