Fear is a human reaction to any kind of threat. It sometimes actually helps to protect ourselves from danger. But persistent fear can lead to feelings of anxiety and assuming the worst in every situation. Then, it becomes important to be able to differentiate between rational and irrational fears.

 

 

RECOMMENDED TIPS

 

 

• Check Facts & Feelings

 

Fact and feeling check is a technique that tends to work well here. Every time you

experience a triggering thought, ask yourself “ Is this a fact or just a feeling?”.

Question yourself, “Is this thought realistic or am I just assuming the worst?”

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• Counter Your Negative Thoughts

 

When a fearful thought pops out of nowhere, label it as an ‘automatic negative thought’ in your mind and counter it. For example, “what if I get infected by the virus?”, counter it by saying “but I’m taking all the necessary precautions”.

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• Engage in Activities

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Also, engage in activities you enjoy to give yourself a break from the constant feelings of worry and anxiety. Distraction could help you cope with fear. Ensure you can carve out 15 minutes of your day that brings you pure joy and connects you with your inner self.

Let us call it your "ME Time" of the day.

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• Bringing bad events back into perspective

 

- When you experience anxiety you might overestimate the probability of a threat occurring. We tend to inflate the negative out of proportion.

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- Overestimate how difficult it would be if the threat did occur.

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- Underestimate your ability to surmount the threat.

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Anti-anxiety ways of thinking involve increasing your belief in your ability

to cope up with the negative event. Affirm yourself that you are strong

enough to deal with what may come your way.

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• Practice Grounding Technique- 5-4-3-2-1

 

Anxiety comes with a host of mental and physical sensations. It's important to identify the physical symptoms that you experience during an anxiety episode. The grounding technique is well-tested and has proven to be one of the best tools to pull you away from unwanted thoughts and negative feelings. It will help you bring back your focus to the present.