How to Overcome a Fear of Fire Alarms
Determine the root of your fear., Identify your negative and irrational thoughts., Challenge your negative thoughts.Alone and with help from others, call yourself out when you make an irrational association., Replace negative thoughts with realistic...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Determine the root of your fear.
If you find yourself over-anxious or distressed over the possibility of a fire alarm, there could be any of several psychological or physiological causes.
Not all symptoms share the same underlying issue.
Consider talking to a licensed therapist or counselor to help determine the cause of your anxiety.
For example, “ligyrophobia” is the fear of sudden and unexpected loud noises.
Maybe your fear is more related to the sudden, unexpected nature of a fire alarm rather than the alarm itself.Phonophobia and ligyrophobia may be related to sensory-processing disorders, or SPD.
SPD occurs when the brain has trouble sending and receiving signals, and some types of SPD are linked to various other disorders, such as Autism Spectrum Disorders and some genetic disorders. -
Step 2: Identify your negative and irrational thoughts.
Cognitive behavioral therapy has shown great success in handling phobias and anxiety disorders.The first step in most treatment programs is to identify the false associations your mind is making to the fire alarm.
Ask yourself: “What is it that I fear exactly?” ”What am I ultimately afraid will happen?” ”Why do I think this will happen?” ”When do these thoughts arise?” , Each time the unwarranted fear strikes you, make it a point to pause and challenge the thought.
Tell yourself, “This is not a rational fear.” Consider your fear a “false alarm” that your mind has created.Remind yourself, “I do not need to fear this sound.
It is only a warning, an alert.” Enlist friends to call you out kindly when you make irrational associations. , Each time the anxiety strikes you, challenge the thought and then offer a positive, rational replacement for it.
Replace “what if” fears with “what else” options.For example, you might say, “I will not burst into flames as soon as I hear this sound.
I will walk out of the house is an orderly manner.” Maybe you say to yourself, “This sound is not dangerous.
In fact, it helps me survive and keeps me safe.” , Acceptance and commitment therapy focuses on working on accepting the uncomfortableness of life without judgement.
Through ACT, you can build a commitment to behavioral change using mindfulness, or living in and accepting the present moment.If replacing negative thoughts with positive thoughts has limited success, try changing the way you relate to that negative thought in the first place.
Tell yourself: "I know that his fear is uncomfortable for me right now, but it will pass, and it doesn't mean that I'm defective or broken
- it just is." "This moment is uncomfortable, and that's part of life, just like good moments are.
I can deal with both the bad and the good."
You might try:
Breathing or counting exercises.
Yoga or meditation practices.
A repeated phrase or mantra to refocus your mind.
Movements or exercise to alleviate stress.
Visualization exercises.
Progressive muscle relaxation. , For example, you can confront the sound yourself for longer and longer periods of time, or you can ask a friend to test your home fire alarm at random times until the sound becomes familiar and normal to you.
Do not attempt exposure until you have mastered relaxation techniques, so you will be able to calm yourself if the exposure creates too much anxiety.
Make a list of increasingly difficult situations and work through it slowly from least to most anxious.
Try recording the sound of a fire alarm on your smart phone and listening to it at a higher and higher volume over time.
Search for videos of fire alarms on the Internet and let them play while you are doing chores to desensitize yourself to the jarring sound.
If you fear the actual fire more than the alarm, try lighting candles with every meal to familiarize yourself with safe, controlled flames.
Engage the relaxation skills you learned earlier as you increase in anxiety.
Never pull a public fire alarm when there is no fire, even if you are practicing exposure therapy.
This may be a felony, and you could put people's lives in danger. , The more you tangibly prove to yourself that hearing a fire alarm will not harm you, the less frequently your anxiety will occur.
Confront the alarm with friends or in otherwise pleasant conditions to associate new memories to that particular sound.
New, positive memories act as living proof that the alarm cannot hurt you. -
Step 3: Challenge your negative thoughts.Alone and with help from others
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Step 4: call yourself out when you make an irrational association.
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Step 5: Replace negative thoughts with realistic thoughts immediately.Just challenging your negative associations and thoughts is not enough.
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Step 6: Treat your fear as just another thought.
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Step 7: Practice relaxation and coping skills.Before you try exposure therapy
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Step 8: you will want to practice a set of relaxation skills or coping mechanisms to help you work through the anxiety caused by continued exposure to the fire alarm.
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Step 9: Confront your fear gradually.In exposure therapy
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Step 10: individuals attempt to desensitize themselves to the fear of fire alarms through incremental exposure.
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Step 11: Forge positive associations over time.As you become more familiar with the fire alarm and more relaxed around the sound
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Step 12: you will naturally build new associations for your body and mind.
Detailed Guide
If you find yourself over-anxious or distressed over the possibility of a fire alarm, there could be any of several psychological or physiological causes.
Not all symptoms share the same underlying issue.
Consider talking to a licensed therapist or counselor to help determine the cause of your anxiety.
For example, “ligyrophobia” is the fear of sudden and unexpected loud noises.
Maybe your fear is more related to the sudden, unexpected nature of a fire alarm rather than the alarm itself.Phonophobia and ligyrophobia may be related to sensory-processing disorders, or SPD.
SPD occurs when the brain has trouble sending and receiving signals, and some types of SPD are linked to various other disorders, such as Autism Spectrum Disorders and some genetic disorders.
Cognitive behavioral therapy has shown great success in handling phobias and anxiety disorders.The first step in most treatment programs is to identify the false associations your mind is making to the fire alarm.
Ask yourself: “What is it that I fear exactly?” ”What am I ultimately afraid will happen?” ”Why do I think this will happen?” ”When do these thoughts arise?” , Each time the unwarranted fear strikes you, make it a point to pause and challenge the thought.
Tell yourself, “This is not a rational fear.” Consider your fear a “false alarm” that your mind has created.Remind yourself, “I do not need to fear this sound.
It is only a warning, an alert.” Enlist friends to call you out kindly when you make irrational associations. , Each time the anxiety strikes you, challenge the thought and then offer a positive, rational replacement for it.
Replace “what if” fears with “what else” options.For example, you might say, “I will not burst into flames as soon as I hear this sound.
I will walk out of the house is an orderly manner.” Maybe you say to yourself, “This sound is not dangerous.
In fact, it helps me survive and keeps me safe.” , Acceptance and commitment therapy focuses on working on accepting the uncomfortableness of life without judgement.
Through ACT, you can build a commitment to behavioral change using mindfulness, or living in and accepting the present moment.If replacing negative thoughts with positive thoughts has limited success, try changing the way you relate to that negative thought in the first place.
Tell yourself: "I know that his fear is uncomfortable for me right now, but it will pass, and it doesn't mean that I'm defective or broken
- it just is." "This moment is uncomfortable, and that's part of life, just like good moments are.
I can deal with both the bad and the good."
You might try:
Breathing or counting exercises.
Yoga or meditation practices.
A repeated phrase or mantra to refocus your mind.
Movements or exercise to alleviate stress.
Visualization exercises.
Progressive muscle relaxation. , For example, you can confront the sound yourself for longer and longer periods of time, or you can ask a friend to test your home fire alarm at random times until the sound becomes familiar and normal to you.
Do not attempt exposure until you have mastered relaxation techniques, so you will be able to calm yourself if the exposure creates too much anxiety.
Make a list of increasingly difficult situations and work through it slowly from least to most anxious.
Try recording the sound of a fire alarm on your smart phone and listening to it at a higher and higher volume over time.
Search for videos of fire alarms on the Internet and let them play while you are doing chores to desensitize yourself to the jarring sound.
If you fear the actual fire more than the alarm, try lighting candles with every meal to familiarize yourself with safe, controlled flames.
Engage the relaxation skills you learned earlier as you increase in anxiety.
Never pull a public fire alarm when there is no fire, even if you are practicing exposure therapy.
This may be a felony, and you could put people's lives in danger. , The more you tangibly prove to yourself that hearing a fire alarm will not harm you, the less frequently your anxiety will occur.
Confront the alarm with friends or in otherwise pleasant conditions to associate new memories to that particular sound.
New, positive memories act as living proof that the alarm cannot hurt you.
About the Author
Steven Allen
Writer and educator with a focus on practical practical skills knowledge.
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