How to Deal with Fear of Being Killed

If you feel anxiety and fear that you have been the victim of a crime or even been killed, there are a few things you can do to deal with that fear. Are you too defensive and cautious to the point of exhaustion? If so, exercise control by dispelling your fears, seeking professional help, and creating a safer, healthier future.

Table of Contents

Dispel fear

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Take steps to ensure physical safety. Whether scared or not, you should always ensure the safety of yourself and those around you. There are things you can do to take control of the safety around you:

Lock doors and windows.
Leave the lights on at night or use a night light.
Keep your phone with you.
Install an alarm system in your home.

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Take precautions when you are in the danger zone. The reality is that some areas are prone to violence. You need to work hard to create a safe environment for yourself. In addition to the things listed above, there are a few steps you can take to prevent violence:

Always go with another person. Never go alone.
Avoid walking in dark areas, alleys or bushes. If you must walk on the street, you must be careful to watch for traffic passing by because they may not see you.
Wear reflective clothing when out at night so passersby can see you.
Join a local vigilante group to keep the streets safe. You can make some friends and have interesting experiences in crime prevention.
When going to the car, insert the key ring on your finger, like a cat’s claw. Hold the key facing out so it can be used as a self-defense weapon.
Carry a siren in case someone approaches you against your will.

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Learn to defend yourself. Feelings of vulnerability and physical weakness can cause anxiety. Learning self-defense skills can help you feel stronger and able to protect yourself from potential dangers.

Consider taking martial arts or kickboxing classes. Physical activity will help you manage stress and build confidence. ^{[1] X Trusted Source PubMed Central Go to Source}

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Change thoughts. When you find yourself thinking about your fears, you should find a way to think about something else. Obsessive thoughts will only make things worse. Distracting your thoughts from something else can help stop the vicious cycle of anxiety that accompanies thoughts of excessive fear.

Go for a walk or chat with a friend to focus on something more pleasant.

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Self-study. Read statistics about actual crime in your neighborhood. You will notice that very few crimes occur relative to the population rate. The goal of this is to give you facts so you can have healthier thoughts.

Research shows that factors that contribute to fear of crime include: gender, age, race, lack of connection with neighbours, lack of trust in the police force, crime rates, past victims causes of crime, perception of risk, and assessment of the seriousness of the crime situation. ^{[2] X Research Source}

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Face the fear. Identify what scares you and fight it. ^{[3] X Research Resources} Identifying specific fears will help you find solutions. Sit down and make a list of the things that lead you to the fear of being killed. For example, did you witness someone being attacked or killed as a child? If that’s the case, it’s possible that your fear is rooted in that as well.

Fight your fears by listing possible solutions. For example, if you’re afraid to take a shower because you think you’ll be attacked, you can lock the bathroom door or ask a friend to stand outside to warn you if something happens. This is a small step, not a permanent solution, but a good start.

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Make an action plan. Most fears will be overcome with a plan of action. Overcoming fear of being killed is no exception. Define what your main goals are, map out the steps to do it, and follow through with your plan.

List factors that you believe contribute to your risk of being killed. Is your fear related to a neighborhood living down the street that you have never met?
Step by step handle your dilemma. Perhaps you should ask a neighbor you trust about the other neighbor. For example, you might ask, “How do you feel about the neighbor who lives down the street? Do you think they are good people?”
When you think about the solution, you will be less afraid. Having an action plan will help you feel like you can do something to improve the situation. You might aim to visit your neighbor’s house to say hello.

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Train not to be afraid. To overcome the fear of being killed, you need to go through the process step by step. Research has shown that confronting fear in an imaginary situation or a real experience can help people overcome it. Building positive habits is the ideal goal. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

If you’re afraid to go into the garage at night, build your courage by first opening the garage door and standing there for a minute. The next day, put one foot inside and stand there for a minute. Gradually work towards standing in the garage for a few minutes.
Body language, especially posture, can help you feel strong and courageous. Stand in the garage with a “power” posture. For example, put your hands on your hips like a superhero. Stand there for a few minutes until the adrenaline rush makes you feel powerful. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

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Be open with your feelings. It is important that you allow yourself to be weak in your efforts to make a change. You are facing harsh realities that can make you feel uncomfortable. Be ready to feel, speak up, and act instead of against it.

Being open to your feelings means that you have to describe how you feel in different situations. Do you feel a lump in your throat? Do you feel jittery and fearful, almost panicking? Do you have the urge to run away and feel so dangerous that you don’t dare get in your car at night? The act of trying to control your emotions and pretending you don’t react is the opposite of what you need to do.
Remember that lifting your mood will allow you to feel good. You can have fun, be silly, and laugh at yourself. ^{[6] X Research Source} That will make you feel good.

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Notice if your fear escalates into a phobia. Fear and phobia are not the same thing. When the fear develops to the extreme and irrational, for example, when you dare not leave the house for fear of being killed, it can be considered a phobia. Once you understand this, you will feel calm and in control of yourself and your fears, so you can begin the treatment process.

The physical symptoms of a phobia include: sweating, shivering, feeling dizzy, shortness of breath, panic, crying, moaning, trembling, constant vigilance and never relax. relax, engage in avoidance and prevention behaviors such as refusing to go out at night, adopting defensive measures such as keeping a watchdog, installing an electric fence, installing a siren alarm system. ^{[7] X Trusted Source HelpGuide Go to Source}
Emotional signs of a phobia include: drowning in anxiety or panic, fear of losing control or going insane, or knowing you’re overreacting but can’t stop. ^{[8] X Trusted Source HelpGuide Go to Source}
If you’ve been a victim in the past, it’s easy to understand why you’re scared. When your thoughts, feelings, and actions escalate to the levels mentioned above, you may have post-traumatic stress disorder. You need to contact a mental health professional for an accurate diagnosis.

Get professional help

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Find a therapist. If you avoid social contact, or feel excessive and irrational anxiety, or panic, consider seeking professional help from a therapist. Sometimes a normal fear develops into a phobia and requires treatment. ^{[9] X Trusted Source HelpGuide Go to Source} Think about choosing a therapist who practices methods such as:

Systemic desensitization: the classical method eliminates the fear response and replaces it with a relaxation response. ^{[10] X Trusted Source Simply Psychpogy Go to Source}
Hypnotherapy: a form of communication through the process of hypnosis, thereby creating an imaginary image for the patient to change the way of thinking, feeling and senses. ^{[11] X Research Source}
Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP): a method that explores the interplay between mind and language and how they affect a person’s body and behavior. ^{[12] X Research Source}
Cognitive-behavioral therapy: therapy that allows you to examine your thoughts and behaviors to determine how to rebalance the mismatches. This therapy has been shown to be effective in managing anxiety and depression associated with phobias. ^{[13] X Trusted Source PubMed Central Go to Source}

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Learn relaxation techniques. ^{[14] X Research Source} Relaxation helps reduce stress and anxiety. Regardless of whether the fear arises before or while you are alone, at work, or in a social situation, stop for a minute to take a breath and apply the relaxation skills you’ve learned. . These methods include:

Guided visualization: This is a method of focusing on peaceful images that you create yourself or with the help of a therapist.
Biofeedback: An exercise technique that lowers heart rate and blood pressure, two factors associated with fear.
Breathing exercises: Breathing exercises help calm the nervous system involved in the “fight or flight” response that is triggered when you feel fear. ^{[15] X Research Source}

Creating a Safer and Healthier Future

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Learn to accept uncertainty. People often feel fear when they are worried about an uncertain outcome. ^{[20] X Research Sources} This is a struggle, because no situation can promise complete certainty. So you need to learn to be comfortable with that. Uncertainty is an inevitable part of everyday life. How you react to it is what makes a difference.

Use the “as if” method of acting you are comfortable with uncertainty. ^{[21] X Research Sources} First, you need to review all the things you do with the aim of avoiding uncertainty just to feel more secure. Write down answers to the following questions:
Do you double-check almost everything you do?
Do you avoid events or procrastinate repeatedly?
Do you need someone to reassurance over and over again?
Do you need a lot of information before making even small decisions?
Next, identify situations in which you feel anxious about uncertainty, and things you do to feel less anxious. Rate the situation on a scale of 1-10, where 10 is the highest level of anxiety and 1 is the lowest.
Then, start with the least anxiety-provoking activity and act “as if” you accept uncertainty. For example, going out to the movies without checking the crime rate in the area.
Finally, keep records of the results. Ask yourself what you did, was it harder or easier than expected, did things turn out well, and how would you respond if it didn’t go as you planned. Documenting those things will help you see your progress and open the way for you to change your behavior.

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Continue to develop coping skills. You are stronger than you think. You will continue to improve your coping skills as you successfully handle challenges. ^{[22] X Research Source} For example, notice how you deal with other fears in your life and apply those strategies. Also, observe how someone you admire copes with difficult situations. Ask them to suggest ways you can do it.

Following a pattern in problem solving gives you a structure for making change. You’ve identified your fears and related emotions, and now you must define clear goals, work toward those goals, make adjustments if necessary, and monitor your progress. ^{[23] X Research Sources}
Maybe one of your goals is to schedule and document the times you worry about staying safe while going to school, work, or shopping. Self-monitoring is one way to lead to real change. ^{[24] X Research Resources} You can examine your own behaviors and develop methods to change them.

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Have a holistic view of life. It is important that you take a holistic view of the information you hear from others or from the media. If you wallow in negative information and thoughts, it will distort your view of reality.

Stop and think clearly, you will find that the chances of such crimes happening again or even for the first time are very low.
When you subconsciously believe that your risk of being killed is increasing, stop and ask yourself questions like: Are those risks real? Why do I think so? Are these facts believable? Taking time to question your thoughts can break the cycle of obsessing over them.

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Accept yourself. Struggling with yourself can leave you feeling bad about yourself. Unfortunately, fear includes anxiety, so you may worry that you’re worrying too much. Anxiety and worry are a natural part of life, and you can learn to control them instead of trying to eliminate them, or feel bad about them.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy can help you examine your thoughts and develop new, more effective ways of thinking about yourself, while also helping you manage anxiety and nervousness. ^{[25] X Trusted Source American Academy of Family Physicians Go to Source}

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Banish anything that stands in your way. Inhibitions are feelings that make you restless and unable to act comfortably and naturally. ^{[26] X Research Source} To do this, you must feel secure with yourself, with your circumstances and with the people around you.

Practice letting go by rediscovering your playful side. It is often said that one smile is equal to ten tonic scales. When you laugh and joke around, a sense of well-being rises, helping to reduce feelings of anxiety and nervousness. Laughter and play will help you stay optimistic and positive in difficult situations; It’s also a proven cure. ^{[27] X Trusted Source HelpGuide Go to Source}^{[28] X Trusted Source PubMed Central Go to Source}
Make a schedule for scheduled fun: meeting friends; play with the children; organize events that interest you; Go out to play sports with friends or go to karaoke together. The most important thing is that you have to be among happy people.

Advice

People often exaggerate negative consequences before they happen and underestimate their ability to handle the situation. Such thoughts are biased and need to be changed.
Don’t allow anyone to harm you. If someone threatens you, go to the authorities for protection.

Warning

If it is determined that there is a clear and real danger of being in danger, call law enforcement immediately for help.
Avoid watching movies or reading horror stories. They are made for the purpose of causing fear. You don’t have to be scared anymore!
Be careful with weapons for self-defense. Possession of a weapon that you do not know how to use can be dangerous – far more dangerous than the thought that frightens you. You certainly don’t want to accidentally injure yourself or someone else.

Steps

Dispel fear

Get professional help

Creating a Safer and Healthier Future

Advice

Warning

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