Everybody has their days where they feel confident and other days when they are feeling somewhat fearful. It’s something that can all permeate us, especially as we are coming out of a global pandemic and it’s hardly surprising if you are somewhat anxious about the future. If you are starting to feel like it is impacting your life, it’s important to have an understanding of this “anticipatory fear,” which can be a protective response but can also no arise from what is known as “preventative preoccupation,” where people obsess over the risks arising from things that happened in the past. Whatever you feel about the future, there are ways for you to tackle this notion of anticipatory fear: 

Seeking Therapy

While many people believe that fear of the future will mean they want to feel more in control, this is why many people can feel more anxious than normal. People that go to have a psychic reading on a regular basis feel they need to have some sense of control over the future. But the fact is the future is something that’s going to happen to you regardless of your choices. 

This is why therapy can be very beneficial because it can help you to deal with the past trauma that caused you to feel like this or help you with the symptoms of anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder. 

Finding the right therapist can do a lot for you because they can give you the tailored treatment to give you a far better understanding of who you are and where you are going. 

Practicing Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a very common phenomenon, but it is very helpful when it comes to reducing stress. A lot of people who worry about the future are never in the present. Therefore, mindfulness can help to alter parts of the brain to increase the sense of self-awareness and improve present-moment awareness. 

Present-moment awareness is very beneficial for people who have concerns about the future and are useful to people who are worried about what has happened in the past. Whatever has happened in the past, it has gone, and what’s happening in the future is not for us to control, so mindfulness strategies can help us to increase our self-awareness and come to terms with our worries about the future. 

Keeping a Journal

Journalling is a very important tool for our minds and it helps to bring focus to the present moment. Journalling is particularly beneficial for people who have concerns about the past, especially when it comes to something called “hindsight bias,” where you start worrying about a past event and thinking you should have had better control over it. 

Keeping a journal will help to minimize these negative thoughts, but it can also help to bring your focus onto what is occurring right now, while also preparing you for more positive aspects of the future. 

Exercising

Exercising is one of those things that is constantly being touted as a fix to most things, but similar to mindfulness, exercise is the perfect way for you to stay in the present moment. 

Exercising in this way has to be intense enough that you cannot think about anything else. When you do exercises that also incorporate mindfulness practices, such as yoga, you are forced to think about what you are doing rather than thinking away. 

Repeating Mantras

While this is a very spiritual practice that doesn’t appeal to everybody, a mantra is a good way to reduce anticipatory fear. Repeating mantras or any positive statements are things that will give you a quick fix that doesn’t necessarily bring long-term relief, but it is an excellent way to short circuit that negative thought that occurs during the moment. 

The most difficult thing about fearing the future is that it can take up a lot of our mental space. When we feel worried about the future, we start to believe that the future is a separate entity. You can take the approach that being fearful of the future is justified because you don’t know what will happen, but is it actually worthwhile living your life feeling like this? Many people adopt a “Que Sera Sera” approach because whatever is going to happen to you will happen, regardless of the choices that you make. As normal as it is to be fearful of the future, especially if you’ve got some big event coming up, you need to rest easier at night knowing that there are approaches to move beyond certain fears.