Strategy Instead of Reassurance: How We Can Constructively Deal with Fear of the Future

Summary: Fear of the future is more than just a feeling – it is closely linked to our thinking. Instead of mere reassurance, we need strategies that make us capable of action. Here you will learn how to gradually shift from situation orientation to action orientation and regain your self-determination.

1 | Why Reassurance Isn't Enough

Most people know the feeling: Suddenly, a worry about the future shoots into our minds. In our current times, we even live with fear about our future, from a threatening mix of global, political, and personal crises. An uneasy feeling spreads through our daily lives – and almost reflexively, we try to calm ourselves: "Oh, it won't be that bad." Or friends and family try to reassure us, to distract us. Well-intentioned, but ineffective! The cycle begins anew. Often this effect lasts only a few minutes or hours. At the latest in the evening, when our minds start spinning again, the fear returns. If strong fears about the future persist, along with accompanying symptoms such as constant rumination and worry, sleep disorders, loss of appetite and interest, prolonged low mood, anxiety disorders, panic attacks, phobias, or even depression can develop.

My thesis: We approach fear of the future incorrectly. Reassurance is a band-aid – but not a solution. Because the real problem with fear doesn't lie in the emotion, but in the thinking.

Fear of the future is not just a feeling, but closely linked to our intellect and our imagination. We envision what could happen – and the more we think about it, the bigger the threat appears. Relaxation techniques only help superficially because they don't change the thinking. And thinking is very powerful.

This is where the statement by hypnotherapist Gunter Schmidt comes in:

"Those who have fear have a future."

Fear shows us that we think in scenarios that haven't occurred yet. It's an indication that we have room to shape things – if we use the energy of fear instead of just numbing it.

2 | The Psychological Lens: Why Fear Is So Powerful

Learning to Understand Fears

Our fears are often old acquaintances. They are rooted in schemas – internal patterns that have emerged from earlier experiences. Those who experienced uncertainty as dangerous in childhood, for example, react more sensitively as adults to unclear future prospects. Fear then activates not just current thoughts, but entire internal stories. That's why it affects us deeply: negative and fear-inducing news couples with our neural networks, our experiential histories. And thus they become experienced facts like memories. As soon as we imagine a negative future, we experience it physically and real! So we react to our expectations. No person is without pain and loss experiences. That's why negative news and the idea of a future that could be threatening affect us, whether we want it or not. And that's why the sentence "You don't need to be afraid!" has a rather counterproductive effect: we already have it! Fear is more real than anything else in this moment.

Finding a Way Out of Fear: Understanding Psychological Possibilities

Julius Kuhl's PSI Theory: Kuhl describes how our psyche connects different systems and how we can learn self-regulation: emotions, motivation, behavior, and intellect are one system. In fear, our brain slips into analysis mode and situation orientation: We ruminate a lot, act little. Only when we manage to switch back to self-regulation mode or action orientation do we regain the feeling of being capable of action. The feeling of self-determination is the counterpart to fear!

3 | Overcoming Fear of the Future: How to Become Capable of Action Step by Step

Fear is therefore less a signal that wants to be calmed – but rather an indication that we need to rethink our strategies. Fear of the future screams: "Do something to become capable of action!" But before we can feel better or react more calmly, we tackle fear where it originated: in the mind. And that's exactly what we need to occupy with different thought content: it should design a strategy for us that can gradually lead us out of fear.

4 | Strategies Against Personal Fear of the Future

4.1 | Level of Thoughts – Calming the Thinker Through Structure

• Write down your worries in short, concrete sentences instead of letting them circle in your head.
• Ask yourself: "What of this will actually occur in the next 6 months and how will it concretely change my life?" – and mark only these points.
• Continue working with the marked points. "Which of the assumed changes can you influence today?" Note down possibilities, resources, approach, and what you need for it.

4.2 | Level of Emotions – Using Experiences Purposefully

• Remember a situation in your life that was difficult or threatening and that you mastered.
• What did you do to change the situation positively for yourself? Which personal resources did you develop or make usable, which ones did you actively get from others?
• Draw the parallel to the present? How can you proceed now to activate powerful resources? Always remain concrete!

4.3 | Level of Motivation – Actively Shaping the Future

• Ask yourself: "What small action today brings me in the direction of 'my resources'? What can I do, change, whom can I ask for help?"
• Put every idea into action. Look back weekly on your successes, what you were able to control through your own strength.

4.4 | Level of Self-Regulation – Building Trust

• Consciously anchor small success experiences ("I accomplished this today"). Tell others about them and allow positive feedback. During this time, avoid people who can't free themselves from fear and could pull you down. Doubt is the counterpart to trust.
• Train yourself to think in terms of progress, not perfection. Everything isn't only good when the world is a peaceful place. Everything is good in your world when you take your life into your own hands.

4.5 | Practical Tips for Daily Life

• Keep a "Strategy Journal".
• Recognize Patterns: Which worries keep recurring? These are your main schemas.
• Seek Exchange: Talk to people who give you confidence – not just those who placate you.
• Treat Yourself to Professional Support: Sometimes you need someone to help find the right strategies.

5 | Conclusion

Fear of the future doesn't disappear when we want to calm it. It changes when we learn to see it as an indication of room for shaping. With the right strategies, fear transforms into self-determination.

However, if you suffer from constant rumination, strong fears that significantly limit your daily life, persistent sleep disorders, or permanently depressed mood, please consult a doctor to clarify proper diagnosis and treatment.