Many of us are controlled by fear every day without realizing it. After all, just scroll through your news feed and you will find articles, stories, and quotes, many of which are rooted in fear. Just this daily onslaught of news and social media messages is enough to make anyone think powerfully negative thoughts about the world and their life. Living in fear has become almost culturally acceptable.
Our physical survival and emotional well-being feel threatened constantly by the situations in which we live. Take, for example, the major storm all of us faced in Dallas yesterday. Many of us felt terrified – and with good reason. However, becoming frantic with fear and negative thoughts in our daily lives is unproductive and the fear is usually centered around false beliefs about our physical safety or who we are as a person.
It would be easy to think, “Nothing will ever work out” or “I’m worthless” but if you press pause before these painful thoughts cause symptoms such as fear, anxiety, or depression, you might be able to tell yourself a different story. We can work to consciously step out of these thoughts and into a proper set of beliefs about ourselves and the world. It takes some work and you may need outside help to get through it sometimes. Just remember to always balance your fearful thoughts with what you KNOW to be true in the moment. And sometimes we may need to ask a trusted friend or counselor to remind us which of our fears are unfounded. Replacing our negative thoughts with TRUTH-filled thoughts can help us step out pain and into realistic versions of what is really going on.
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