Fear of change, fear of public speaking, fear of infection, fear of failure.
I feel a little fearful every day when I wake up. But I’m implementing a steady process of re-programming to combat this problem. Here’s what I do; you may find it useful:
1. I use my refuges (Rick Hanson refers to these in his book ‘Resilient’). If I wake up in the night, my refuge is an image of a safe, beautiful house in the countryside. This helps me drift back off to sleep. When I wake up, the second refuge is the routine (getting dressed, feeding the cats and putting the kettle on).
2. I remind myself of the facts; my family’s health and work/school situation. These are good.
3. I use mantras to remind myself of aspirational things, such as ‘my incredible energy, dedication and creativity’, even if I feel tired, unmotivated and not in the least bit creative.
It’s all about combating the habitual, irrational fear with something also habitual, but logical and positive.
Have a great day.