How should one cope with fear?

Fear is a reaction to a situation that we interpret as a threat. When under attack, our body triggers the fight or flight reaction. It’s an evolutionary mechanism, allowing to fully utilize the capabilities of our bodies in order to deal with a threat – defeating an opponent or avoiding engagement. But fear also appears when we imagine an oncoming situation – then the reaction happens a few days before a fight and is prolonged, exposing our energy reserves to stress. It’s a dead end for our body – the mind keeps imagining danger, the body triggers the fight-or-flight response, but the danger is still present in our mind. And when the real fight comes, we are worn down with chronic stress, caused by triggering the survival mechanisms at the wrong moment.

To better deal with stress, it’s worth it to utilize basic knowledge of physiology and relaxation techniques. Also cognitive psychology could come in handy, with its dogma of influence of thoughts on emotions and physiological reactions, and controlling negative attitudes.

Do you need to be brave to control fear?

Courage means acting despite fear of consequences. We have no way of direct control over our emotions – they are just something we experience. What we can control is our thoughts and actions, they are what matters in the effects of our actions. Dealing with fear starts with controlling your own thoughts. If we cannot deal with thoughts of failure, then we cannot avoid fear, which is just a response to our imagination.

I’ve read somewhere that intelligence and fear go hand in hand, and those who say they fear nothing, are idiots. What do you think?

Cognitive psychology assumes that it’s not the situation that causes fear, but what we think of the situation, how we perceive it. Intelligence as a means of foreseeing the consequences of our actions makes us able to imagine “black scenarios”, but used wisely – it can serve as a weapon against opposing circumstances. Thinking about what can go wrong is no help. Believing in success is what makes us able to rally our troops.

It’s said that when you fear, you are almost bound to lose. How does that work?

It’s not fear that causes failure.

Fear is the consequence of our thoughts of the upcoming fight. The problem starts when we start believing in our thoughts. It’s important to remember that these are just thoughts, not facts. The outcome of the fight depends on our preparation, but also our attitude. The ability to deal with negative thoughts helps us deal with stress, and not only in sports.

The fear before a fight is supposedly natural. How can you make it your ally?

By not feeding it with thoughts of failure – this will always weaken you. The lack of fear causes stagnation, but too much of it paralyses. Keeping it on optimum levels provides you with the energy needed to overcome obstacles.

It’s not worth it to completely avoid fear – it’s impossible. It’s much better to learn to accept fear and acting despite it. It’s a skill that you can train, like any other.

And how to deal with fear of failure or injury?

By training, preparation and keeping distance from your own thoughts. They should be there to warn us of possible danger, but it should be only a possibility, not a certainty. Unfortunately, our minds tend to focus on the worst scenarios – so one should sometimes just ignore it. What I do is up to my ability to fight and up to authonomous factors. By focusing on failure or injury I lessen my own capabilities. However, when real possibility of injury is at play, one needs to rationally estimate possible consequences and back out at that time, to protect one’s health.

Some people cannot handle failure and back out. How to use failure in a constructive manner, and learn from it?

You need to remember that a lot of successes depend on ability to handle failure and learn from it. That’s how experience is gained, sports related but also general. It all depends on how you handle defeat.

It’s also important where you get your motivation for sports. My motivation is what decides in my training regimen, my fights.

Our interviewee is Piotr Bogacz – psychologist, psychotherapist, certified addiction therapy specialist, cognitive-behavioral therapist. He works with persons with addictions, suffering from depression and anxiety. He works mainly by methods of modification of negative thought patterns.

Iza Małkowska