3 ways to Reduce Fear
The exercise below helps you to create 3 ways to lessen your fear. After developing the 3 ways, choose one that you feel is most suitable for you and try it for an entire week when encountering your fear.
First, let’s look at the 3 ways we can reduce a specific fear.
A. Overemphasize: First identify your fear. Then take that fear, and imagine it in the biggest, most terrifying version of it. Use negative words when describing the fear in the worst possible way with the worse consequences.
Application: When we imagine the worst that can happen in the worst possible way, the things we face don’t seem so large or awful. (Josogma homework planner)
B. Thought restructuring: Write down in your journal the 3 most common thoughts you have that lead to enhanced feelings of fear. (ie: “I don’t have a good personality” ie: “I won’t make any friends”) After doing this, you can restructure your thoughts that produce fear, into thoughts that are more positive and realistic (“My personality is fine the way it is and I am capable of creating new friendships.”)
For example in your journal write down:
Thought #1: ___________________________________
Restructured thought: ____________________________
Thought #2: ___________________________________
Restructured thought: ____________________________
Thought #3: ___________________________________
Restructured thought: ____________________________
Application: How we think about something affects our feelings. By changing our thoughts and perceptions we change our feelings (Jongsma Homework Planner)
C. Encouraging Statements in your Purse/Pocket: Talk to your therapist, life coach, or someone you respect to help you come up with 3 statements that will offer encouragement when you are encountering your specific fear. Memorize these statements, or make a notecard with them written out and keep in your pocket/purse at all times.
Statement #1: ______________________________________
Statement #2: ______________________________________
Statement #3: ______________________________________
Application: Encouraging statements can help us cope in challenging situations, and when they are co-created by someone we admire, it can be increasingly helpful (Jongsma Homework Planner)
2. Choose the Approach: which approach (A, B, or C) would be most helpful in resolving your fear. Write in your journal.
___________________________________________
3. Use for 7 days: Make a commitment to use your chosen approach for the next 7 days. Journal your evaluation of how effective it was or was not in dealing with your fear, after each time you used it.