Stop Letting Fear Control Your Life

Best relaxing podcasts to listen to if you need help managing your anxiety

Find it hard to switch-off, relax and unwind amidst the pandemic?

Maybe you can’t help but check the news before bed time, only to regret it and be filled with panic when you’re meant to be settling down for night.

Or maybe juggling remote working, childcare and suddenly having your partner at home with you 24/7 is making it difficult to focus your thoughts.

But if you need something to get your mind off this weird time we’re living in, these 10 podcasts will remind you to breathe, focus on the here, and now and even have a good laugh...

Read on here: https://www.womanandhome.com/health-and-wellbeing/health/relaxing-podcasts-354293/

7 Tips to Keep Your Mental Health in Check During Isolation, According to Brain Experts

Right now, our lives have been turned upside down and inside out—or at least, that’s what it feels like. While most of us are still allowed to leave our homes for essentials and outdoor exercise, staying indoors away from people most of the time isn't exactly doing wonders for our mental health. “Isolation by its very nature can be harmful to our mental wellbeing," says Sara Davenport, health expert and author of Reboot Your Brain ($18). "We humans are creatures that blossom when in close contact to others. We like to live in groups; we thrive together. The touch of a human hand, and the attention and love of another being is what, for most of us, gives point to life and a reason for existence." She goes on to say that separation and isolation can destroy our spirit and cause us to feel stressed, so it’s unsurprising that the mere thought of a prolonged period of isolation can have a negative impact on our wellbeing...

Read on here:https://www.byrdie.com/mental-health-tips-4801689

Overcoming fear: How to Challenge Yourself Everyday

Fear serves a useful function. It keeps us safe by placing us in a high state of alert when we sense danger. But irrational or illogical fear can also limit our lives and keep us from rising to new challenges. In those with anxiety disorder, the normal nervous system response to a threat is easily aroused and difficult to subdue. Fear can cause physical and psychological symptoms that sabotage our goals.

Fortunately there are a few simple ways to challenge yourself and lean into fear.Recognize that fear is a universal emotion, one you are vulnerable to. In her book “The Gifts of Imperfection, researcher Dr. Brene Brown said that, “Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy—the experiences that make us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.”

The first step is to be honest and admit you are afraid. The second step is to choose to be brave. Realize that fear is mostly a learned response and it’s possible to recondition a fear response. Fear is controlled by the amygdala, a set of neurons located in the brain’s medial temporal lobe.

When the amygdala receives a danger warning, logical or not, stress hormones begin to flood the body. We learn to fear based on our experiences, but we can de-program fear by confronting the things we are most afraid of.Talk about fear to defuse it.

People who are afraid of public speaking, for example, attend Toastmasters International meetings where they share and confront their fears with like-minded individuals.Trick your mind by imagining a best case/worst case scenario. You dread asking for a raise and your mind races with awful possibilities.

One way to calm such fears is to imagine the best case/worst case scenarios. First imagine that all will go as well as it possibly could. You ask for a raise and the boss realizes you deserve twice your current salary. Great. Then imagine the worst possible scenario. He’s so insulted you asked that he fires you on the spot.

The reality will probably fall somewhere in between. And that’s generally the case.Remember the “10” rule. You can do most things for 10 minutes even if you fear that you will be able to finish the entire project. Tell yourself you can make it through 10 minutes, and then tell yourself that again until the job is done.

If fear overwhelms your life and prevents you from challenging yourself, don’t be afraid to seek professional help.

How Meditation Can Help You Overcome Your Fears

Fear and anxiety can be overpowering and keep you from accomplishing tasks. Fortunately, there is a better way to overcome your fears through the ancient art of meditation. Anyone can achieve this through guided practice and time. I’ll explain to you how meditation can help you overcome your fears in this article so you can conquer it.

One of the main aspects of fear is brought on by intimidation of the event or thought that does not subside until after the fact. Through mediation, the mind becomes quieted from the over-activity that feeds into fear. It allows a person to detach one’s self from the negative emotion that is being triggered. In order to learn how meditation can help you overcome your fears you must first master the skill required to become centered.

Meditation has been scientifically proven to effectively treat stress and anxiety, two factors that are commonly associated with fear. By learning the art of meditation you will be able to take control of your mental state and reach the calming response that will allow you to conquer your fears. Meditating trains your brain to respond differently to the negative thoughts and emotions that automatically occur when fear is brought on.

This ancient practice requires one to clear the mind of all thoughts. This may take time to achieve, but even practicing for short moments at a time will help you to practice regular meditation. The main principal to meditating is to focus on one thing, usually a calming and relaxing technique. The easiest way to achieve this is by concentrating on taking breaths.

To begin, find a comfortable space that is quiet to sit or lay down. Close your eyes and try to erase all negative thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Take in a deep breath and slowly exhale. Focus on your breaths as you slowly inhale then slowly exhale. Release the negative energy that is contributing to your fears as you exhale. Continue taking slow, deep breaths, concentrating on making the next breath even slower than the one before.

As you remain calm and concentrate on breathing, you are taking control to quiet the mind. Occasionally, a disruptive thought may occur. Rather than focus on that thought and letting it overcome your mental focus, let it go. Strive to maintain a passive attitude to dismiss any thoughts that may distract you from your goal of meditation.

Learning how meditation can help you overcome your fears will allow you to desensitize yourself from the internal or external stimuli that brings on the feelings of fear. You become aware of the impending thought or concern and are able to control your mental focus in order to detach yourself from it.

5 Ways Which Fears Can Negatively Impact Your Life

Fear is one of the usual human emotions, triggered by a real or perceived threat. It is a biological response mechanism that prepares the body for fight or flight in the presence of danger. In its concrete form, fear is more than a mere mental state and instead, a powerful emotion that affects the body’s physiology as well as the body’s chemical balance. While fear has some positive effects, it can have serious negative impacts in one’s life. Here is the insight:

Fear elicits stress

Stress is one of the consequences of fear. There is a lot that will change in your life the moment you accumulate stress to extreme levels. For instance, the immune system will be weakened and as a result, one is likely to suffer psychosomatic illnesses such as high blood pressure, diabetes and cardiovascular infections. Extreme stress will also impair judgment and accurate perception of reality.

Besides stress, fear itself is capable of weakening the immune system, a result of which is a series of infections such as ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome and decreased fertility.

Strained relationships

Fear causes a lot of paranoia and is likely to strain all personal relationships. In a state of fear, it is barely possible to trust the people around us despite their good intentions. Relations at the workplace will also be affected negatively. This will lead to reduced productivity at the workplace and a very small social circle. A person living in fear is less likely to start and sustain meaningful relationships.

Low achievement levels

Almost all opportunities in life involve riks. Choosing to join college will see you passing or failing in exams. Investing in a certain business will either earn you profits or losses. In a state of fear, a person is never willing to take these risks and without risking, it is barely possible to achieve full actualization potentials.

Stifled thinking

Fear has always been associated with a state of indecisiveness and distorted thinking patterns. A mind marred by fear will not think clearly and form accurate perceptions of reality but will rather base all thoughts and actions around the perceived or real threat and events that are likely to come along. Fear is a leeway to erosion of confidence, without which you cannot even believe in your ability to think in abstract terms.

Destructive habits

Fear is one of the reasons why people do not lead a healthy lifestyle. To numb the pain that is associated with fear, individuals will resolve to destructive habits such as careless driving, drinking excessively and abusing various drugs. These are all destructive habits that will derail one’s health and put a person at risk.

Conclusively, some amount of fear is constructive in the manner that it protects people from real and perceived dangers but when it becomes a default mode, fear has more consequences than positive influences.

5 Mental Tricks to Combat Your Fears

The emotional reaction to a perceived threat is fear. This is a normal and healthy response in life which keeps us from getting into harmful situations; it also helps us decide when to get out of situations that are not essentially the best. Ordinarily, fear can be handled through reason and logic. This prevents it from taking over our lives or causing us to become irrational. Fear can metamorphosize into phobia, such that the normal fear response becomes something that is hard or impossible to manage. As a result, it can stunt your overall development as a person. In addition to hindering you from achieving your true potential, fear can be an obstruction to many great things in life.

We discovered some mental tricks to combat your fears and we’ll share 5 of them below.

1. Think About Death

Every day, every minute someone dies – both the young and old. Thinking about death will remind you that no one lives forever. It will give you the boldness to really fight for what is important to you, therefore it is a great idea to embrace life, living to the fullest. Today you are presented with an opportunity to do what you should do. Do not let your fears condition you to rely on tomorrow for tomorrow may not come to you.

2. Think About the Enormity of the Universe

Thinking about the vastness of the world and all that is in it will help you see that everything is in order in the complex creation. Neither the stars nor planets collide with each other. Now see how small your challenges compare to the immensity of the world. That’s how insignificant you’ll begin to see your fear.

3. Think About Your Life As Your Dream

View you life as your dream – it belongs to you. no one else can live it better than you do. In this dream, you can influence the experiences you face and your reaction to them. When you’re asleep and you dream, you’re never worried about what others think about you – do the same with your life. As long as your acts aren’t devious or evil, don’t worry about the consequences. Your life, your dream, you only live once!

4. Think About Doing Your Best and Do it

Get rid of any negative thoughts about failure, embarrassment and the likes and jut put your best foot forward. Many of those who, at one time, had the fear of speaking in public embraced this trick and it worked for them. Turn your focus away from yourself toward what you’re doing and deliver it as best as you can. If you couldn’t do it, you wouldn’t have had this chance – think about it.

5. Think About Your Fears As Relative
Putting things into perspective will help you see your challenges or fears as relative – nothing is too awful or too significant. Remember how anxious you were when you took that important exam? Or when you walked down the aisle to spend the rest of your life with your spouse? Think of fear as relative.

We hope that you’ll use at least one, if not all 5 mental tricks to combat your fears. Let us know how they worked for you.

4 Reasons We Should Overcome Our Fears

Are you the type of person who make decisions based on fear? Does fear hold you back from an action and ideally knowing your hindrances are real? Fear is a mixed feeling of reverence and dread. Why should you overcome fear? Here are four most scalable reasons to conquer fear and help enhance a tolerance for rejection and discomfort.

1. Fear suppresses your potential

Fear prevents personal growth and progression in life. It limits you to live your best life and become a better person. Overcoming fear expands the opportunities and possibilities that surround our lives. When you let it drive your feelings, thoughts, behaviors and decisions, you reduce your mind to a slave of fear. The state is very disempowering; everything you do or every decision you make is a result of fear, rather than your desire. If you entrench off in the land of fear, you can never achieve higher levels of consciousness.

2. Fear exists only in your mind

Why let yourself be scared by a scarecrow which only looks scary but harmless? Fear is similar. It is based on the danger perceived in your mind. The feeling arises when the brain formulates a perception that non-physical threats are actual dangers, which is false. For instance, most people fear public speaking which is physically harmless. Most people develop the thought of people judging them, slipping up and the embarrassment that results. These thoughts and fears exist only in your mind.

3. Fear wastes your energy

Fear is irrational, and a squander of mental and emotional strength. Every time you surge in fear, you nurture more logical non-constructive thoughts that feed your energy. Relax and serenely process the situation and intelligently identify solutions. Fear significantly triggers adrenaline that increases physical rather than mental performance. Adrenaline stresses your body and results to jittery nerves. Overcoming your fears ensues into more positive feelings and sound thoughts, which progress into positive aftereffects.

4. Fear is pervasive

Fear is prevalent. Deal with fear, do not let it permeate and patronize in everything you do. Running and eluding fear gives you a delusion of security for a short moment. No matter how you run, you are just living in the confinement of fear. A small acorn ultimately becomes an enormous oak tree. Learn to deal and overcome it., or cringe in its existence to become a fragment of who you could be.

Overcoming your fears helps you understand that fears are illogical and entirely obliterates them. You are left emancipated to achieve your highest potential and chase your desires with less hesitation.

Want to Be Courageous- 3 Sure Methods for Conquering Your Fears

Have you ever imagined living a life without fear or doubt? A life where you are sure of every step you are taking? Well, if there is one thing that can hold you back from growing as an individual and prevent you from achieving the highest levels of success, its fear. Regardless of their occupations, high achievers understand that massive action and taking risk is an important part in moving from one step to another. Just like in business, this also applies to life. One thing that you need to know is that fear is normal. The key thing is not to let it hold you back and prevent you from taking action.

But what are some of the methods of conquering fear?

3 methods for conquering your fears

1. Prepare for a peaceful outcome

If you are anxious and fearful about any upcoming event you will notice that just thinking about them will cause physical responses such as anxiety, uneasiness, among others. So when you find yourself thinking too much about them prepare yourself by picturing feeling calm instead of being frightened. By doing this, you will be able to retain a clear thought thereby, conquer your fear.

2. Have a well thought out plan

The moment you begin to worry and over analyze a situation it means that you don’t have a detailed and a well thought out plan on how to overcome that situation. You should, therefore, ensure that you set clear goals with a detailed plan. After coming up with a detailed plan, take action. This will help you relieve stress and give you a sense of enjoyment. Remember, fear often creeps and paralyzes you if you do not take the time to plan your life.

3. Do one thing daily that scares you

Do you know that one of the worst ways to live is staying in a comfort zone? In fact, not doing the things that frighten you will magnify your fears and let them take over your life. It doesn’t have to be something big, but ensure that you do something daily that scares you. Just step out of your comfort zone and work on becoming comfortable by first being uncomfortable. When you do this daily your courage will start growing little by little and very soon the barriers that were holding you back will vanish and your potential will maximize.

Final lines

Deciding that fear will not hold you back anymore is one of the best decisions you can make to ensure your future success. Although it’s something that will not work out instantly, taking action and running towards your fears daily will benefit you in the long run. These are the 3 methods for conquering your fears.

5 Easy Steps To Conquer Your Fears

Fear is a natural response to different situations that has evolved with us over a certain period of years. Under the normal circumstances, fear usually triggers the fight-or-flight responses that allow us to respond quickly to threats thus increasing our chances of survival. However, fear can easily turn into an irrational fear (a phobia) and create great distress which interferes with our daily life. As a result, it is important to find way by which you can conquer the fear. The article below gives a detailed explanation on how to conquer all your fears. Here are the 5 Easy steps to conquer your fears:

1. Rational or Irrational?

Firstly, you should ask yourself what part of the fear is irrational and the part that is rational. If the fear is rational, then what can you actually do to reduce the fear?

If the fear is irrational, you may need to take on another perspective of the situation that will offer you with better support.

2. The Worst and Best

Most of the times we do not even consider what’s the worst thing that can really happen. We assume that the worst is something which is inconceivable because we’re only paying attention to all our feelings. Ask yourself what’s the worst thing that may happen. When we look at the worst possible thing that can happen, we usually realize that it is not so bad at all.

You should then focus on the best thing that can happen and get clear on benefits of how this will impact positively on your life. When you have a clear view on the best and the worst, you will start feeling more motivated so as to keep pushing forward since the best will always be a million times better as compares to the worst.

3. Challenge your thoughts

Most of the times you probably accept thoughts which bombard your mind daily as the plain truth, and worse still, you choose to act on them. These thoughts usually come from the beliefs that you have about the world which were formed from your friends, family and other influences in your life. You’ve developed several beliefs that support you as well as those that do not support you. If you do not challenge your thoughts and accept them instead as the truth, then you’re setting up yourself for self-sabotage.

You should ask yourself; is this a belief or fact? If it’s a belief, then challenge it in case it is not supporting you.

4. Using images

This is a very powerful tool that’s completely underutilized by most people. Your mind normally responds better to images and you may not be tapping well into this. When you do not have an idea on how a certain thing will play out or work out, you can imagine all types of scenarios, unfortunately most of them will be negative ones.

Find a very quiet place and then try to do this for five minutes. In the mind’s eye, you should imagine the outcome which you would love, then see it in the bright colors, listen to the words that you want to listen to and feel whatever you would like to feel.

If you can make these images alive and then see the outcome that you really want, then your mind will start calming down immediately.

5. Talk about it

Lastly, you should talk about it. Most of the people around you share similar fears and there’s a wealth of advice that could help you to move forward from people around you. Do not suffer alone. When you decide to talk about the fears that you have, you will release the negative energy thus you’ll automatically feel better.

Do not give into something which you can really control. It’s better to face all your fears now and then enjoy the rewards later than to giving your dreams and then face that later.