There are certain situations and even certain jobs where the chance of something violent happening is higher than normal.
Which for some people means that they develop a fear of violence which may or may not be justified in real life but is definitely very real if you're the person suffering.
Check out these tips to help calm or even overcome your fear.
1.
Work with your fear Depending on the situation, your fear could well be backed up by circumstances.
If that's the case, work with it to minimize the risks that you're being exposed to.
Keeping your cell phone handy is a good start.
If your workplace has one, make sure you know the procedure for setting off the personal attack button - most of them are fairly easy to use but often require a deliberate action such as a double push to avoid them being set off accidentally.
If you're often walking down dark streets then a personal alarm that would temporarily deafen a would-be attacker is a good idea.
Taking these steps to reduce your fear is a good way to stop it overpowering you completely.
2.
Learn a relaxation technique Often fear creeps up on us unexpectedly.
Which means that the regular suggestions of things like meditation or yoga to help you relax aren't particularly valid although they will help you to relax more over the longer term.
Even something as simple as deep breathing can be a good technique to help calm yourself down and reduce the fear of violence that you're experiencing.
Another good technique that requires no special equipment is the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT for short), often referred to as tapping because it involves you tapping accupressure points in sequence.
There are plenty of tutorials available online for free and it is a quick and easy way to deal with fears and help reduce them.
3.
Face your fear Depending on how likely your fear of violence is to turn into actual harm, this may be a good solution.
Stand up to your fear and challenge it to support the ideas it's putting into your head.
This may seem odd at first and it's probably best to practice on a small fear or phobia first.
But if your fear isn't particularly rational then challenging it and exposing it to questions - even if only inside your head - can be a great way to push it out of the way.
4.
Keep yourself busy So long as circumstances allow it, keeping yourself busy is a fantastic solution.
It means that your mind doesn't have as much time to dwell on your fear of violence - you'll be concentrating on other things instead so your mind won't have time to blow your fear up into something that would make Freddy Krueger quiver in his boots.
5.
Get outside help Talk your fear over with a friend, listen to a hypnosis track or book a session with a professional.
Any of these options for outside help will assist you with getting your fear of violence back under control and let you start living a more normal life again.