An example of how to cope with fear
I know maybe a half a dozen people with a particular fear. It isn't as unreasonable as "being afraid of being eaten by a lion," so I can't counsel them by showing them that their fear is unrealistic.
It is a fear of a thing that is much less likely to happen than a car accident, or slipping in the bathroom and getting a head injury, or getting food poisoning. So the proper way to calm that fear is to look at it, see how common a danger it really is, and then learn what to do if it happens. If a fear is reasonable, then using reasoning to deal with it is effective.
For this example I'll use the fear of several of my friends, the mass shootings that seem to crop up time to time. While they are horrific and jump out in our memories, out of the number of deaths each year they represent a miniscule number. But since they do happen, it is a thing to learn to deal with, the same as we should know what to do during a tornado, a hurricane, a fire or any other realistic but unlikely occurrence.
Life is dangerous, but we are NEVER powerless. With proper study, planning and practice, anything is survivable. Information is easy to find, and instead of watching TV you can find it, study it, run practice drills until it is something you feel sure you will remember in a crisis.
Life is a risk. People could potentially fall every time they go down a flight of stairs. But we have to live our lives. So learn the skills to survive.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/07/mass-shootings-map
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VcSwejU2D0
It is a fear of a thing that is much less likely to happen than a car accident, or slipping in the bathroom and getting a head injury, or getting food poisoning. So the proper way to calm that fear is to look at it, see how common a danger it really is, and then learn what to do if it happens. If a fear is reasonable, then using reasoning to deal with it is effective.
For this example I'll use the fear of several of my friends, the mass shootings that seem to crop up time to time. While they are horrific and jump out in our memories, out of the number of deaths each year they represent a miniscule number. But since they do happen, it is a thing to learn to deal with, the same as we should know what to do during a tornado, a hurricane, a fire or any other realistic but unlikely occurrence.
Life is dangerous, but we are NEVER powerless. With proper study, planning and practice, anything is survivable. Information is easy to find, and instead of watching TV you can find it, study it, run practice drills until it is something you feel sure you will remember in a crisis.
Life is a risk. People could potentially fall every time they go down a flight of stairs. But we have to live our lives. So learn the skills to survive.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/07/mass-shootings-map
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VcSwejU2D0
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