How do face something you are not ready to face?

All journeys start with the first step.

I just do it. Most of the fear and anxiety is in the anticipation. Tell yourself that its not the end of the world, the sun will come out tomorrow (no, I did not just type that), and you’ll still be alive to live another day.

But honestly, you’d have to be more specific about the situation; there are an infinite amount of ways to cope with the fear and anxiety, and different skills work in different situations.

Without being nosy, can I ask you to be just a little more specific? I am echoing tiny’s response and was thinking how to word it tactfully when her answer came it.

Resolve in your mind what your higher purpose is. Make it a mantra. When you are faced with difficulty, you will remember that you are not simply doing something unpleasant, you are progressing toward something of benefit.

Write down why you have decided on this course. If you can craft positive statements about what will happen once you get through this tough step, add those. Read it over every day as you start out to give yourself strength.

Good luck.

I try to picture myself there, that I am completely calm and that everything goes smoothly. I rehearse this scenario over and over until the time of the event. Once the day is finally here I just try to keep the calm I imagined myself having.

I take a deep breath, remind myself that I can handle anything, and do it with full attention.

All excellent ideas, but some events, even the non-catastrophic ones, can affect one’s central nervous system. All the tricks in the world can’t turn off those primitive and powerful emotions. That is why I have used therapy…where I can feel anything I am feeling and say anything I need to say, in a private and safe place.

Valium.

@trudacia That made me laugh. Lurve to you.

@Trudacia; also an excellent idea. (—who is the porker in your avatar?)

Thank you Marina. It’s a joke of course. Medication will only last for so long and you have to deal sooner or later.

@gailcalled You like my piggy friend? He is so cute, unfortunately I don’t know him personally. Although I always wanted a pig for a pet, it’s just not practical when living in an apartment in NJ.

take it by the horns! when adversity is at your doorstep, get ready for the repercussions. that “fork in the road” is a turning point where you’ll have to confront forces against you. how you deal with those forces is up to you. realize, first of all, that the situation could turn out to be a positive instead of negative. envision yourself at the end of the dilemma and strive toward that goal. say out loud to yourself how you want it to turn out and put in motion mental and emotional activities that will effect that result. keep in mind that it will not feel good as you go through, but at the end you’ll come out ahead of the game.

get a good nights rest prior to embarking.

A shot of scotch and a Camel unfiltered always works for me! Kidding….ok, maybe not, but….Realizing that you are in total and complete control of your life, that no one else is, and that if you don’t take it by the horns, no one else will. Life’s very short my friend. Get psyched up to do something you’ve never done before! Take full responsibility for the situation, and look at the world with a clear, realistic frame.

Stress about it neurotically until shortly before, then just take a deep breath and think “here goes nothing!”. Clear your head, realize this is going to happen and you just have to deal with it. If nothing else, it’ll be an experience.

Because I tend to continually analyze situations I write a few lines about the task or goal at hand on a piece of paper that I can refer back to during the situation. These lines help me keep focused on what it was I wanted prior to starting. This keeps me from waffling and helps me keep calm during the stress, because stress can make you do weird things.

medication.

phase one: study the situation.
phase two: figure best possible solution
phase three: implement solution, deal with result

Repeat as necessary.

I just think, “I’ll do it, whatever it does, whatever it takes, I’m gonna win… I’m gonna win and I’ll deal with the outcome the way I always do” sometimes I say that out loud :)

breathe deeply and go slowly. focus on what’s important.