[CHAT]: How to do something that scares the shit out of you
We've all felt that feeling at some point: the butterflies, the racing heart, the tossing and turning in bed at 3am as your brain replays every embarrassing moment of your life. Sometimes it can be hard to figure out how to get past the anxiety and tackle the scary stuff in life. So if you're finding yourself feeling like our mate Charlie Brown (see above), join us live on Monday November 21st at 8pm AEDT or hit 'reply' to start the conversation now!
Some fears can be good, they can help keep us safe. But when they start to cause us lots of anxiety or we notice we start avoiding things or doing rituals to deal with it then I guess it gets unhealthy
Aww man @stonepixie @j95 you guys are making me feel sorry for the spiders 😛 (There were literally two in my locker at school today, and one masive one crawled across my laptop screen last night. I think it's the heat that's making them appear everywhere.)
Are we ever hard on ourselves for being scared of or not doing something we know we shouldn't be scared of? Does that help?
Oh man can I be hard on myself for my social anxiety. I just get frustrated like I'm just talking to someone, is something terrible honestly going to happen? It can help sometimes, because I just go and talk to that person, or stick my hand up in class or whatever it is, to get it over with and to prove to myself that I'm perfectly capable and nothing will go wrong. Sometimes I just get annoyed at myself though. I'm working on it 😛
We've got time for one last question ...
Is fear ever a good thing? How can we tell when our fear is healthy and when it's not?
Is fear ever a good thing? How can we tell when our fear is healthy and when it's not?
I like this question but it's a tough one. Fear can be a good thing, it can keep you alive when it stops you from doing something dangerous. Fear is a healthy part of life but if it stops you from doing something you used to love or stops you from trying new things that you know will be rewarding the fear starts to bring you down. But again I think it often depends on the context.
Is fear ever a good thing? How can we tell when our fear is healthy and when it's not?
If it keeps you safe, it's good. Otherwise... well it's natural to be scared of stuff that doesn't always completely make sense, it's part of life... so i don't know if that makes it a bad thing? Just something to work on 🙂
Fear isn't healthy when it gets in the way of our wellbeing and everyday life. When it gets to this it is probably wise to talk to someone about it.
Thanks for a great chat guys! Sorry I dropped out near the end. I'll read the last bit later!
Thank you so much for coming everyone! Remember that these thread stick around and randoms will read them for years to come, which I think is pretty awesome, so thank you for helping a lot of people learn a bit more about facing fears 🙂
Is fear ever a good thing? How can we tell when our fear is healthy and when it's not?
Yeah, fear can be good. It tells us not to pat lions or walk through long grass (SNAKES). I think it can be a bit destructive though when it gets out of control. I think if a fear is effecting your enjoyment of everyday life then it's an unhealthy fear.
See i reckon that there's the suffering that comes from something bad happening, an illness or whatever, and then there's the suffering that comes from beating yourself up about it... one of those types of suffering you have some control over!
I don't know the answer to this one @Ben-RO
With my ocd I know I should challenge the behaviours but sometimes it's too hard
That leads me to another question. Are we ever hard on ourselves for being scared of or not doing something we know we shouldn't be scared of? Does that help?
Slowly exposing myself to what I'm afraid of (only some things)
Accepting I'm scared and using it to motivate me to achieve good things.
Breathing exercises.
Talking to my therapist.
What are some of your strategies for overcoming your fears?
Taking a bit of time to think through it.. if there is time of course. Breathing. Talking about it with friends if I'm feeling up to it.
@Ben-RO being too hard on yourself rarely helps. I think it depends on the situation you're in. Fear can be a thing based on context or your mind set at the time.
