Fear is an unpleasant feeling of apprehension or anxiety caused by the presence or anticipation of danger. It is an emotion triggered by the threat of some form of harm. It is sometimes manifested in bravado or symptoms of anxiety and prompting a decision to fight the threat or escape from it. 

Imagine you are to give a public speech without preparation, or you have a biochemistry test that you haven’t prepared for at all the next day, you would probably show some form of anxiety, right? Fortunately, all fears are learned, and as such, they can be unlearned by repeated practices. The most common fears we experience which frequently disrupt our efforts for success are fears of failure, poverty, and rejection. We’ll take a look at some ways to handle our fears, particularly the fear of failure, especially now that our biochemistry test approaches.

Why should we handle fear? 

Fear Paralyses Action: The most common reaction in fearful situations is the feeling of “I can’t”. This is the fear of failure that stops us from taking action immediately or when we ought to. If you keep being scared of the biochemistry test, your preparation will be flawed as it’d seem insurmountable and futile to try.

Fear Reduces Efficiency: Fear has a way of opening you up to physical and mental stress without having performed any task. This adversely affects our potential and efficiency. 

 How can we deal with our fears?

1. Take Time Out: When you feel overwhelmed and anxious, thinking clearly seems tasking and the first thing to do is to take time out to physically calm down. Distract yourself from the worry for a while by taking a walk, watching a movie and so on. Even computer systems need to be restarted from time to time.
2. Face Your Fears: Avoiding your fears only makes them linger. If you face whatever you fear, it tends to fade. A Chinese proverb says “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the next best time is now”; so do not procrastinate facing your fears.
3. Don’t Try To Be Perfect: Having a perfectionist mentality is not all bad, but in this instance, it adds more unnecessary stress to the equation. We should always remember that life is messy, so it’s quite normal to have bad days and setbacks.
4. Don’t Hide It: Sharing your fears lessens its effect on you – it eases you. You can talk to your friends or family about your fears and even discuss how to solve them. A problem shared is half solved! 
5. The Law Of Reversibility: If you feel a certain way, you will act in a manner consistent with that feeling, that is, your feelings dictate your actions. What’s interesting is the fact that your actions can also dictate your feeling! This is the Law of Reversibility. If you don’t feel like reading at all when you have a test you dread, don’t mind your feelings and just read anyway! You’ll end up feeling the drive to read later on. This method is quite effective, but it requires a lot of discipline. 
6. Reward Yourself: Finally, give yourself a treat! When you’re done reading those 400 slides or writing those five essays at the end of the week, it’s only proper to reward your success by going to that mall you always wanted to visit or getting ice cream for your hardworking self.

The imminent Biochemistry test has a way of overwhelming people, and as a result, they get discouraged when preparing for it. Let’s visualize this test as what it is – a test and not some mighty insuperable enigma. Remember, fear paralyses action, so let’s try as much as possible to face this challenge without fear!

Samuel Goodluck