生活百科：心理健康與生活系列之八——如何直面恐懼

STEP 1 Identify fears 確定自己恐懼什么

Identify your fears and write them down on a piece of paper.

STEP 2 Evaluate your thinking 考量自己的思維

Change the way you think about a fear by understanding what causes the anxiety. Identify which parts of the fear cause the most to the least anxiety.

STEP 3 Plan 做計劃

Make a plan for overcoming your fears. Make small, realistic goals.

STEP 4 Face your fears 面對恐懼

Confront your fears.

Focus on increasing frequency, intensity, and duration when facing your fears.

STEP 5 Challenge yourself 挑戰(zhàn)自己

Confront the fear until you become distressed. Challenge yourself to endure the situation. When it becomes unbearable, separate yourself from the fear.

STEP 6Seek help 尋求幫助

Seek professional help if your fears affect your daily life.

STEP 7 Be persistent 堅持不懈

Be persistent. The more you confront them, the easier they will be to handle the next time.

In the United States, approximately 18 million adults have social phobia.