how do I silence an irrational(?) fear?

Ask a Therapist Seeking Help
1

hi people :slight_smile: I have an ongoing fear that’s impacting me for about 2 months already. I am in the middle of taking my o level exams and it’s definitely impacting my performance.

I have spoken to a person about this fear and they said it was just irrational, but I don’t know, I got mixed responses from people who I talked to about this same fear, I don’t know if its really irrational as it may ruin my life

I am not very comfortable with disclosing what it is but I urgently need methods to silence my brain from thinking about it. I have posted a lot about this issue on here and found the advice very useful, however the fear has gone back, I don’t know what to do or how to silence the fear and not think about it

any methods to suppress it??

1 Like
2

Hey there @user7467,thank you for opening up about what you’re going through, it sounds really tough to have that fear weighing on your mind, especially during such an important period like your O’lvls. I can imagine how stressful that must feel :disappointed_face:.

Even though you’re not comfortable sharing the details which is totally okay, it’s clear you’ve been trying your best to manage it. Instead of suppressing the fear, sometimes it helps to ground yourself when your thoughts start racing like taking slow breaths, naming 5 things you see and 3 things you can touch around you, or gently redirecting your focus to something neutral e.g.: music, a short walk, or even doodling.

You’ve been strong for holding on this long. You’re not alone in feeling this way, and it’s okay to take things one step at a time :yellow_heart:.

Have you found any particular method or activity that helps calm you, even for a bit?

2 Likes
3

one method is conjuring up analogies like the odds of a gamma ray bursts hitting the earth and wiping all life out. It is possible but extremely unlikely, so no one really worries about it. hence i think the same thought process can be applied to the odds of my fear coming true, though the chances are obviously higher than that

1 Like
4

Dear @user7467

Thank you for writing in again and I’m glad you found some of suggestions made by the community here useful.

What you have described about having irrational fears and cognitive distortions resonates with many of us, so please do not feel alone. Please also do not be discouraged. With your determination, I believe you can manage the irrational thoughts and fears by taking small corrective steps to recognise thinking distortions such as catastrophising and black or white thinking, etc.

Would you like to consider writing out a thought record? The steps are:

1)Write down the thought that is bothering you and rate the current anxiety level when you have the thought (1=least anxiety,10=most anxiety).

2)What is the evidence supporting that the thought is a true reflection of what would happen?

3)Next What is the evidence the thought is not going to happen?

4)What is a more rational thought that can replace the original thought in Step 1 ?

5)What is the new anxiety level now with the rational thought?

I also encourage you to reach out to your school counsellor or call the national mindline at 1771 which operates 24/7 to speak immediately to a caring and competent counsellor. :yellow_heart:Keep going and making progress towards feeling better.

1 Like