Fear, especially irrational fear, can limit life considerably and literally paralyse a person. That is why it is important to release fear so that it does not stand in the way of the things that make life perfect. Many people reject new things because they are basically afraid of them. But in order to live a happy, fulfilled life in the long term, you have to learn to let go of fear and overcome it.


Releasing fear requires strong will and patience, but with a few simple steps anyone can achieve their goal.

Firstly, it helps to make a list of all the fears that hinder your life. Typical fears are, for example, fear of flying, fear of dying or fear of failure. Each of these fears on the list should be given a score between 1 and 5, depending on how much it restricts your life. 1 describes a fear that is present but not very dominant, 5 stands for a fear that has a strong negative impact on life.

On a second list, write down all the things that you resist or rebel against, such as moving to a new city or meeting new people. These things are also given a rating like the fears.

The next step deals with all fears and things that have been given a high rating. Each fear needs to be analysed for itself: why are you afraid of it, why are you resisting it and what could possibly have caused this fear in the first place. Whatever the reason for each fear, for every argument there is a counter-argument as to why this fear is irrational. If you are afraid of accidents, for example, you can consider the comparatively small probability that an accident will actually happen when you consider how often nothing happens.

You visualise what you are most afraid of and imagine yourself in exactly this situation. If you are afraid of exams, imagine yourself in an exam situation and see yourself with a successful outcome. Write down every step in this imaginary situation and remember how you felt. You can do this for every single fear on the list. It is important to record how you felt before, during and after the imaginary situation.

To overcome fear, you have to start small. It is therefore best to start the process of overcoming fear with a fear that has only been given a small rating, i.e. one that has less of a negative impact on your life, as this will be easier to resolve and achieve a positive end result. For every positive result on the way to overcoming the fear, self-confidence increases and makes it easier to take the next step.

If you don't trust yourself to overcome your anxiety on your own, you shouldn't shy away from talking to a therapist. A good psychotherapist can identify the underlying causes and help to reduce the anxiety.