“Fear gives rise to hesitation, and hesitation turns fears into reality” (film “Point Break”, 1991). Recently, while watching an old movie, I noticed this phrase and thought that it had a lot of meaning and a lot of truth. You, too, probably know the feeling when fear grips your arms and legs, preventing you from taking a step forward? Fear of heights, public speaking, spiders, closed spaces, fear of going outside - the list goes on and on. Today, as you already understand, we will talk about fears, phobias and methods of working with them. Sometimes it seems to me that fear is a shadow that has accompanied a person since time immemorial. Indeed, even in ancient mythology, it was personified by Deimos (ancient Greek “confusion, horror”) and Phobos (ancient Greek “fear”) - the sons of the goddess of love Aphrodite and the god of war Ares. Despite its protective and such an important function, fear can become a serious obstacle to a happy life. Phobias, irrational and obsessive fears, can darken our existence and destroy plans. In this article we will consider my author’s exercise SUDDENLY, based on the exposure method - an approach to behavioral psychotherapy that helps overcome fears. Exposure is a method in which a person gradually and under control confronts the object of his fear. Often people with phobias use avoidant and protective behavior: avoidant: postponing, refusing to take action, looking for workarounds; protective: rituals designed to “protect” from perceived negative consequences. For example, look in the mirror 3 times before leaving the house. However, such strategies only aggravate the situation, reinforcing fears. SUDDENLY is a simple but effective tool that will help you: realize your fear and make decisions to work with it; rationalize it by giving reasons for it and “against”; develop an action plan; learn to manage fear; harmonize your state. SUDDEN is an abbreviation, where each letter denotes a necessary action. The technique consists of five letters, five steps: B - Challenge: at this stage you become aware of your fear or phobia, evaluate its impact on your life and decide to work to improve the situation, challenge yourself D - Detailing: here you collect information about the subject of fear , describe it in the smallest detail audibly, in writing, or draw it, thus, as it were, initiating your “meeting” with it in a safe environment, that is, in the imagination or on paper, when nothing threatens you at all R - Rationalization: now you describe the worst scenario - what will happen if I meet my fear in real life, and describe the best scenario - what good can happen, then giving arguments for and against you come to a logical conclusion of what is most likely to happen and how you deal with it deal with how you react. This step ends with the creation of a coping card, which you will write on a piece of paper and carry with you. U - Management: In this step, it’s time to develop a step-by-step plan and stock up on auxiliary materials, such as the coping card from the previous step, breathing, relaxation techniques, etc. d.G - Harmonization: re-read everything that you wrote down or drew, praise yourself for your efforts and courage, take a few deep, calm breaths and exhalations, letting go of all tension and, possibly, fatigue. Close your eyes and imagine your life without these fears and phobias, what you will do, what your dreams will come true, try to imagine your success. If you train yourself to methodically sort out your fears in this way, your thinking will begin to restructure, and after it, your body’s reactions will become more adequate . I hope that with the help of the SUDDENLY exercise you will be able to overcome your fears and find freedom! Remember that fears and phobias are not a death sentence. With the help of modern methods of psychotherapy and your own efforts, you can get rid of them and open up new opportunities for yourself. Just think: what fears are preventing you from living and are you ready?