One can talk endlessly about the causes of human fear and anxiety. The fact remains: they are. The instinct of self-preservation is present in every person to varying degrees, and fear is a completely natural reaction to the negative impact of the world around. But sometimes, when we cannot understand the reasons for its occurrence, or we understand, but we cannot take control of emotions, fear only intensifies. Powerless attempts to overcome it turn into a panic and destroy our consciousness. In such cases, the Orthodox prayer from fear and anxiety will help calm down and pull yourself together.
What is fear and fear, where do they come from?
Sooner or later, at the moment when the mind is constrained by a numbing sense of anxiety, a person stops and asks himself: why am I, in fact, afraid?
Surprisingly, even knowing the answer to this question, a person still does not understand how the mechanism of his fear works and what he must do to “turn it off”. Moreover, not always other people, unless they are certified practicing psychologists, are able to understand it and help.
Fears in classical psychology for today look at about four hundred species, their classifications are even greater. The list of phobias known to the world should have been published in a separate book.
We will not give the entire classification; we will conditionally divide fears into several categories:
- Conscious fear of certain things, people, circumstances.
- Fear of a certain event, the commission of some action.
- Fright, sudden alarm under the pressure of what is happening.
- Pronounced fear, phobia, obsessive anti-idea.
To understand the causes of fear, you first need to understand what it is.
Pain is a reaction of the body by which it gives the brain a sign that it is not all right. Fear is a psyche reaction that gives a sign that there are problems that need to be addressed. Moreover, the true reason for the appearance of fear is not always the subject of fear.
Here is an example: a small child is afraid of mice. Do you think the mouse is the cause of fear? No. The reason for the fear of mice is habit, imitation, installation fixed in childhood: the mouse is scary. The reaction of parents who were just as afraid of mice in childhood, the intimidation of "your mouse will take away your toys at night if you don’t take it away." Sometimes - a missed explanation that mice are non-dangerous small animals, or maximized danger (infectious, bite, spoil food) in the eyes of a child. An explanation of this reason, of course, will help, but in order to finally cope with the phobia independently, a person will need a lot of strength. Sincere prayer can give them.
Another example: the middle manager is afraid to go “to the carpet” to the authorities, not knowing what will be said in the office. What is the cause of this fear: boss, suspense, uncertainty, or guilt for misconduct that might be revealed in a conversation? Nothing out of this.The reason for the fear of a middle manager is unconscious adherence to the principle of “weak is afraid of the strong”. Throughout his life, the manager never learned to deal with uncertainty and rise, falling from the aftershocks of fate. Such a fear will arise for him for many years, and not only with his superiors, until a person understands how to deal with him. Or he won’t find a way to protect himself from it. For example, through prayers.
Here is the third, most different from the first two examples: waking up in the middle of the night from a nightmare that has nothing to do with life circumstances at first glance. The nightmare does not go away, the heart pounds, the mind is constrained by a misunderstanding of what is happening. Such fears are a pure game of the subconscious and do not talk about danger: this is just an outburst of emotional energy, like tears or rage. Still, such a state may not be fear, but anxiety — an emotionally keen sense of an approaching threat. The mind tells you about an approaching event that brings unpleasant impressions, and it is not always possible to predict this event. Anxiety is more of an intuitive reflex; one should still try to understand its causes, while fear is a clear emotion. To cope with it, it is recommended to relax and whisper the text of a long prayer, by the end of which the anxiety will go away.
And finally phobias. Fear of mice, to some extent even a fear of talking with superiors, is a phobia. Some of them have an explanation, some reasons are hidden (for example, few understand that they are afraid of mice because of the situation in childhood), some are completely meaningless. For example, luposlipophobia is a fear of walking on a waxed floor in socks. Tetraphobia is a fear of the number four, or Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia is a fear of long words, you guessed it right. Or mageirokophobia - the fear of cooking and contacting the cooks. Unlike fear or simple fear, phobias are accompanied by a deterioration in physical condition, from vomiting to loss of consciousness or even death. The causes of such strange body reactions lie in the subconscious and are classified by medicine as a mental disorder. A series of confessions, rituals of purification, a trip to a sacred place, and everyday prayers will help in this case.
The subconscious mind filters the events that happen to us much faster than the mind. While the mind is only trying to realize and explain our reactions to us, the subconscious mind is already completing a bunch of new events, putting the stamp “dangerous” or “not dangerous”. When we again encounter a situation previously analyzed by the subconscious, the defensive reaction automatically turns on: fear. The reasons for this behavior of the subconscious are different: violation of the comfort zone, physical stress, a sharp fright and the injection of adrenaline into the blood, and so on.
To summarize a short excursion into the psychology of fear: not every fear is dangerous, not every one has a clear reason. Sometimes it is a natural emotion, like laughter or pleasure. If there were no fear, people could not have lived even weeks in this world where even a simple match could be dangerous. Fear is designed to mobilize the body before the reaction of running away or meeting a problem in the ring.
It was not without reason that God made us so complex - in the human body there is nothing ill-conceived, everything is important and necessary, everything is interconnected.
Does prayer for phobias help?
Psychology is in solidarity with the church on the true cause of fear. Fear, like any failure, grief or pain, is a test sent to a person so that through overcoming it he will be cleansed and become lighter and better.
It follows the conclusion that any fear is useful in that, having overcome it, we become stronger.
Prayers have the strongest energetic ability to give spiritual excitement, give self-confidence and strength to fight negative energy. And their usefulness in the fight against fear is undoubtedly great. There are few rules for reading such prayers, because fear most often appears suddenly and it is difficult to prepare for it.The need for prayer from anxiety is urgent and instant, therefore, preparing for it is not necessary.
However, reading such a prayer has its own nuances:
- Start reading the prayer at the peak of the emotional state, when the fear is already great, but the mind is still able to pronounce related sentences.
- Do not drown out fear and do not hide emotions while reading a prayer - let fear into your soul, let it appear before you in all its glory. Recognize its size and depth, accept it - and release it.
- If the prayer did not help the first time, read the second, third, and so on, until the fear goes away or becomes almost imperceptible.
- Understand what you say. Before memorizing prayers - find out for yourself the meaning of each line, read the history of its creation, if much is unclear. A full understanding of what prayer carries is key to success.
- Get yourself an object of power, or an anchor word. It can be a pectoral cross or the phrase “Not Today,” - you can touch the cross, and pronounce the phrase every time the fear returns.
Short prayers for fear and bad thoughts
It is recommended to read “Our Father” before reading any prayer, but it is long enough and the mind is not always able to pronounce the whole text. For this case, there are shorter and stronger prayers, such as “The Song of the Virgin”, “Prayer to the Honest Cross”, “Jesus Prayer”, “Prayer to the Almighty from fear and anxiety”.
In addition, prayer from fear and anxiety to all saints is popular, simple and clear:
“In the name of all the saints who keep me, in the name of the Lord who thanks, protect me from the Most High of fear and evil, do not leave your slave (your name) and do not leave. Amen".
A stronger prayer at the time of acute horror is:
“Lord, save and have mercy, deliver from the demon, put into the light, there is no fear in me, there is no pain in me, Amen!”
It should be read at least three times.
Song of the Virgin
A beautiful prayer from fear of future events for a woman will be the “Song of the Virgin”, also known as “Virgin, Virgin, Rejoice.”
It helps in many cases, save from fear, from anxiety for children, husband, their own health and the health of loved ones. It can also be read over a child who sleeps restlessly and often wakes up from bad dreams.
Prayer to the Honest Cross
It is recommended to read such a prayer from bad thoughts during acute and dangerous life situations, natural disasters, catastrophes or emergency situations. Even if something terrible does not happen to you, but you are a witness to what is happening - it is recommended to read a short version of the prayer. The black life-giving cross helps protect yourself from repeating the tragedy with yourself. When praying, of course, you should be baptized with your left hand.
Guardian Angel
Each person has a personal heavenly patron - the Guardian Angel. Prayer to him encourages him to focus on protecting you from misfortunes, eliminate phobias and dispel fears.
It should be read in moments when you are overcome by anxiety, as well as before bedtime.
"Jesus angel, sacred guardian, soul guardian and body savior, forgive your slave (name) for all mistakes, for all wrongdoings and sins. From the evil one, from the evil, from the bad deliver, save and save. Do not know fear with your help, do not feel anxiety under your wings. I pray in the name of the Lord Our Most Sacred, the Most Holy Mother of God, the Holy Trinity and all saints, I ask your blessing and peace. Amen".
There is a shorter version of the prayer to the Guardian Angel from fear, it will also be suitable for children because of its lightness and poetic form.
“My Guardian Angel, save anyone from adversity. Take away my fear, sprayed it on the ground, and cleanse me. Amen".
Psalm 90
Reading the powerful Psalm 90, also called Living for Help, has its own difficulties. The most effective way is to read the truly ecclesiastical version of prayer, but for the psalm there is an important rule - understand every word.
Among the uninitiated in the sacraments of priesthood there are few who correctly read the psalm. For it is not enough to pronounce the prayer word correctly, it is also necessary to correctly interpret the meaning embedded in it. This is taught in seminaries; this is a must for every priest.
Among ordinary people there are few who can read the text of the prayer correctly. Only deeply religious people who are sincerely devoted to the sacrament of sacred church rites can read correctly and correctly interpret the meaning of the prayer word.
But it is not in the tradition of the Church to hide such a powerful prayer from the common people. For Russian believers, the Orthodox Church compiled a simplified text of the psalm. This text, translated into modern Russian, is compiled in accordance with the canons of the Christian church and is easier to read. It is also perceived by ear and remembered more easily than the original.
Both options are listed below:
Psalm 90 is one of the most powerful prayers and helps to cope even with long-standing phobias. With the help of Living in Help, you can find the strength in yourself to repulse the worst enemy, decide on an important step and overcome an unshakable obstacle.
Prayer “God Risen”
This prayer helps to refrain from revenge on enemies who make you afraid, because revenge is not pleasing to the Lord. Prayer to God has the ability to inspire and inspire confidence, to drive away failures and ill-wishers.
It is not easy to choose a prayer from fear with all their diversity. Therefore, choose, guided by the heart, try different ones. As soon as you feel peace of mind and high spirits after the prayer, stop at the one you read.
The prayer text is recommended to memorize by heart, although in some cases the church recommends the opposite. But in dangerous situations, a memorized text will help you quickly pull yourself together and overcome your fear. Of course, it is not so easy to memorize a long prayer, in particular, a catchy psalm 90. At least one prayer protecting from anxiety should always be kept in the arsenal of a believer.
It is better to read them aloud, without haste, meaningfully and clearly. At the same time, imagine your fear as something tangible, and mentally eliminate it in a convenient way - dissolve it in water, burn it in a fire, etc. If you are praying for a candle, imagine how fear burns out in the flame of this candle, soothing you.
The main thing necessary for successful prayer from fear is sincere faith in the Lord, then your conversion will be heard by the Creator.
