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At some point, we recognize that to live completely, we must live free from fear. Not free from fear of bears or cobras – some fear is practical. But to live free of fear to be yourself, to follow your dreams, to try something new… those are the fears from which freeing ourselves will allow us to live completely. Practice the following skills and you will live free from fear

How to Live Free From Fear

1. See the good in your life, stay focused on this. Write down what you appreciate about your day every night before bed (Change your Mood With Gratitude). This will build your skills in seeing what you are grateful for and you will more readily see it during the following days. Keep this up until you feel a robust sense of your life and feel there is more to be grateful for than to fear.

2. Trust that you have the skills to can get through hard or difficult times. Fearing bad things happening and feeling that you will not survive them is a mark of anxiety. We have all gotten through hard times in the past. We now have greater skills to do it the next time. Take stock in your skills. Remember hard time are also opportunities to connect and hold onto what is truly important to us.

3. Don’t be afraid of the anxiety. Anxiety needs you to be afraid of it to have any power over you. Since anxiety feels so uncomfortable, we often do fear it. If we were to say, “Oh this is just anxiety, just let it come.” We would take the wind out of its sails and it wouldn’t come or be much less than if we were afraid.

4. Do something that makes you feel better. Recognize that you are taking action to help yourself and that you can take action to help yourself instead of being a passive recipient to the anxiety. This will give you a sense of being more in control than out of control.

5. Get in touch with your 5 senses to help you stay in the present moment. For example: Look at the woven pattern in a piece of cloth. Focus closely on the breath going in and out of your nose. Listen to some music. Anxiety is worry about the future, and we could feel it so much we miss the present. Don’t miss you life being anxious. Stay in the here and now (Mindfulness Can Calm Anxiety).

6. Remind yourself that anxiety is temporary. Panic attacks last for a finite time. Most people know how long they last. Remember that you will get through it within that time frame. This might help you be less scared and then allow you to pass through it faster.

7. Breathe. Use a focused breath. Bring the breath low into your belly. Count or pattern the breath to help increase your focus.

8. Connect with someone or something. Anxiety breeds in isolation. Connecting with a family member, a friend, a pet, or even a tree can help you feel less alone and often brings us out of the panic. Have a sense that you are not alone in life and you will be less scared of it.

9. Remember anxiety cannot hurt, it just feels like it is. Anxiety might feel like a heart attack or that you will stop breathing, but it is just an experience of these things. Fear that you are dying increases the anxiety. Remember this is only anxiety at work, and anxiety in and of itself cannot hurt you.

10. Stop judging yourself. Anxiety often has us blaming ourselves for everything. This makes you feel lousy and increases anxiety (Afraid of Failure? 4 Steps to Breaking Down Failure). Let the judgments go, have compassion for yourself. See the good in yourself.