Art therapy is a gentle “treatment” using creative methods. With its help, you can tune in to the right mood, calm down, and reduce stress levels. But is it able to effectively work with conditions such as fear and anxiety?
"Yes!" - art therapists answer. And now we will look at pleasant and useful techniques for healing fears with the help of creativity.
How to work through your fears?
It is worth noting that working through fears is not always appropriate. This is due to the fact that some individuals carry fears within themselves for a long time, not suspecting that they can be removed in a couple of sessions. Other people persistently visit a psychologist, although there is no particular need for this. This applies to individuals who are not used to overcoming difficulties; it is easier for them to admit that they are afraid of something and stop at this stage.
Everyone has fears, however, strong individuals usually do not deal with them. They set themselves other tasks: solving everyday problems, developing self-confidence, overcoming fear. Anxiety significantly impairs productivity and quality of life. Therefore, working with fears is often appropriate, carried out using different techniques, by influencing the channels of the mind, soul, and body of a person.
Internal fears are largely provoked by physical fear. This is especially true for insecure and indecisive individuals. Among the main methods for eliminating fears:
- auto-training;
- desensitization;
- psycholinguistic coding;
- hypnotherapy.
All techniques involve working with fears by searching for the root cause of the problem. This is achieved with the help of special phrases and sentences, immersing the client in a trance or through paradoxical intention.
Fears of the mind
Fears of the mind distort a person’s perception, as a result of which he begins to interact not with things that actually happen, but with their interpretation based on previous negative experiences. Something bad that happened in life is projected onto the future, setting a person up for failure, making him insecure, causing panic.
Fear forces you to waste precious resources, because the mind, emotions, and body take part in this state. And instead of analyzing the situation and looking for its solution, the person continues to maintain his illusion. In addition, the human body does not divide fears into real and imaginary, and given the fact that in imaginary fears there is no release, tension accumulates and is subsequently expressed in psychosomatics.
It is not possible to neutralize all fears, but you can get rid of many of them and make your life more comfortable and calm. And to do this, you need to realize that real physical danger forces the body to react accordingly - to defend itself, hide, run away, etc., and the danger that comes only from the mind can be overcome only with the help of “manual control”.
How to work with fears in adults?
The formation of an adult occurs gradually, however, not always in a rational and positive direction. In the case of phobias, the body reacts to fear with four psychological mechanisms. The first of them is “connecting consciousness.” In this case, it is assumed that the individual is aware of fear, taking into account its characteristic manifestations. The understanding should prevail that fear and its symptoms are a standard reaction to real, but not imaginary danger.
To do this, anxiety is clearly characterized by:
- reality or unreasonableness;
- probable manifestations and consequences;
- the type of reaction to danger, taking into account existing life experience and knowledge;
- the need for outside help or the activation of mental reserves.
Pre-setting
The psychology of working with fear at this stage is to anticipate consciousness with a suitable attitude toward a dangerous situation or object of fear. As a result, the foundation for the body’s correct response is formed. Help in this is provided by emotional stress, changing concepts (for example, fear to excitement), searching for positive moments under stressful circumstances, and the like.
Action
The third mechanism for working with fears involves carrying out manipulations and actions during a panic attack, aimed at understanding the inner world and determining the place of manifested fear in it. On a practical level, an appropriate attitude to the situation is ensured. It is compared to a telephone call, which you can listen to for a long time without recognizing the caller without performing a simple action - picking up the phone.
Foresight
The main factors here are the forecast of results and consequences. In fact, foresight is ahead of not only consciousness, but also action with attitude. When reading a stressful situation, an individual considers a possible positive outcome in advance. Preliminary planning for the course of critical circumstances allows you to prevent a negative ending or learn a useful lesson from the situation.
Such a different fear
Let's start with defining concepts. Fear is a basic human emotion. And in its pure form, fear is neither good nor bad. It is simply a defense mechanism that warns us against potential danger, helping us survive as a species.
In many cases this is useful, especially if there is a real threat to human health and life. For example, the fear of getting hit by a car stops our desire to cross the road right now, at a red light. In this situation, fear is our friend, because it carries good intentions and protects us from harm. And there is no need to fight him. All you need to do is take the necessary measures (wait for the green light, take the matches from the child), and as soon as the danger has passed, the emotion will also go away as unnecessary.
But there is another fear that we encounter much more often - fear of unrealistic, imaginary threats. They don’t exist in real life, and we come up with them ourselves, based on our own or other people’s experiences, sad pictures from the news or even horror films.
So we gradually overthink ourselves and begin to be afraid of mistakes, failures, disasters, and some terrible events. Without meaning to, we begin to believe that this fear is real to us. And we ourselves block our further movement, hanging in our emotions. These are the kinds of fears that you can and should be able to cope with. Art therapy tools can help us.
How to work through fears in children?
A child under six years of age develops psycho-emotionally in accordance with internal family relationships, without a rational approach to fears and anxieties. At this stage, parents play a decisive role in overcoming children's fears. Important mechanisms used:
- a conversation with explanations about why you should not be afraid of something;
- joint overcoming of fears through action, using the authority and personal example of the parent;
- switching attention by introducing play or positive emotions into the process.
In preschoolers and elementary school students, fears are characterized by increased depth, since anxiety is often associated with the new and unknown. Specifics of this age:
- consciousness is finally formed;
- knowledge of oneself and the accompanying dangers is manifested;
- fears are transformed in the head, influencing the child’s behavior and general emotional background;
- instinctive anxieties appear caused by social reasons (lateness, bad grades, conflicts with peers);
How to work with fears in children? The techniques used suggest focusing on the formation of a positive perception of events with awareness and understanding of what is happening. Phobias are especially active in adolescents. Added to this is the fear of looking ridiculous in the eyes of others, the fear of public speaking, and failure in exams. They also produce anxiety about losing loved ones. You can eliminate the manifestations of fear using traditional techniques used for adults.
Technique “Drawing your fear”
Goal: symbolic dissolution of fear, overcoming sad experiences, reducing emotional intensity.
Algorithm
Take 2-3 deep breaths. Remember and concentrate on your fear, rate its intensity on a scale from 1 to 10.
Take your pencils and quickly start drawing. Let your hand just slide over the paper and draw whatever comes to mind.
Fear can be drawn in different ways; there are no universal rules for how it “should” look. And everyone will associate it with something of their own, personal.
You can rely on one of the options for depicting fear:
1. Image of fear
Try to portray fear as an object, a creature, a phenomenon. To better visualize it, you can ask yourself the following questions:
-What does my fear look like?
-What does he look like?
— If you imagine fear in the form of an animal, what is it like?
2. Feeling in the body
If you know how to describe your internal sensations in words and images, say phrases like “everything went cold inside”, “there was a fever in the body”, etc. - draw these very sensations. You can depict them on a schematic drawing of the body, or simply on a white sheet of paper.
3. Scary situation
Try to draw the frightening situation itself, what worries and excites you. It is not necessary to try to create an artistic masterpiece; it is enough to show the overall picture schematically. Even those who stubbornly insist that they are “far from creativity” can do this.
4. An incident that scared
You can draw the very first incident that served as the beginning of fear.
Remember the moment when you began to be afraid. What comes to mind? Draw it on paper.
5. Mask or doll of fear
Create a three-dimensional image of fear, play with it to understand that embodied fear is not dangerous, but perhaps even cute.
You can choose a drawing method intuitively, drawing first of all what you pay attention to or what you are talking about. Later, if necessary, you can try other methods to work through fear from different angles.
Most likely, in the process of drawing some emotions will come to you. There may be tears. This means that the process of cleansing and liberation from negativity has begun. Stop when you feel pleasantly empty inside.
Look at your drawing. What would you call it? Write it down.
Rational elaboration
To consolidate the transformation of irrational fear into an adequate form, the mathematical probability of the actual implementation of phobias is assessed. They also represent the manifestation of existing fear in its most severe and dangerous form. In addition, they take into account the likelihood of all their own fears manifesting simultaneously. The result is a tiny percentage (no more than 5–10%), if the person is not in a high-risk area. Additional evidence that the reality of anxiety is negligible is the successful activity of insurance companies, since contractual cases are very rare.
You need to understand that a person himself intensifies his psychological state, provoking unpleasant sensations associated with fear. It is necessary to perceive fear as an important impulse from the subconscious. Nature itself gives you a kind of ally, producing a certain benefit when an unpleasant situation arises. For example, a dog senses the fear of a person, so the likelihood of an attack on its part increases. If he perceives him as a leader or a superior opponent, an attack is unlikely. However, it would be a good idea to carry special protective equipment with you.
The main thing is to realize that working through fear, including an idea of the possible development of events, allows you to correctly tune in and respond to a situation for which you are mentally prepared.
How to learn to overcome fears?
Remember: even the bravest and most confident people experience fears. They simply behave contrary to the idea of people experiencing fears.
When you are overcome by fear, you need to examine it in detail and find its weak points. As soon as the weak point of fear is affected, its paralyzing power will immediately disappear. Imagine that the fears of the mind are just games of your consciousness. And, like any game, they have their own rules and regulations. If these rules are violated and go beyond the normal, then the game simply cannot continue.
Involvement in the game of fear makes you believe that what is happening is real. And the greater the degree of this involvement, the higher the degree of reaction of the body, mind, and emotions. To change things and begin to conquer fear, you must take on the role of an active player to change the script that you are used to.
Where do fears come from?
Everyone is familiar with the feeling of fear: it automatically arises when there is danger, for example, if you hear the menacing growl of a predatory animal or see a flaring flame. This is a useful fear, it helps to avoid unnecessary death. At the sight of danger, the instinct of self-preservation is activated, a sign of which is fear.
The fear of the dental office is well founded: the person has previously experienced pain while drilling with a drill. Fear of surgery is also justified, because a person understands that operations cannot take place without pain.
Psychologists have identified several reasons that are harbingers of the emergence of fears:
- lack of self-confidence;
- lack of confidence in the competence of another person;
- limited physical capabilities (disability);
- excessive demands from parents in childhood;
- experienced psychological trauma;
- new living conditions (different city, different country);
- unfamiliar area;
- hormonal disorders.
If a person is not confident in his abilities, he is constantly afraid of making mistakes and being ridiculed. Or he is afraid of being reprimanded, of looking like a laughing stock in the eyes of others. Lack of self-confidence does not appear out of nowhere; usually, it is instilled in childhood by parents or teachers. If a child is constantly scolded for every mistake, a feeling of inferiority is developed. The child grows up, and with him the lack of confidence in his strengths and capabilities and underestimation of himself grows.
On a note! Women are more susceptible to fear than men. Apparently, this is due to fear for the offspring.
Uncertainty about another person's competence can also fill the soul with fear. For example, if you have to travel with an inexperienced driver or trust your health to an inexperienced doctor.
Disability (any form of disability) fills you with fear for your life, because a person is not able to take care of himself fully. It is very difficult to get rid of this fear.
Excessive demands from parents have crippled more than one child mentally. Fear of punishment or displeasure from loved ones instills torment and horror in a child's soul.
The little man shrinks all over in anticipation of a reprimand or another reprimand from his mother or father. Some people get used to it and don’t react, but for others, every word their parents say resonates with unbearable pain.
Subsequently, a person transfers his own inferiority complex to relationships with other people: he is afraid of not pleasing teachers, bosses, and relatives of his spouse. Another extreme may appear - aggression towards dissatisfied people.
Note! Everyday fear differs from phobias, which are pathological deviations. Phobias (fear of heights, certain objects, closed spaces) need to be treated by a psychotherapist.
Experienced psychological trauma prevents a person from functioning fully in society. Few people manage to cope with them on their own. In this case, the church helps (communication with believers, priest) or consultation with an experienced psychologist or psychotherapist.
Changing place of residence causes fear only during the adaptation period; subsequently this feeling is replaced by others. In case of hormonal disorders, you should seek help from an endocrinologist. Medicines will help bring the hormonal balance in order, and fears will disappear.
Irrational fear
But there is irrational fear, that is, a person is afraid of something that does not exist at a given moment in time. And it is not clear whether this far-fetched danger will even exist. For example, a person is afraid of being rejected or lonely in old age.
The fear of being rejected has ruined the lives of many, because because of it a person was afraid to meet girls or ask for something important for himself.
To be afraid of what does not exist is unreasonable and dangerous. Fear can bring into life the situation that a person fears. Psychologists and esotericists, as well as neuroscientists who have studied the capabilities of the brain, are convinced of this.
There is another category of fear - fear of the incomprehensible, otherworldly, mystical. For some reason, some people are confident that the other world is hostile to them and will certainly bring harm.
Perhaps the roots of this feeling are in the belief in demons and the devil. However, Christian teaching gives all believers a powerful weapon against demonic machinations - the sign of the cross. There is no need to be afraid of either demons or Satan: Jesus Christ defeated them long ago.
How to get rid of fears? Reflash your consciousness!
There is probably not a single person who does not experience fear. We are born without knowing this feeling. Remember how children behave - this is an example of fearlessness from birth. Initially, only instincts live in us - feelings of hunger, thirst, cold, etc. And after a short time, the still small but already person begins to “grow” with fears (fear that mom will leave the room, that relatives don’t like him, that the toy will be taken away and not returned). How to get rid of fears?
By the time the child becomes an adult, the number of fears increases and they become more serious.
Content
Stages of working through fears
As mentioned earlier, most fears are irrational. This means you can get rid of them with some effort.
Stage 1
Write down your fear. And honestly admit to yourself why you didn’t do anything to get rid of it. Perhaps this is some kind of negative experience from the past or something else.
Stage 2
Write down what are the positive things that come from surrendering to fear. Perhaps you avoided a situation where you thought you could be laughed at (and you are glad that you did not have to endure the humiliating feeling) or you have something that you would like to exchange for a better one, but are glad that you have it too is, but might not be.
Stage 3
Write down how your life might turn out if you don’t get rid of your fears (depending on the situation, but in general, it definitely won’t make you happy).
Stage 4
Write down how much your life will change, what pleasures await you if you get rid of your fears.
It is best to describe the consequences of getting rid of fear in as much detail as possible, to present everything in the smallest detail. Feel the pleasure you will experience after achieving your goal. This is how you program yourself for success!
By the way, it is worth remembering that almost everything in our lives is based on avoiding suffering and getting pleasure.
So do everything you can to get rid of the fears that make you suffer and start enjoying life!
The “rules of the game” of fear that must be broken
First rule: fear of the mind can be compared to a movie that constantly plays in your head. To break the rules of the game is to stop watching this movie and start acting in reality.
Second rule: no rational arguments work in conditions of fear. To break the rules of the game is to perform irrational actions.
Third rule: any, even the smallest fear can be turned into a nightmare and panic. To break the rules is to pull yourself together, to limit the area of personal responsibility, thereby turning fear into a problem that needs to be solved.
Knowing these “rules of the game” and having learned to break them, you can safely begin to neutralize fears.
