How do you face your fears?

[Yopaz]

I usually don't. My biggest fear is of relationships and intimacy. That is why I never share personal information with anyone I know in real life and hide my social anxiety from all of my friends behind a mask of jokes. Simply not actively pursuing a relationship and just keep casual friends is my way of avoiding my fears.

My second biggest fear is oral presentations. Considering I had an oral exam half a year ago this one couldn't be avoided. I am still not satisfied with my presentation and I still think of all the things I should have mentioned, but I can't complain about the result since I did get an A and I was the only one who did. I don't think I deserved it, but that might just be my self esteem. As for this fear though I can't avoid it in the future so I plan on facing it by always being prepared and make a written script of what I am going to say and how that is connected to everything else.

 

[Akytalusia]

the only thing i'm afraid of is disappointing my master. since i receive no coherent indication one way or the other on how satisfied they are with my service, the only thing i can do about this is convince myself that my best is acceptable through extensive rationalizing.

 

[Old Father Eternity]

The obligatory -
I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There might be some kind of derivative of sociophobia, as it is not so much fear as it is severe dislike which on most occasions is accompanied by the *i could kill this person right here and now* and that applies even to random faces I pass on the streets ... so the actual fear part would perhaps be actually snapping one day, made worse by the fact that the only viable outlets are creating virtual havoc and music, which leads to another thing, becoming deaf.
Luckily the mask endures.

 

[bossfight1]

Exposure is one of the best ways of conquering fears. My fear is of open water, or water where I can't see the bottom. I spent many years on swim teams, in pools, but if I can't see the ocean floor I get freaked out, my brain starts going "OH GOD WHAT'S DOWN THERE, IS IT A SHARK, THE LOCH NESS MONSTER OH GOD OH GOD", it's not a fun time.

 

[babinro]

For the most part I don't.

I have terrible knee problems. Every time I've slipped, fallen or lost my balance in the last 15 years I've dislocated one or both knees. Literally every time, not one exception.

As such I've developed a pretty severe fear of slipping/falling.
Snow, ice, wet surfaces, wooden floors, etc all send a bit of a shiver down my spine.
I'm not actually crippled though and naturally I have to walk (in fact I love to walk in nice weather).
So I face my fears by walking so slowly and carefully that even old men can surpass me on the sidewalk, lol.

However, I only face my fears when I have to. IE: I have to go to work to stay afloat.
I will put off groceries, social gatherings, and other errands due to winter weather or simple rain and winds for as long as I have to. It goes without saying that I'll never do things like skate, ski, or play sports again.

I face this fear all the time, but mentally it continues to get the best of me even after the necessary knee surgeries.

 

[CrimsonBlaze]

Well my only rational fear is needles/injections and I think that I've more or less conquered it.

I would dread having to get an unnecessary injection from anywhere (doctor's, dentist's, flu shots, etc.), so I would always take care of myself, exercise, and not get sick. I would still need to get inoculations and blood samples for my physicals, but I just tend to think about other things and not worry about the piercing sensation or injected fluids into my system.

I still don't like them, but I'm no longer deathly afraid of them.

 

[Ryotknife]

by running away, with fire, or with poison (arachnaphobia)

 

[Twilight_guy]

With the tenacity of a rampaging bull. I WILL SMITE YOU FEARS, COME AT ME!

Usually, I just avoid my fears as most of them are pretty rational but if I have to, I will calmly face my fears and try not to be nervous. Doesn't make me any less afraid but sometimes you have to muscle through, especially when you have a fear of needles.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

I have an enormous fear of squid and octpusses. I never intend to face them. Ever.

Seriously, if god existed, he was on acid when he made them. They're just freakish.

 

[Pinkamena]

I pay someone else to face them for me while I cry in a corner.

 

[Akytalusia]

the only thing i'm afraid of is disappointing my master. since i receive no coherent indication one way or the other on how satisfied they are with my service, the only thing i can do about this is convince myself that my best is acceptable through extensive rationalizing.

?

I don't understand.

You mean, you don't know if you're disappointing god (or whatever deity you subscribe to)?

something like that. i'm not a theist or an atheist, so i don't believe there is or isn't any deities to speak of. all i know is to consider all possibilities. with all these theist fearmongers around i have no choice but to consider the possibility of punishment for disobeying the will of any possible 'powers that be'. considering the position of this hypothetical entity, i dub it 'the relevant master' for it may ask something of me, the service of which would be the only relevant aspect of life. the way i see it, if there isn't one, then no matter if i do or don't try to serve them, nothing will change, and if there is, then i only hurt myself if i don't try. so despite the facts of the matter, the only sensible option i see is to try. i thus focus my efforts to verify the existence and/or wishes of said relevant master.
through my efforts i've long since reached the limits of what reason can glean, so my active duty's been reduced to 'waiting for the end'. but i'll continue to wait for further instruction as i can't help but worry about whether my best was enough.

 

[Patrick Buck]

I repress them. So much.

My future theropist is going to have a field day.

 

[squidface]

most people are afraid of spiders. i used to be, until when i was younger i picked a dead one up off the living room floor and held it up really close to my face and ... they're cool and beautiful, i realized. now spiders are just little badasses that i like to save from being trapped in my house.

 

[DoomyMcDoom]

I tend to look back at my near death experiences, serious life threatening injuries, and whatnot.
Next to that shit, unless it's a fear of a wild animal currently eating my face off, it tends to seem feeble and tame by comparison to other shit I've dealt with, and I just carry on...

 

[Goro]

I'm scared (terrified) of drowning, mostly because I swim like a house brick. So, by the end of this year, I plan on having my bronze swimming certificate. My daughter was afraid of the dark, so one night, when it was windy and spooky, we stayed up and walked around the neighbourhood finding the darkest, scariest places we could. When she realised there was nothing out there - problem solved! In fact, we go out on 'nightwalks' every month or so. Face it head on!!

 

[Extra-Ordinary]

Heights is a pretty bad one for me.
I've had two opportunities to jump from somewhere really high; completely opted-out, didn't care one bit when they told me how fun it was. Oddly enough, I really want to get into rock-climbing. I'm okay with climbing to a great height, I'd also kind of have my own mental safety net since I'd be too scared to allow myself to fall.
Anyway. I don't really see a need to face that one. Nothing I really do *requires* me to be in a high place for any reason so I don't feel like I need to conquer it.
Well, nothing I do RIGHT NOW anyway...

 

[AlbertoDeSanta]

Every time I'm faced with an obstacle in relation to my fears, I say "Fuck it" and move along. It's cowardly, but I've not been bitten by a spider now have I?

 

[Ieyke]

I have no irrational fears.

The only fear I have for my personal safety is high-powered radiation, because it's like the power of a god in its ability to wreck your shit permanently.

I used to work with high-powered radiation. I handled it stoically and with lead/concrete/steel shielding, and eventually got worn down from constantly being on high alert and being super careful of everything I did, so I quit.
Even then, it's not really fear per se, so much as it is supreme wariness.

My other fears are for the happiness and well-being of the people I love. I face those issues either as directly and relentlessly as possible, or philosophically, depending on what I actually have the potential to accomplish.


I dunno. I've sort of suddenly...snapped...several times, and each time I sort of...evolved.
One day I sort of snapped and I stopped feeling fear for myself. Dunno why exactly. Too many frequent encounters with almost certain death in all manner of conceivable forms?
Recently I sort of snapped and stopped giving a damn about awkwardness. THAT I think I understand. I spent 8 years having a SUPER awkward friendship with the person most important to me, so I built up a huge resistance to awkwardness....and then I recently found myself in weekly situations where surreal awkwardness was just pushed to new limits and treated as utterly normal....and so one of those weekly situations I reached a sudden zen-thing where I realized that awkwardness is just people feeling preconceived ways towards various things that don't really matter.
I can now carry on a 4 hour conversation about politics, conspiracy theories, religion, the origin of life, aliens, the plot line to all of the Sonic The Hedgehog games, and the merits and flaws of Marvel VS DC...with several random people (from teenagers to guys twice my age), and an assortment of naked chicks whose names I don't even know....while we're all watching James Bond or Christmas movies. That describes my Wednesday nights for the last 11 weeks.

Once you get over those sort of anxieties of whatever worries you most for your personal safety, and that people should react a certain way to certain situations...I dunno. It all seems to be a bit silly to work yourself up over something for no reason.

It's really basically just the people I love who are the focus of all my remaining concern, and their opinions are the only ones that might phase me enough that awkwardness may have a say.

 

[farscythe]

glass elevators.... seriously just no.. i'll take the stairs thank you (and if they're made of glass too..i guess im screwed)

(so yea. on topic i avoid my fears if possible)

 

[Ultra Man30]

Most of my more monstrous fears can only be defeated in my dreams. In these dreams I am in a sort of semi-lucid state where I can summon things to aid me, but can't control the actual dream or the fear. After I win the ensuing fight, I lose the particular fear in the waking world. It should also be noted that I can actually feel pain in these specific dreams. It turns out that taking a torch to the face isn't exactly pleasant.