Fears are normal and ensure survival.
But when they get out of hand, they make life difficult for those affected.
An expert explains how to get a grip on fear.
Everyone knows and has fears.
For example the fear of missing an exam, not getting a job or fear of spiders.
Fear is very helpful in many situations in life.
For example, it keeps you afraid of balancing dangerously over a precipice or of driving your car far too fast.
But fear can also be immensely obstructive, for example when it comes to a salary negotiation or a lecture
.
Fear responses vary depending on the character.
Where some freeze, others feel hyperactive and driven.
The most constructive way to overcome fears, however, is the one that allows primitive reactions to be overcome.
Rationality is helpful here, i.e. reasoned thinking and acting.
If you systematically analyze unexpected events, rethink your fear and take action based on an appropriate perspective, you will overcome the low faster *
, as Business Insider writes.
The journey from dissonance to consonance is what should be sought.
Overcome fears by analyzing the situation
The term "cognitive dissonance" is used to describe the mental discomfort that results from clinging to two conflicting beliefs, values, or attitudes.
People tend to strive for consonance - that is, a match - in their attitudes and perceptions, a conflict arouses uncomfortable feelings accordingly.
In order to be able to consciously maneuver into a state of consonance even in difficult situations, neurosurgeon and book author Mark McLaughlin invented a method that aims to train the brain to exercise cognitive dominance even under pressure and thus gain control over fear.
The goal: To learn to find your way in the unexpected, to objectively think through fears and concerns and thus to find a way out of the crisis.
McLaughlin advises breaking a stressful experience down into its essential components. According to Business Insider, the following questions help:
What are the objective facts about what happened?
Subjectively, what does that mean for you?
How do you feel?
Is this event in line with your life goals or not?
A coordinate system developed by McLaughlin then helps to
classify
what has happened into the “
four quadrants of fear”
.
The worst possible variant is that the situation is not only classified subjectively, but also objectively negative.
This quadrant is characterized by hopelessness and sadness, such as when a loved one dies.
The best possible variant, on the other hand, is the one in which subjective and objective assessments are positive.
Then you are in the flow, you feel powerful, secure and self-confident.
According to McLaughlin, it helps to be visually aware of your current position and to apply a coordinate system that you have developed.
If you put yourself in cognitive dominance, you can go from a state of cognitive dissonance to cognitive consonance, says McLaughlin.
(jg) * Merkur.de is part of the Germany-wide Ippen-Digital editorial network
.
Read more
: Increased depression due to Corona: You can find help here.
Afraid of curious ducks!
The strangest phobias
Afraid of curious ducks!
The strangest phobias