Have you ever gotten over an intense fear? What did you do to overcome it?

6 comments

1. It’s probably the last thing you’d want to do, but the most effective for that reason – exposure therapy. Worked for me!

2. Spiders: I used to scream, run away and start to cry when I saw them. I had nightmares about them, even as an adult. Then I started giving them names and all the fear disappeared. I give them fun names such as Margaret, Robert, Karin or Osvald which makes them even less scary. Now I like them.

   Fear of trusting people/letting my guard down: I had the luxury of entering a recovery program where people just didn’t give up on me, kept loving me, kept being there… And since I WANTED to feel like I belonged I eventually learned how to let them in.

   And some more. I still have more fears to face. Still need to learn how to cope with responsibility where failure means I might hurt others. Terrified of learning how to drive for that reason. Still need to learn how to not panic when someone tries to go down on me cause it makes me vulnerable. Still need to learn how to not freeze and have a panic attacked, followed by fawning, when a man raises his voice… Etc.

3. I used to have a fear of water wells, water tanks, Heavy rains. I used to have nightmares of seeing water wells in my dreams.

   The fear has gone away naturally as I’m growing up.

4. A really good therapist.

5. Thunder and heavy storms, due to a situation when I was younger that was traumatic. I used to be afraid of them to the point where I’d hide under my bed with noise canceling headphones on at the slightest sound of thunder.

   Funnily enough it was working with kids that helped me get over my fear. Seeing them cry and be scared when the power would go out during a bad storm made me want to comfort them, so pretending to be calm for them actually made me less afraid. I still don’t like storms, but I’m not gonna panic and hide like I used to.

6. I used to be terrified of needles before I was diagnosed with diabetes. I was in tears in the doctors office but my parents/doctor wouldn’t let me leave until I was able to give myself one. We just sat there until I did.

   I still don’t like them, and have to look away, but I am able to give them to myself now instead of relying on others.