Fear is a very basic emotion which we all have often experienced in our life. Before we get to the hacks, techniques, and philosophy of getting rid of fear, let us understand, what exactly fear is, through different perspectives and subjects.
As per psychology, the definition of fear is basic, intense emotion aroused by the detection of an imminent threat, involving an immediate alarm reaction that mobilizes the organism by triggering a set of physiological changes.
As per spirituality, fear is an emotion that comes when an individual is experiencing an unknown mental terrain. We can understand this by an example, generally, people are afraid of darkness. Have you ever thought why it is so? The answer is very simple they are unknown to the terrain which a dark place may have. This generates a mental condition where the mind is unknown of what action to take and what to not. This particular feeling is the root cause of fear as per spirituality.
As per science emotions like fear, anger or amusement are caused by Epinephrine or adrenalin (released by the medulla of the adrenal glands) which surges at the time of panic and emergency. It provokes a stress response and brings out the arousal of fear.
The definition of fear in science can tell us the bodily changes which a person encounters when in fear and in the case of psychology, the definition can tell us the external cause of fear but the definition of fear in spirituality can lead us to the first step where we can drastically reduce our fear and finally get rid of it.
As per spirituality, fear is an emotion of unknown mental terrain, so reverse the condition and fear will vanish ie. In simple words, if you try to know the basic reason for your fear and observe it, you may get great relief from your fear. Well, the simpler it sounds the more complex it is.
There are various techniques and hacks to understand the depth of your mental condition.
Make a list of your fears
There are various fears you must have in your life. Try to gather all your fears and write them down on paper. Generally, you will have 6 to 7 things, places, events, etc in particular that would have been generating fear in you.
Analyze each one of them individually
Let’s suppose the above list consists of 6 to 7 years. Now it’s time to hold on and pick one by one and analyse them. Write the reasons why that particular fear exists in you. Some people fear living alone in a room or any place. They always want someone with them. If we try to find out the reasons for this particular fear we can have various reasons.
Physical weakness – Many of us doesn’t take proper diet and ignore our fitness level. This particular habit deep inside affects us and makes us feel weak. This is partially mental also. An individual with such a physique is afraid of facing anyone if in case anyone attacks him.
Mental weakness – Many individuals are physically very fit but are not mentally prepared for any emergency situations due to their mental barriers. This may happen due to some psychological trauma they must have faced in the past which still prohibits them to go and face any situation boldly.
Do such analysis with all the fear you have making columns for each type of reasons. This will help you to work on your weaknesses individually and particularly.
Now the final question arises, how to get rid of them. It is an undeniable fact that the journey to get rid of your fear will not be an easy one but slowly and gradually if you work individually on each problem you may get rid of all of them. Let us continue with the above example. There are two basic reasons one is mental and the other one is physical.
How to get rid of physical weakness? Comparatively removing physical barrier is way easier than removing mental barriers. Physical weaknesses can be removed by taking a good diet and a good workout. Consult a gym trainer or a yoga trainer to improve your health and thus confidence. Once you start working on your physique every fear related to your physique will simply start vanishing slowly and gradually. Further you will encounter that now you feel much more confident than before.
How to get rid of mental weakness?
There are various ways by which you can remove your mental weakness. Let us discuss them one by one.
Observe your breath and thus your fear. When you observe your breath and then slowly and gradually, you start cutting off your thoughts and become focused on your breath. This is the time when you can deep dive into your mental conditions and observe your fear very closely. Try to ask yourself why a particular fear is there in your mind. Doing this at least 10 to 15 times will give you some reasonable results.
Note- This exercise can give you many deep answers of your life. So you should do it alone and never share the experiences you had with anyone.
The second way is to consult a psychologist and go for counseling. A well-trained psychologist can simply give you some very deep answers by just observing your personality and your given answers while the counseling sessions.
By the above analysis and consultation, you will be able to not only understand your fear but also understand the reasons behind those fears. A gradual work over the reasons and the weaknesses will make you tougher and one day eliminate all your fear and make you free from all kinds of fear.