Fear is a basic human emotion, developed to keep us from harm. However, in the modern world, fear is more likely to crop up multiple times a day — and wearing us down far more than it protects or energizes. Fear of failure is one such manifestation. The vast majority of us carry around this deep-seated fear that subconsciously drives everything that we do, creating a kind of silent suffering that can end up projecting onto all areas of our life. But what if the fear that ‘protects’ us, is making us ill? What if you could alter your dynamic with this feeling?
In this article, we take a look at how the fear of failure could be affecting your health both mentally and physically, and how you can reframe it rather than fear it for a more improved life.
The Connection Between Fear of Failure and Health
Fear – Fear of The Unknown… or Worse, Fear Of FAILURE: Fear is not just some abstract emotional response. It’s a complex psychological problem that results in real life physical impact. The brain tends to see the potential failure as a threat, which is why we may get what I call the “feelings of inevitability” and our physiologically stress response system takes over. This reaction triggers the release of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline hormones that are meant to prepare your body for a fight or flight.
Though helpful on a short-term basis (having an adrenaline rush when you are just about to present that big presentation of yours), it proves harmful in the long term. Long-term stress, much of which is rooted in fear of failure, has been to a variety of physical and mental health issues.
Physical Health Impacts
- Suppressed Immune System: Chronic exposure to stress hormones can lead to a weakened immune system and cause you to get sick more readily That’s right: being a bit of a pussy will actually make you sick, as in your immune system gets weakened which leaves you open to diseases.
- Components of Digestive Diseases: Stress can amplify digestive concerns leading to ulcers and irritable bowel syndrome, or chronic indigestion. If you are dealing with stomachaches or digestive issues on regular basis, think about your fear of failure.
- Cardiovascular Issues: Stress has been found to be associated with high blood pressure and development of heart disease. Chronic anxiety over imminent failure is bound to give your heart and blood vessels trouble over time, leading to various cardiovascular problems.
- Sleep quality: Long term consequences of fear and stress are experienced as poor sleeping patterns. This lack of sleep whether it be trouble falling asleep, waking up multiple times throughout the night, or simply not feeling rested when morning arrives , only adds to the physical and emotional drain involved in fear of failure.
Mental Health Impacts
- Fear of Failure: A debilitating anxiety or depression, If you are in a constant state of fear from Fear of Failing, then chances are u would either an Anxiety or depressive person The psychological weight of what could go wrong can often leave you feeling helpless and increasingly anxious which in itself leads to further mental health issues.
- Poor Self-Image: Fear of failure or self-worth can lead to a negative opinion of oneself. And if you shy away, too fearful to confront challenges, it makes you start feeling that you are not enough. Eventually, you’ll lose your faith in yourself and start to think you’re not good enough or that’s it is simply impossible.
- Procrastination: ironically this is one of the mental consequences of fearing failure The new task, project or goals always have gotten set on the back burner as fear of not correctness debilitated you. It can spiral into a self-fulfilling prophecy where you fear failure to the point of your reluctance causing inaction, and further feeding the anxiety.
Why We Fear Failure
And, it’s important to address the reason for that fear, so we start to get over our relationship with failure. This fear arises from most likely unhealthy beliefs and bani to saddle, society’s stringency or bad personal example. The Many Reasons People Fear Failure
- Perfectionism: A lot of us grow up thinking that perfection is the final definition of success. We are taught that failure is bad and mistakes are not to be made, hence instilling a prevalent fear of failing. Mistakes are not taken as the learning curve they actually stand for, but rather they become a symbol of inadequacy.
- Fear of Failure: Fear of Judgement: Some people fear judgement from others if they fail. Whether our loved ones, friends or work mates… we care about what others are going to say if we don´t get things right. This external pressure magnifies the internal fear and it becomes nearly impossible to make sacrifices.
- Past Trauma: If you have failed before and it punished you seriously (especially if that punishment was minimized early on in life), the more failure averse you are bound to be. Old traumas will keep you stuck in a cycle of doubting yourself and living in fear.
- Setting unrealistic expectations: Establishing unreachable goals for yourself can lead to failure. And they emphasize, or “crust that fear in concrete” (thanks Nipsey), by explaining how you are close to never succeeding if you do not meet their high-expectations. That can become a cycle where you set yourself up for failure by expecting too much of yourself, and workaholic tendencies can evolve.
How to Change Your Relationship with Failure
The great news is, you can rewire that relationship to include the fear of failure. You can decrease the magnitude of this fear and reclaim your power over it by adopting healthier coping mechanisms and a different mindset. Here are some ways to start:
View failure as an educative experience
The Merely Effective Measures of Overcoming The Fear Of Failure Is Shifting Perceptions Rather than seeing failure as something you want to avoid at all costs, flip the script and look at it from a perspective of being a learning experience. But remember: every failure is a new piece of valuable feedback. This will help you to minimize the scare behind failure by giving it a new face.
Practice Self-Compassion
It is easy to be too hard on ourselves when we are afraid of deviating from a standard or because we want to avoid failure at all costs. Whatever you are short on it will be very easy to blame yourself for where you have gone wrong. Do not judge instead, practise self-compassion. Instead, be as gentle as you would be with a friend. This will help you to remain resilient and experience less of an emotional impact when you fail.
Challenge Perfectionism
The fear of failure is usually driven by perfectionism. To counteract this, begin by addressing your perfectionism. Lower your standards and realize that taking some missteps is totally fine. When you accept your missteps it allows you to take the pressure off of yourself to be perfect all the time.
Take Small Risks
Confronting your fear of failure does not mean you have to start taking massive risks right away. Start small. Instead, do things you can handle that are not in your comfort zone. And as you progressively take those little steps, your confidence will grow and so too will your resilience, preparing you to face greater challenges in the future.
Seek Support
At times, this shift needs some outside help to get over the fear of failure. If you are able to speak with someone about them, be it a therapist, a coach or a trusted friend, a conversation can offer insight & strategies. If going through your history of failure sounds terrifying, you will benefit from additional outside support if this fear of failure is deeply ingrained in past trauma or anxiety.
Conclusion
Your fear of failure should not be a determinant sentence over your life, and health. You can start by shifting your relationship with this fear and take back the peace of mind that is rightfully yours. Never forget that struggle is a part of life; it gives meaning to our existence and without we would simply cease. Reimagining failure, exercising self-compassion and battling perfectionist tendencies can help you take on life with less fear and more fortitude.
To discover more about how to both get over your fear of failure and live a healthier life, contact All in the Family Counselling. We will be of service with advice and support, so that you may live the treat life arises offering your best existence.
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