DEALING WITH FEAR IN SCHOOL

  Before I begin this article, I’ll want you to know this:

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Fear has a large shadow but he himself is small. 

 Ruth Gendlen.

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   Fear, this four lettered words have killed the potentials of many students that allowed it. And just as Ruth Gendlen has said, though may look like a mountain but when you actually face it, you’d see that it’s only a piece of stone.

A sad story from a teenage girl:

 It was my second year in college when our rector wrote an equation on the board. “who is very sure of solving this?” he said with a stern voice. “oh, I’ve solved something like this before”. I was about raising my hand when a thought struck my mind; “what if I go out there and mess up…in front of the whole class! By this time, my heart was already racing. “how’d I walk back to my sit after failing? With this, I remained quiet. When he saw no one came out, he finally said “well, you all disappointed me, and also yourselves, this has shown that you all lack a vital thing, which is courage, I was actually planning a scholarship to a student that is confident enough to just step forward…” .I couldn’t believe it, I felt I’ve been fooled by my own thoughts, It was then I realized that thought was fear.

 Fear in school can be;

A. Things we wish to do but are scared of how others might react if we fail. Such as trying to answer a question.

B. Things we wish to do but are discouraged by our own selves (doubt). Such as aiming to have the best grades.

 

  Before you allow fear to dominate your mind, here’s what you should know:

• Fear is a factor of failure and it sometimes work in hand with nervousness, awkwardness, shyness and doubt.

• It makes you imagine various ugly incidents that will happen when you fail (which might not even happen)

• It makes you believe that you don’t have what it takes, therefore, limits you to your comfort zone.

• It brings stuffs like this to your mind:

- You don’t have to answer the question, remember what happened last class, what if you’re wrong again? The whole class will laugh at you and you’ll end up looking stupid – Gelotophobia.

- You want to address the whole class? What if you trip while walking to the podium? You don’t even know what to say! – Glossophobia.

- Do you really want to put in for the scholarship exam? With your money? What if you fail? – Atychiphobia.

  In this article, I’ll be putting you through various ways to deal with your fear in School.

So how can I deal with fear(s) in school?

-Of course when trying to take a bold step, fear knocks violently on the door of your mind. Its mission is to discourage you. But luckily, we are created in such a way that we can make choices for ourselves. You can choose to either be discouraged or face it. And that’s where dealing with fear comes in-

• Believing in yourself:

 This is the first step to dealing with fear in school and even any form of fear. That’s why it’s coming first.

 Believing in yourself goes a long way as it improves your self confidence and that alone gives an edge over fear. When it comes, take a deep breath, say something like “I can do this!”. Surround your mind with positive thoughts and go for it! That’s the spirit.

• Suppressing fear with humour:

 This reminds me of a figure of speech called euphemism, whereby harsh situations are expressed in a mild way. Likewise, when faced with fear, instead of being engulfed in it, try laughing your way out, this usually instill a degree of confidence in one’s mind.

 Try to picture a funny scene from probably a funny TV show or something hilarious. The aim is make your mind stay positive.

• See/visualize every other student as your siblings:

 Since you feel free and more comfortable with your brothers or sisters at home, then try seeing everyone in class as your siblings. This also help in suppressing or dealing with fear in class. The purpose is to create a feeling of “they’re just my siblings and there’s no big deal”. If you’re the type that is quite good at visualizing, you’ll find this helpful.

• Give yourself time:

 There are some fears that requires time to overcome such as asking a girl out in your class or giving a speech in class. Look at those Lecturers, they seem really confident even when lecturing hundreds of students at a time. They were once like you, but with time, they became confident. I could remember while in junior school, I liked a girl, whenever she passed by me, I get really nervous or rather afraid but as time went by, my confidence began to grow that I asked her out later in senior school.

• Some other things you can do:

-talk to someone about how they control their fears.

-read books about ‘fear control’

-do some exercise.

-always be easy on yourself.

To round off this article, I’ll like you to know this;

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Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain.

Ralph Waldo Emerson. 
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