Whether working at a job or looking for one, we constantly have to face the stress and anxiety of life. Each day we confront challenges, or foresee challenges, that raise our level of anxiety. In fact, almost 20 percent of Americans are diagnosed with anxiety disorders each year. What this means is that there are a lot of people suffering from fear and anxiety, emotions that result from a feeling of not being in control, of helplessness.

And because of these fears, many look for what is safe and secure, unwilling to take risks, and sharply diminishing their quality of life.

In itself, fear is not a bad thing. We developed this sense as we evolved because it actually helps us in many ways. It helps us to avoid danger and stops us from doing something foolish, both necessary to maintain our survival.

In fact, those whom we call courageous are not without fear. They have fear, but they are able to overcome it. Courage in this sense is not absence of fear, but handling our fear. Moreover, some argue that in order to best deal with fear we need to understand it. We don’t want to try and run from it or suppress it, but learn about it, what incites it in us. By understanding better how it affects us, we will be better able to deal with it.

Business analyst Susan Chambers offers a few strategies for dealing with fear.

• As was mentioned, fear can be a signal that something isn’t right. And it’s a good idea to pay attention to that signal and take action on it. Fear in this case can be a spur to action, to do something to prevent or blunt a danger. We must pay attention to our intuitions and our feelings and not immediately dismiss them. They may be telling us something worth taking note of.
• Fear can also take the form of self-doubt. And here again it may be telling you something. If you fear a new project you are planning, could it because you are not prepared enough? But you have to listen to your fear. If you know you are well prepared, then your fear is not helping you, and you need to think about your ability and preparation to fight your fear.
• Another thing to remember about fear is that often we become afraid because in our imagination things appear to be much more imposing and frightening than they actually are. Here a quote from the novelist Andre Gide is appropriate, “There are very few monsters who warrant the fear we have of them.”

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