I know this is going to sound ridiculous. And what works for me might not work for you, but when you're trying to overcome one of your fears, think of something that scares you even more.

       As a child I was terrified of needles. I was the kid who would yell at the top of my lungs and had to be held down for vaccines. It's a common fear. A fear that follows most people their entire lives. A fear that I believed would follow me forever.

       When I was due to receive a vaccine in middle school, I was worked up the moment I heard about it. Even worse, it was to occur during school hours, in a classroom in which all my peers would watch my reaction. I was on edge that entire week. And when the time finally came, when I was sat next to the nurse and she struck my arm, I had no reaction. There was no yelling, no jerking away or shaky breathing. As someone who was very timid, I was so afraid of making a fool of myself (FYI I don't think anyone's reaction to fear makes them a fool), so afraid to bring unwanted attention my way that I suddenly didn't care about the needle. From that point forward needles didn't bother me anymore.

Another big fear of mine is any kind of wild animal. I have long been uncomfortable walking in the woods or facing someone's pet. I had pets as a child. I actually had a dog that I named Pet (side note: not a great idea to let a fiver-year-old name something). I loved my pet Pet. But animals that I'm unfamiliar with, make me uneasy. I've long feared the unpredictability, the chance of being bitten or scratched. And it didn't matter whether the animal was big or small.

       Last year, I had a baby squirrel fall out of my porch roof. The little creature fell right at my feet, moveless. I didn't fear for my safety. It was tiny and helpless. But that didn't mean I held no apprehension towards taking it in hand. I crouched down to get a better look and saw the soft rising of falling of it's chest. It looked weak. It clearly hadn't been fed for a while, and I was sure the fall had been harmful. Suddenly my fear of watching a living being suffer and doing nothing about it, overcame the fear of being bitten; the fear of rabies; the fear of fleas. With gloved hands, I moved the squirrel into a basket with a blanket. I kept it warm and asked a friend to bring food. I took care of it in the best of capacity until we could find a professional. It was something that most people would do me, but I was proud of the way I overcame my initial discomfort.

       I started applying the idea of fighting fear with bigger fear to different aspects of my life.

      The class presentation that I was anxious about: I was afraid of looking like a cared too much, but I was even more afraid of a bad grade.

       As a new nurse: I was afraid to voice my opinion, but I was even more afraid that my patient's condition would detoriate because I failed to advocate for them.

       That's not to say this mentality is eventually going to make me fearless. You won't catch me swimming with sharks or skydiving. I'm happy to maintain these fears. But I'm gradually rectifying false interpretations of fear, and learning to prevent it from ruining experiences that I value.

I think the biggest fear I'm currently dealing with, remains rested in the apprehension of being judged. I'm still a little more reserved than I would like. But day by day, I'm seeing progress. I've recently acknowledged that my fear of judgement is insignificant compared to my immense fear or living an unfulfilled or meaningless life. There are so many life experiences that I value more than the potential judgement I'll face. And with that mentality I can work on overcoming part of this fear.