Different people have different methods. From what I have learned you need to
Accept it as one of your fears
Understand why you fear it
Face that fear
This can be quite difficult, depending on how bad the fear is. As long as it is not too dangerous physically, force yourself to face it. If the first encounter does not work, do so over and over again. For some things I would suggest meditation as a means of facing them. This offers you safety and a bit more control, helping you to face ones that are either really bad for you, or dangerous, before setting out to face them in life.
For example, one of my worst fears was getting burned. I had been burned badly several times throughout my lifetime. It got to the point I had difficulty snuffing out a candle, or boiling water etc. So I first meditated on the image of fire. I pictured standing in front of a large bonfire. Slowly I would visualize placing my hand in the fire. Feeling the sensation of it getting burned, and pulling it back out. This was very hard for me and took several attempts. By the end I visualized jumping into the fire and starting to burn, then told myself it only hurt if I let it. I would not actually jump into a fire now, but can carry out normal tasks that have minimal risk of being burned ^_^
Fear is part of mind. Find peace in all that you do. Then face fear and let it in and accept,then cast it away. Like Bodhisattva Kistgarbha he face the Hells and saves all beings who are suffering there. He have no fear,he find peace. Find peace of heart and mind and after that you are free of fear.
Fear is very real and is not a disease of the mind. An irrational fear, otherwise known as a phobia could be termed as a mental disorder, however fear itself is as natural as love when brought about by tings which ought to cause fear.
From an evolutionary perspective we fear things which may cause us harm in order to ensure our survival. We become aroused and then we label that emotion as fear. Emotions according to the Shachter singer theory are the excitation/arousal caused by hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol along with the cognitive label which the human ascribes to it.
We have fear so that our amygdala can send signals to the adrenal glands to release adrenalin and bring about the flight or fight response. That is it gives us remarkable bursts of energy which can allow human beings to accomplish tasks at a higher level than they would normally do so- there are some extremely interesting cases.
Most people would be scared if they came face to face with a hungry lion, or a shark. The response is innate and natural and I would argue, as would many evolutionary psychologists, that we are born with an innate fear of things which cause us harm.
I believe irrational fear, such as that expressed by phobia has been learned by the individual and can be unlearned via treatments such systematic desensitisation or flooding.
In the case of phobias and other disorders such as OCD, the patient is often made to feel fear, and then with the use o breathing exercises just allowed to feel it, to prove that it reaches a height and then fades away- however, in actual situations which should cause fear, this is not the case- you will either fight the thing causing you fear or run, it is a survival mechanism.
So the overused statement "You have nothing to fear, but fear itself" is just silly!
