Today I want to talk directly to my peers – the anxious people who struggle to thrive because of all the paralyzing fearful thoughts fighting inside their heads.

Despite the external scenario, the mind of an anxious person seems to always find a reason to:

Worry about the future.

Feel emotionally and/or physically unsafe.

Perceive normal situations as a sign of a great danger that will lead to catastrophic consequences.

So how do we deal with that without falling into extremes?

In other words, how to neither take too seriously every fearful thought that crosses our minds nor completely disregard them without proper examination?

Let’s dive into it.

Fear and its byproduct – anxiety – is a double-edged sword.

On one side, it keeps us alive by preventing us from engaging in life-threatening activities and situations.

On the other side, it can rob us of the chance to pursue our dreams or enjoy positive experiences just because, for some reason, our alarm system mistakenly sees them as threats.

Therefore, knowing how to navigate this feeling it’s vital for both our safety and satisfaction.

HOW TO AVOID BEING OVERTAKEN BY FEAR

1. **Never blindly believing in it** – Fear can either mean a dangerous/risky situation or simply that you are about to experience something new/challenging that your mind isn’t onboard with.

Discerning between these possibilities is essential to weigh each appropriately.

• For genuinely threatening situations, like being caught in the middle of a group fight, you’ll need to take specific measures: running away or calling the police.

• For mistaken senses of danger, like panicking before a speech at work, you’ll need self-regulation tools, such as:

🌹 Deep breaths – Slowly breathing in and out calms our nervous system and grounds us in the present moment.

🌹 Positive inner dialogue – Talk to yourself as if you’re guiding a 5-year-old child you care for. For example, you could say:

“It’s ok to be a bit nervous, but there is no need to panic.

It’s just a speech for your colleagues, not the end of the world.

Even if you don’t do great, you can do better the next time.”

💡 I often use the phrase “It’s not the end of the world” because it calms me down immediately. The moment I say that, my mind understands I’m in a challenging yet safe situation where fear isn’t necessary.

2. **Looking into its root causes** – Asking yourself what you fear and why can be extremely revealing, and writing down your findings is a powerful tool to release strong emotions and gain clarity of the situation.

3. **Confronting its existence when necessary** – Once you understand why you fear something, assess its relevance and act accordingly. For example:

• If you feel fear in dangerous situations, like during extreme sports or receiving negative feedback from your boss, that’s normal—your protective mechanism is working.

• If you experience a disproportionate fear that paralyzes you in normal, safe situations, that’s a red flag! You need to address it, either on your own or with professional help.

4. **Not waiting until you’re fearless to act** – Knowing the fearful nature of your mind, the best thing you can do is to get used to living your life with its persistent presence and use self-regulation tools to reduce its intensity.

The more you calm yourself in unreasonably fearful moments, the less power fear will have over you.

5. **Accepting its inherent presence** – Instead of resisting fear, take the right actions:

Building a mindful relationship with our emotions instead of numbing ourselves or letting them control us is crucial for a healthy life. I hope this post — and others like it — can help you on this journey.

🎁 Related posts:

What To Do With Our Anger

Fear Belittles, Caution Empowers

The Mountains We All Have to Climb – A Journey of Mental Strength and Adventure