How to overcome fear and anxiety

Fear is one of the most powerful emotions. It has a very strong effect on your mind and body. Fear can create strong signals of response when we’re in emergencies – for instance if we are caught in a fire or are being attacked.

Fear is one of the most powerful emotions. It has a very strong effect on your mind and body. Fear and anxiety can last for a short time and then pass, but they can also last much longer, and you can get stuck with them.

1. What makes you afraid?

2. What makes you anxious?

3. What do fear and anxiety feel like?

When you feel frightened or seriously anxious, your mind and body work quickly. These are some of the things that might happen:

Your heart beats very fast – maybe it feels irregular

You breathe very fast

Your muscles feel weak

You sweat a lot

Your stomach churns, or your bowels feel loose

You find it hard to concentrate on anything else

You feel dizzy

You feel frozen to the spot

You can’t eat

You have hot and cold sweats

You get a dry mouth

You get very tense muscles These things occur because your body, sensing fear, is preparing you for an emergency, so it makes your blood flow to the muscles, increases blood sugar, and gives you the mental ability to focus on the thing that your body perceives as a threat. With anxiety, in the longer term, you may have some of the above symptoms as well as a more nagging sense of fear, and you may get irritable, have trouble sleeping, develop headaches, or have trouble getting on with work and planning for the future; you might have problems having sex and might lose self-confidence.

What make you anxious

Because anxiety is a type of fear, the things we’ve described fear above are also true for anxiety.

The word ‘anxiety’ tends to be used to describe worry, or when fear is nagging and persists over time. It is used when the fear is about something in the future rather than what is happening right now.

Anxiety is a word often used by health professionals when they’re describing persistent fear. The ways that you feel when you’re frightened and anxious are very similar, as the basic emotion is the same.

Stress is a natural reaction to difficult situations in life, such as work, family, relationships and money problems.

We mentioned earlier that moderate stress could help us perform better in challenging situations, but too much or prolonged stress can lead to physical problems. This can include lower immunity levels, digestive and intestinal difficulties such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), or mental health problems such as depression. Therefore, we must manage our stress and keep it healthy to prevent long-term damage to our bodies and minds.

When you are feeling stressed, try to take these steps:

• Realise when it is causing you a problem. You need to make the connection between feeling tired or ill and the pressures you face. Do not ignore physical warnings such as tense muscles, over-tiredness, headaches or migraines.

• Identify the causes. Try to identify the underlying causes. Sort the possible reasons for your stress into those with a practical solution, those that will get better anyway given time, and those you can’t do anything about. Try to let go of those in the second and third groups – there is no point in worrying about things you can’t change or things that will sort themselves out.

• Review your lifestyle. Are you taking on too much? Are there things you are doing which could be handed over to someone else? Can you do things in a more leisurely way? You may need to prioritise things you are trying to achieve and reorganise your life so that you are not trying to do everything at once.

You can also help protect yourself from stress in several ways:

• Eat healthily. A healthy diet will reduce the risks of diet-related diseases. Also, there is growing evidence showing how food affects our mood. Feelings of wellbeing can be protected by ensuring that our diet provides adequate amounts of brain nutrients such as essential vitamins and minerals and water.

• Be aware of your smoking and drinking. Even though they may seem to reduce tension, this is misleading as they often make problems worse.

• Exercise. Physical exercise can be very effective in relieving stress. Even going out to get some fresh air and doing some light physical exercise, like walking to the shops, can help.

• Take time out. Take time to relax. Saying ‘I just can’t take the time off’ is no use if you are forced to take time off later through ill health. Striking a balance between responsibility to others and responsibility to yourself is vital in reducing stress levels.

• Be mindful. Mindfulness meditation can be practised anywhere at any time. Research has suggested that it can reduce the effects of stress, anxiety and other related problems such as insomnia, poor concentration and low moods in some people. Our ‘Be Mindful’ website features a specially-developed online course in mindfulness, as well as details of local courses in your area: bemindful.co.uk

• Get some restful sleep. Sleeping problems are common when you’re suffering from stress. Try to ensure you get enough rest. For more tips on getting a good night’s sleep, read our guide ‘How to...sleep better’ at: mentalhealth.org.uk/howto

• Don’t be too hard on yourself. Try to keep things in perspective. After all, we all have bad days

How to overcome fear and anxiety

Fear is one of the most powerful emotions. It has a very strong effect on your mind and body. Fear can create strong signals of response when we’re in emergencies – for instance if we are caught in a fire or are being attacked

Fear is one of the most powerful emotions. It has a very strong effect on your mind and body. Fear and anxiety can last for a short time and then pass, but they can also last much longer, and you can get stuck with them.

How can I help myself?

Face your fear if you can

If you always avoid situations that scare you, you might stop doing things you want or need to do. You won’t be able to test out whether the situation is always as bad as you expect, so you miss the chance to work out how to manage your fears and reduce your anxiety. Anxiety problems tend to increase if you get into this pattern. Exposing yourself to your fears can be an effective way of overcoming this anxiety.

Know yourself

Try to learn more about your fear or anxiety. Keep an anxiety diary or thought record to note when and what happens. You can try setting yourself small, achievable goals for facing your fears. You could carry a list of things that help when you are likely to become frightened or anxious. This can be an effective way of addressing the underlying beliefs that are behind your anxiety.

Try to learn more about your fear or anxiety. Keep a record of when it happens and what happens.

Exercise

Increase the amount of exercise you do. Exercise requires some concentration, which can take your mind off your fear and anxiety.

Relax

Learning relaxation techniques can help you with the mental and physical feelings of fear. It can help just to drop your shoulders and breathe deeply. Or imagine yourself in a relaxing place. You could also try learning things like yoga, meditation, massage, 

Healthy eating

Eat lots of fruit and vegetables, and try to avoid too much sugar. Resulting dips in your blood sugar can give you anxious feelings. Try to avoid drinking too much tea and coffee, as caffeine can increase anxiety levels.

Avoid alcohol, or drink in moderation

It’s very common for people to drink when they feel nervous. Some people call alcohol ‘Dutch courage’, but the after-effects of alcohol can make you feel even more afraid or anxious.

Complementary therapies

Some people find that complementary therapies or exercises, such as relaxation techniques, meditation, yoga, or t’ai chi, help them to deal with their anxiety.

Faith/spirituality

Whether religious or spiritual, this can give you a way of feeling connected to something bigger than yourself. Faith can provide a way of coping with everyday stress, and attending church and other faith groups can connect you with a valuable support network.

1. *1960-1966:* 

       Sir Abubakar Tafawa 

       Balewa- no public  

       funds stolen.

2. *1966*

       Major Gen. Aguyi

       Ironsi- no public 

       funds stolen.

3. *1966-1975:*

      Gen. Yakubu Gowon-

      little stealing of

      public funds began

      gradually.

4. *1975-1976:*

      Gen. Murtala    

      Muhammad- zero

      tolerance for

      corruption and

       indiscipline.

5. *1976-1979:*

      Gen. Olusegun  

      Obasanjo- Military

      egg heads started

      owning huge

      properties, oil Blocs

      running into Millions

      of dollars.

6. *1979-1983:*

      Alhaji Shehu Shagari-

      looting galore by

      Ministers, party

      functionaries and

      other government big

      wigs.

7. *1984-1985:*

      Major Gen.

      Muhammadu Buhari-

      zero tolerance for

      corruption and

      indiscipline.

      Some corrupt

      politicians bagged

      200 years jail terms.

8. *1985-1993:*

      Gen Ibrahim

      Babangida- freed all

      jailed politicians;

      liberalized the

      architecture.

      In one fell swoop

      about $12 Billion

      varnished.

      He is called the father

      of corruption.

9. *1993-1998:*

      Gen. Sani Abacha-

      over $25 Billion

       looted in four

       turbulent years.

10. *1998- 1999:*

        Gen. Abdulsalam

        Abubakar- about $2

        Billion looted in 11

        months.

11. *1999- 2007:*

        Chief Olusegun

        Obasanjo- His Bank

        account is said to

        have grown from

        N20,000 after

        leaving prison to

       Multi-Billion dollars

       with choice

       properties across

       major cities. $16

       Billion allegedly

       meant for electric

       power projects

       vanished. Another

       N300 Billion [$2b] for

       roads disappeared.

12. *2007-2010:*

        Alhaji Umar

        Yar'Adua- reserved

        and sick. Looted

        funds have not been

        traced to his regime.

13. *2011-2015:*

        Dr. Goodluck Ebelle

       Jonathan- in 2011

       elections about N2.6

       Trillion disappeared.

       Over $31Billion

       stolen in 2yrs.

  Another $2.6 Billion was stolen in 2015 elections 

      More revelations on

      stolen public funds

      during his tenure are

      still emerging, but remains the most honored Nigerian president with series of international honors and engagement . Celebrated till date as the icon and hero of democracy . Till date all efforts of his successor to link him with looted funds have failed woefully , they are still trying frantically but his popularity is soaring higher on the international scene 

      His regime in terms

      of corruption cannot

      be described in

      words, but had never been indicted directly or indirectly as a former deputy governor , governor , vice president and president . 

14. *2015 - 2022 till date.* PMB. The fantastically corrupt leader , he was forced on Nigerians through rigging and under aged voting of almajiris and threatened to soak Nigerians in their blood should he not be allowed to rule .It is on record to be sponsored by jihadist and was appointed as spokes person for the Boko Haram In 2013 parley with the federal government . A sponsor of herdsmen himself , and whose ambition is to forcefully collect lands and waterways of indigenous Nigerians for his imported brothers from the west African countries .

First presidential candidate to have presented fake and forged WASC results for four consecutive presidential elections and hired 28 SAN to defend him . First Nigerian president with no known diploma or degree to his credit ,and first Nigerian military president with no international honours to his name . No known books or memoir written , very lazy in reading , analogical president who knows nothing around him for himself ,except what his overzealous advisers tell him .

The only international award to his name was fraudulently packaged by one fake Martin Luther king foundantion based in Ghana , though his PR guys paid $ 3million for this award that was quickly denounced and debunked not to emanate from the authentic MLK Jr foundation based in Chicago . 

Fake integrity hurriedly built to hoodwink his gullible supporters in 2015 but later crashed like a pack of cards when he could not live up to the role , he rode to power with looted funds , great 

 tolerance for

 corruption and financial misappropriation for his cronies , recovery of looted funds, and re- looted under his watchful complicity , a fake and pretentious ethnic bigot . He holds the record of the first Nigerian president to have polarised and divided Nigérians along ethnic and religious line , weak docile , unintelligent , gravely incompetent to the extent of repeatedly appointing dead people to position of authority . The first army general to rule Nigeria with serious security challenges , has recorded an unequalled deaths of innocent Nigerians under his regime him compared to all the regimes of former presidents combined together . Perfected new ways of nepotism and looting , introduced animals looting monies , first president to have temporarily vacated his office for rodents . First president in the world whose ailments is still a mystery but wasted billions to keep himself alive though promised not to travel abroad. This is why the majority of the citizens hate him. The first hypocrite and pretentious looter in chief sorrounded by charlatans, incompetent set of public servants randomly selected from his retenue of recycled brain drained followed financial, criminals with looted funds and properties stashed outside the country. May we never have his own specie of Goats in charge of our yams in our Nation, Communities and Kingdoms again. It is well with Nigeria because he will be forced to restructure it or be the last president to see it to her disintegration.

Please give it wide publicity till it gets to those hypnotised, gullible and blind ones directly or indirectly.

*Vote Wisely in 2023*