Not every fear needs to be dealt with. Fears and anxieties are emotions designed to protect us from danger. Therefore, in the process of a child's development, there are periods when natural fears manifest themselves: fear of strangers, fear of leaving the mother, fear of fairy-tale characters, fear of death. But not all fears are passing. If they form in phobias (obsessive fears) or pass from childhood to adulthood, interfering with socialization, it is necessary to understand their cause and take measures to eliminate them.
Instructions
Step 1
A preschooler who cannot fall asleep or is afraid of darkness and confined space can only be relieved of fear on the basis of diagnostics. Children are listed many situations that can cause fear (at least 20), and the child points out those that worry him the most. This is necessary in order to relieve anxiety - the fear of the unknown: "I'm afraid to go to kindergarten, but why - I don't know."
Step 2
To clarify the content of fear, you can suggest drawing it. The child does not immediately take up drawing, because it is scary to even imagine who he is afraid of, and drawing means touching this fear. If a preschooler draws just a black space, you need to try with him to imagine what there, in this darkness, can be.
Step 3
For an adult, such an exercise can be done without a drawing. If it is scary to enter a dark apartment, you need to try to imagine in the daytime or under lighting what can be frightening, and where it is located: in the closet, under the bed, outside the door. Such representations provide an opportunity to make first contact with your fear. If you managed to imagine an object that frightens you, you can start thinking about why it appeared here, and what it needs from you. You can mentally talk to him, regret it, or just be around.
Step 4
The game of fears, which has its own sequence, brings a good result. Initially, the child plays the role of a victim, and the adult (parent, psychologist) plays the role of a frightening object. A child can hide under a blanket or in a closet and wait while Baba Yaga walks around his room looking for him. He does not find the child and leaves with nothing, regretting and promising to come again. In practice, it is precisely the fear that is most frightening that is played out. This action can be repeated several times.
Step 5
Then the players change roles, and the child becomes a scary character, i.e. leaves the role of the victim. He can repeat the actions of an adult or play in his own way.
Step 6
At the third stage, the roles change again: but now the child is no longer a silent and hiding victim, but is actively fighting the monster: he attacks him, defends himself, drives him out of the room.
Step 7
You need to figure out which of the real people your fear is like. The clue can be in characteristic phrases, repetitive actions or the character's clothing: "A ghost in my mother's dress came into my room." Fears are in the realm of emotional relationships between people. Managing this relationship will help you get rid of the fear.
