Satisfying Your Needs: The Best Way To Overcome Fear

Anxiety disorders are one of the most common psychological problems in our society. Specifically, they are in second place, directly after the diseases caused by drug abuse, tobacco consumption and alcohol. This suggests that we continue to underestimate their importance. We must employ the best strategies and resources to overcome fear when it chooses to take control of our lives – we must not ignore it.

Given how common and significant anxiety disorders are in the world today, we’ll try to find out how they are related to neglecting our personal needs and putting them on the back burner.

Angst is a travel destination with many boarding options

It is true that we sometimes pathologize fear excessively. We then forget that it is not just a disease, but a useful alarm system. It is one of the channels through which our body and mind tell us that something is wrong. Nonetheless, pathological anxiety is a serious problem.

And there are a multitude of therapeutic approaches to conquering anxiety, with one big mistake often being made: trying to relieve symptoms but neglecting the causes and the factors that maintain them. This type of symptomatic treatment is not effective in the long term because it does not address the root causes of the anxiety. All it does is focus on the manifestations of the anxiety disorders and mitigate them for a time.

The emotional state of fear does not come from a single cause. The most common triggers include prolonged stress and feeling like there is a huge difference between our ideal selves and our real selves. That is, there are huge differences between the type of life we ​​lead and the type of life we ​​want to lead. If we perceive this difference as huge or insurmountable, it is very likely that we are scared.

To put it another way, one of the most common causes of anxiety is that we don’t care about our personal needs. We could live on autopilot for a long time and not live the life we ​​really want. When this happens, the alarm goes off: fear.

When a person does not attend to their needs – time for themselves, more free time, less contact with people, less workload, or fewer household and family responsibilities – they are exposing themselves each day to an environment that is hostile, inconvenient, and uncomfortable is good for them. If this negative influence lasts for a long time, it triggers fear.

“To be satisfied means to realize that what you are looking for is within yourself.”

Alan Cohen

There is nothing wrong with making sacrifices and fulfilling one’s obligations. But when it becomes the rule that we do things that are too much for us, then we have a problem. If we function like this indefinitely, we will not be able to meet our needs as individuals. In these cases, our minds choose the path we have already described to tell us that things are not going well: our minds are telling us that we need to follow the wrong path and make changes. Fear is the siren that goes off when we fail to respond to early warning signs.

The alarm will go off when your inner compass cannot find north

Let’s say you have symptoms of an anxiety disorder. These include rapid heartbeat, sweating, nausea, and a sense of disconnection from reality. If therapy is now to relieve these symptoms, it may give you relief – but it is not enough in the long run.

If your emotional state remains unchanged over time, it is because something is nourishing it. That there is something that caused it in the first place, or something else. As long as we don’t deal with this something, it will continue to hurt us.

Fear is an alert system that tells us we need to make changes. Which changes are made varies from case to case. In some situations they can be related to work. In other situations they are associated with marriage, children, and friendly relationships. But for the vast majority, it’s ultimately about nurturing personal needs and values.

Conquer fear

In the short term, it is good to focus on the symptoms. But that’s not all, because the root of most anxiety disorders lies in dissatisfaction with our lives. Therefore, in order to overcome fear, we must strive to improve our emotional self-awareness. We have to define our values ​​and needs.

That is why anxiety therapy does not focus on creating a new and better life as described above, why this approach will only remove the problem for a moment. Many people are trying to solve a problem that requires the attention of a specialist, but do it without help and in the wrong way.

Effective therapy begins with analyzing what triggers anxiety. Only after proper reflection will the person be able to set goals and make changes in their life in order to then create that new and better life. Then changes will help to make wishes come true. But everything has its place and time.

“If you want to be happy, set yourself a goal that commands your thoughts, releases your energy and raises your hopes.”

Andrew Carnegie

There is one more step that should be taken once we are in control of the fear aspects. To turn fear into confidence, we need to work on personal growth. A really important part of this work is learning to make time and space for your own needs.

This could be uncomfortable because it means that the person concerned has to answer questions that they never wanted to ask themselves. For example: “What do I want? And what do I need? ”  Asking these questions and answering them with the support of a psychologist opens the door to freedom.

Therefore, if you have an anxiety disorder, take this step. Ask for help and start listening to your deepest desires and needs. This is the best way to start a new, free life – a life free of fear.