"... It’s your phobia, and Natasha’s fear. It’s just terrible, because she’s afraid of snakes, she doesn’t go to the forest, doesn’t go to barbecues... Can you imagine, I’m going like this - I’m home, and she rushes to her apartment, squealing and screaming. It turns out that something was moving in the grass near the entrance of her house, so Natasha decided that it was a snake. This fear needs to be treated, and your phobia is the norm. ..” - I heard this snippet of conversation recently, walking past two women enthusiastically talking. I wanted to help understand such concepts as “phobia” and “fear”. The emotion given to us from birth - fear - acts as a defense mechanism, protecting us from any danger that encroaches on our well-being. By being afraid, a person becomes more vigilant, able to protect himself from harm and save himself from an impending threat. Fear is a tribute to the past: if our ancestors who lived in the wild had no fear, they would simply... be eaten. We get used to such fear and hardly feel it. The same very common fear of heights is often our natural feeling. If you are simply “out of harm’s way” avoiding leaning too much out of a window on a high floor, this is quite understandable, since it is a normal reaction of a sane person. But if, as a result of a fear of heights, you cannot live or work above the first floor, then you can already talk about a phobia. Joint research by philosophers and psychologists about the enormous popularity that horror films enjoy among modern television viewers is interesting. It turns out that they generate specific objects of fear. Man has always been frightened by unreality, that is, by that which is intangible and cannot be understood. The nature of our fear is also unreal. And while watching horror films, our fear takes the form of real objects. It's easier to be afraid of something specific because we can act against it. Of course, horror films are not a way to work with phobias, but still, according to philosophers and psychologists, they can help. The term “phobia” comes from the Greek “phobos” - “fear, horror”. These are painful experiences when a person, against his will, has fears, doubts, thoughts, desires, actions caused by various objects and phenomena. Phobias are diverse and individual. Someone is afraid of strong waves at sea and therefore does not go on vacation. Some people can't get past even a small dog. Some are terrified of riding the subway and are forced to travel long distances by ground transport, wasting a lot of time and money. One of my friends feels guilty about her father who died early and at the same time is terribly afraid of dying early herself. One’s own phobia occupies such a large place in a person’s soul that the person himself may not be left for others, since he becomes indifferent and cruel towards them. He devalues ​​other people’s emotions, feeling only his own: “Like your little dog, on the subway - it’s really terrible.” And even if he tries to overcome the phobia by force of will, it does not bring any results. Therefore, simply talking “in the kitchen” cannot solve the problem of phobia. In this case, you need the help of a specialist who will help you face your fear and stop worrying. HOW TO CONQUER YOUR FEAR? Psychologists offer several techniques that will prevent fear from taking over you and relieve you from unpleasant thoughts: 1) Shake yourself, move your shoulders, fingers, relax abdominal muscles, breathe slowly and deeply, look to the side to see other objects, and not just the source of the phobia. 2) Find support for your body: lean against the wall, lean on something. Remember the pleasant moments from your life, the beautiful places where you have been, and paint it all in bright colors. 3) Do boring and uninteresting things thoughtfully and slowly. For example, sort out the accumulated papers on the table or wash the dishes. 4) Allow yourself to be weak. Paradoxically, the best way to get rid of fear is.