Lowering Fear About the Future
Fear, specifically surrounding the future, has been a popular topic in sessions lately. It feels like our society continues to encounter battle after battle, resulting in instability and unpredictability. Changes in our environment, rights, technology, economy, and felt safety are major determinants of how we feel about the future, all of which seem to be happening daily. If you are experiencing fear and dread for the future, continue reading and consider beginning therapy today. While this blog contains some steps to understand you fear for the future, participating in therapy will result in lasting change by processing the fear, learning ways to regulate, and help with reframing rigid thinking. I suggest you start with the following steps:Step 1: Determine if the fear is helpful or hurtful.
Differentiating thoughts and feelings as helpful or hurtful is a common practice I use with my clients. In this scenario, I suggest you ask yourself the following to determine if the fear is benefiting you or limiting you:
Is this thinking preparing me for upcoming changes?
Is my fear rational?
Am I ruminating on this fear constantly?
Is my fear so intense that it prevents me from acting?
How soon will I be faced with my fear?
Step 2: Identify what you are specifically fearful of in terms of the future.
Consider the following:
Am I fearful of the unknown?
Am I scared of change?
Am I afraid of failing in the future?
Am I ‘future tripping’?
* Future tripping: worrying about something that hasn’t even happened yet. For example, one may be future tripping if they worry about failing out of college but haven’t even registered for school yet.
Step 3: Restructure/reframe your fear.
This is the hardest part, but it is also the problem-solving portion of dealing with anxiety or fear for the future. As mentioned earlier, restructuring your thinking is a therapeutic intervention used with clients when working on fearful thinking. To achieve successful thought restructuring I suggest working with a therapist as they can guide you through the process and help keep you accountable.
In the meantime, you can start the process of reframing by using facts and logic to challenge your fears. For example, say you are the potential college student mentioned above. To challenge your fears, you may say the following to yourself:
“Yes, I am afraid of my educational future, but I will never know unless I try it.”
“The anxiety I have for my future isn’t bettering me or helping me reach success.”
“It’s not helpful to worry about something that hasn’t occurred yet.”
If you are experiencing fear or anxiety about the future and want to learn more on ways to take your fear and turn it into action, contact us today at 720-689-6166.
