Whether you have found yourself experiencing anticipatory fear as a result of past traumas or for another reason altogether, it is important to find a therapist who can help you. Specifically, it would be helpful to seek out a therapist who specializes in the treatment of anxiety, trauma, and PTSD.

5. Seeking a therapist 

When the anticipatory fear is rooted in a past event or experience, it is often associated with dread, which can be physiologically intense and frequently associated with something ominous or traumatic in nature. Some form of trauma is often at the root of a dread response.

A study says that, if you're experiencing high levels of anticipatory fear, protective responses can lead to being unable to think clearly, being afraid to leave the house, or even being afraid of most social interactions.

Protective Responses

1. Practice Mindfulness Research has shown that mindfulness can improve emotion regulation, which is incredibly helpful in reducing stress.2. Repeat MantrasYou can repeat things like:<ul><li>I am safe</li><li>It's gonna be alright </li><li>All is well </li></ul>Saying things like this to yourself can be helpful as your search for a long-term solution.

Ways to Fight Anticipatory Fear

It is completely normal to fear the future, but definitely take note if your fears are starting to take up a lot of your mental space. It's also important to notice if your actions are being impacted by your concerns. That said, hopefully, you can rest a little easier knowing that there are ways to get help and to move past these fears.

Dreading the future, or anticipatory fear, is quite common and can be quite debilitating in extreme cases. People struggle with anticipatory fear when they worry about the outcome of a future event they have never experienced before.It can also be linked to the intolerance of uncertainty which leads to indecisiveness and an increased likelihood of constant comparison. Thus, people tend to overthink the possible outcomes of their decisions.

3. Exercise Exercising can help keep you in the present moment. This way you are forced to think about the task at hand rather than worry about the future.4. Keep a journal ﻿Keeping a journal can help you fight off hindsight bias, which is when you get caught up thinking that you had better control of past events.

Past negative experiences can make people feel worried that the same series of events will line up allowing the past to recreate itself.

Prior Painful Experiences

It happens to me..always! But it's normal, yeah. 🥲

If you the future and find yourself feeling fearful or anxious from those thoughts, you may have a fear of the future. Here are some tips to help you address your fears.

FRANK ANDERSON, MD

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