Why am I afraid and don’t dare to do anything?

The experience of being afraid of virtually everything frustrates many people on a daily basis.

"Why am I afraid almost every day?". "What makes me afraid of the most everyday situations?". These kinds of ideas are part of the concerns of many people who, without knowing very well why it happens, notice that fear is an emotion that constantly wears down their quality of life, even in seemingly harmless situations.

Along the following lines we will see what is the nature of the fear to everything and what we can do to combat this sensation.

Why am I always afraid?

Emotions exist because they fulfill a function, and although sometimes the disadvantages they present outweigh the advantages, these situations are the exception, not the rule.

Fear, in particular, is one of the most powerful emotions at our disposal. Whether we like it or not, its existence conditions our lives.Sometimes for the better (it helps us avoid dangers) and sometimes for the worse (it helps us look for excuses not to make an effort to improve).

However, there are extreme cases in which this psychological factor becomes an obstacle to our self-improvement. an obstacle with which we self-sabotage ourselves again and again when we set out to get out of our comfort zone and start something new that will do us good. Going to talk to a person we like, starting a university career, going to the gym, going to the dentist....

On these occasions there is a strong feeling of frustration and a thought that we cannot get rid of: "Why am I afraid and do not face my fears? Among the main causes, we find the following.

Trauma

The emotional imprint that traumas leave on us. make us direct our attention towards everything that could hypothetically lead us to live that experience (or a similar one) again. (or a similar one) again. For this reason, many people with traumas have a great facility to enter a state of hypervigilance from which it is difficult to get out.

2. Lack of self-esteem

Lack of self-confidence contributes to the person's fear of many things, as he or she they do not feel prepared to face some areas of life.. In particular, those involving personal relationships are typically a source of fears and insecurities.

3. Abuse and mistreatment situations

In some cases, the fear is rooted in a relational problem that by definition goes beyond the individual.

****When suffering attacks from another person or a group of them, a state of hypervigilance appears as a protective mechanism, albeit at the expense of psychological well-being. Of course, this does not mean that the sufferer is to blame for this; quite the contrary.

4. Genetic propensity

We must not forget that the genetic factor also counts. This does not mean that having a certain DNA structure predestines us to be constantly afraid, but it does mean that some sets of genes make us more prone to develop persistent fears.

Signs of living in fear

Some of the typical characteristics that these people exhibit are as follows. All of them are similar to those that appear in most phobias.in which there is a concrete stimulus that triggers anxiety crises.

1. Fear from early in the morning

At the beginning of the day, they are already thinking that they will have to go through something that scares them.

2. Feeling all kinds of physical discomfort

Living in constant fear generates physical wear and tear that accumulates day after day: muscle tension, bad sleeping and eating habits, etc.etc.

3. Avoidance of normal situations

Many people tend to expose themselves to normal day-to-day contexts with the prospect of things going wrong and the appearance of something capable of harming them.

What to do to combat this anxiety?

When it comes to take measures against this discomfort and solve the psychological causes of this fear, you can follow these steps.

1. Practice breathing exercises

Controlling your breathing helps to "tame" the emotional state you are in. That is why, adopting the habit of doing controlled breathing exercises can be very helpful..

2. Expose yourself to your fears little by little.

Start with situations that scare you a little, and then face others that generate more fear in you, following an ascending difficulty curve. You will learn through your experience that there are not so many reasons to feel that way in any minimally anxious situation. any minimally anxiogenic situation.

3. Go to a psychologist

This option should also not be discarded if no significant progress is made with the previous ones. Fortunately, the power of psychotherapy in offering help to people with fears and anxiety problems is very high, and effectiveness has been demonstrated through the use of various techniques performed under professional supervision.

Bibliographical references:

• Hofmann, S.G., Dibartolo, P.M. (2010). "Introduction: Toward an Understanding of Social Anxiety Disorder". Social Anxiety. pp. xix-xxvi.
• American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association.