Dealing With Fear: The Horror Movies You Play in Your Head

We empower our fear when we blame it for own inhibition, isolation, or phobias. The truth is that we feed our fear unconsciously. If your fears paralyze you, read this article. We’ll help you get rid of all those horror movies you constantly play in your head.

Those horror movies you play in your head are nothing but fantasies. You may have experienced a traumatic experience that was so hard on you that you now live in fear of the same thing happening again.

Here’s an example. Imagine you were robbed and threatened with a knife. This affected so you much that every time you go out now, you think it’s going to happen all over again. This happens because those horror movies in your head relive that moment, making you believe it can happen again. Sometimes, you may even add other scenarios, other characters, other fantasies. This leads you to daydream about it and feed your fear. 

How those mental horror movies can limit you

We’ve given you an example of a situation that happened in the past. But what happens when you’re scared of something that hasn’t happened yet? This happens more often than you think. It can make you limit yourself and keep you from doing what you want.

For example, if you want to start your own company but those horror movies in your head stage failure or public humiliation, you’ll probably stay in your comfort zone and not do anything. There’s no reason for not acting.

For this reason, we’ll propose an exercise so that those horror movies you play in your head don’t stop you from doing what you want or experiencing what you want. You have to take out a piece of paper and a pen and start answering the following questions: 

• What’s the worst that can happen?

Take those fears that are so present in your mind and think of the worst thing that can happen. Is it really the fear of failure that keeps you from taking a risk? If we take the example we mentioned at the beginning in which fear was the result of a bad experience, what’s the worst thing that could happen to you? That the same thing will happen?

If failure is actually what you fear, look for what causes it in the first place. It may be a lack of information. If that’s the case, start doing your research! There’s a lot of free research material on the Internet, so you can acquire knowledge at zero cost. No excuses!

What if your fear is the result of a bad experience? In this case, you could sign up for a self-defense class so you can feel more secure and able to face your fear. This will help you stay calm because you know that, even if someone tried to hurt you, you’d be able to defend yourself. As you can see, there are alternatives for you to tear down your fears.

• What are the odds of it happening again?

In order to put an end to those horror movies constantly playing in your mind, it’s very important to analyze your fear objectively. If you’re afraid of failing, think of the odds of that happening. If you have people around you who can guide you or if you have a plan B, the odds are greatly reduced.

Let’s say you’ve been robbed. What are the chances of that happening again? That hadn’t happened to you before until that moment, so why have the chances increased now that it has? Your experience might have affected your perception of things, but you can always change it. 

• Does fear help you?

This is an important question. You must think if the fear you’re feeling is helping you in some way. Remember that fear is necessary for survival. If you’re facing danger, fear can help you get out of that situation. But take the fear that’s affecting y ou and think if it’s actually helping you in some way. Here are some situations where fear can jeopardize you:

1. If you think that you’ll regret not having done something in the future, that fear isn’t useful.
2. In case your fear keeps you from living a normal life and that affects you emotionally, that fear isn’t useful nor is it fulfilling its true function.
3. If you notice that fear doesn’t let you grow as a person, it may be the right time to face it once and for all.

Are the horror movies in your head just fantasies? If there’s no chance they could happen in real life, you’re feeding fears that are based on your imagination.

The pros and cons of your fear

Once you’ve answered the previous questions on a piece of paper, balance the pros and the cons. Imagine you want to write a book but can’t seem to get down to work. Your fear of failure, humiliation, and not doing it well are stopping you. Years and years go by and you’re still playing those horror movies in your head, stopping yourself from making your dreams a reality. Let’s take a look:

While looking at the chart, you might notice something quite curious. The table of pros encourages action, while the table of cons makes reference to a series of circumstances that could paralyze you and could make you predict a future that hasn’t even happened yet. What’s better: predicting or taking a risk? 

If it still isn’t clear, notice how the table of pros has so many more bullets than the table of cons. Evidently, the pros outweigh the cons since they have more value and importance. Doing what we want makes us feel happy, so we should stop putting things off!

Throughout your life, you’ve probably played a few horror movies in your head. The funny thing is that you probably thought some of them were going to be way worse than how they actually were. For example, you probably realized that talking in public wasn’t as bad as you thought. That can happen with so many other fears and situations. Putting an end to them won’t be the easiest thing to do. However, little by little, you’ll realize that they did nothing more than limit you.