All people are afraid of something. Some are afraid of heights, some are afraid of darkness, some are afraid of loneliness. I thought for a long time that fears make us weak, but then I realized: they make us alive. It is important not to run away from them, but to learn to hold their hand.

My way of fighting fears is to talk to them. I literally imagine my fear in an image: small, prickly, but quite real. And I begin to think: “Why did you come? What do you want to teach me?” It works, oddly enough. Fear becomes not an enemy, but a hint.

I am also learning to breathe. When anxiety rises inside, I close my eyes and begin to slowly inhale and exhale. A few minutes - and it is already easier. It is like pressing the “pause” button in your head.

Sometimes movement helps. I turn on the music and start dancing or at least just walking around the room. Fear often paralyzes, so the simplest thing is not to let yourself freeze.

But honesty helps the most. When I tell myself: "Yes, I am afraid." Without excuses, without masks. And then it becomes easier, because fear is not an enemy, but a part of me.

I can't say that I am no longer afraid of anything. But now fears do not control me. I have learned to look them in the eye and continue living. And this is, perhaps, the most important discovery.