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HOW TO OVERCOME THE FEAR OF FALLING
IDENTIFYING A FEAR OF FALLING
Do you lack confidence doing activities you once did with ease in fear you may have a fall?
Or have there been times when you have limited or avoided certain activities you once did effortlessly due to fear?
These activities could include anything; crossing the road, going outside or maybe going to the shopping centre makes you feel a little uneasy.
If you answered yes to the above questions, you have a fear of falling.
However, you're far from being alone.
In a study on the prevalence of fear of falling in older adults, 90.5% of the subjects reported a fear of falling in at least one activity.
A fear of falling is common among older adults, especially if physical capabilities start to decline (i.e., weaker legs or increasing unsteadiness when walking) or after a fall.
WHY A FEAR OF FALLING CAN DEVELOP
There are many reasons why the fear of falling can develop.
It could be you are feeling not as steady on your feet as you once were. Maybe you are feeling weaker doing certain activities. Perhaps you've heard stories of friends having a fall and don't want the same happening to you. Or, maybe you've had a fall and, understandably, don't want it to happen again.
Falls can be a scary ordeal, especially when older and the body isn't as strong, steady, mobile and reliable as it once was.
Fear is healthy and normal. Everybody experiences fear.
Fear is our mind's way of alerting us to the dangers present and it can protect us from entering dangerous situations.
However, if the fear is uncontrollable, something that you think about a lot and is negatively impacting your life, this fear must be dealt with.
You want to be able to keep up your physical activity and your life.
When you start limiting activities and avoiding life due to your fears, your physical abilities decrease and your chance of falling increases.
When you start managing and overcoming this fear, you can improve your physical abilities and continue to do those things you love.
Your falls risk decreases. You can live the life you want to.
HOW DOES THE FEAR OF FALLING CAUSE MORE FALLS
You may think that worrying about something will make you more cautious and decrease your risk of falling, but this is untrue.
The fear of falling will make you overthink every move and you may begin avoiding the activities that keep you moving well.
When you do less activity over time, your body becomes weaker and your balance worsens.
When physical abilities deteriorate, daily life becomes more difficult. This makes it more challenging to do the physical activity that will get you strong and decrease your risk of falls.
Confidence is lost and it's common to become overly cautious, regardless of what the physical abilities actually are.
A negative falls cycle develops (see below). Remember this fall cycle discussed in PART 1 of the ULTIMATE GUIDE TO FALLS PREVENTION FOR SENIORS.
Activities in life are avoided and balance/stability issues increase; again, further increasing falls risk.
This downward spiral also impacts mood and well-being; thus decreasing social interactions. It's a vicious cycle that needs to end.
BE CONFIDENT AND GO ON LIVING LIFE
Overcoming the fear of falling isn't as easy as just snapping out of it and getting on with life.
Your mind is sending out warning signals out of your voluntary control. This fear is real and must be overcome like any other fear.
And it can be.
Firstly, by reading all the steps in the Falls Prevention guide (and implementing all strategies), your confidence will increase, and your fears surrounding falling will begin decreasing.
But more may need to be done.
You may know that you are capable of undertaking your daily activities and understand your fears are irrational.
But fear is an emotion, and when big emotions grip us, we can become powerless. We always automatically revert to what's safest and what's comfortable.
To be free of the fear, you start by changing your thoughts surrounding it; this is done by listening to and feeling your worries about falling, then reframing them.
Once you have reframed your worries, you now focus on the new reframed thoughts, especially when your fears arise. And gradually do more and more activities that help build your confidence.
A TASK TO HELP OVERCOME THE FEAR OF FALLING
The goal of this task is to decrease your fears surrounding falls. By doing this, you will reduce your falls risk.
You will become less sensitive to your fears until they do not have control over you. By letting go of these fears, you will remain cautious (healthy), just not overly cautious (unhealthy), which leads to a decreased quality of life and increases fall risk.
After completing this step, you will be more confident and can get on living life.
Take your time during this step; it will be worth it. Now let's begin.
Write down EVERY fear or thought you have about falling in EVERY situation and reframe them into something positive.
Example 1) If I fall, I may injure myself.
REFRAME: I have spoken to my doctor, and he says it's ok for me to walk. I have done everything to decrease my falls risk as set out in this guide. I am doing my exercises. I am eating well and moving well; I will walk within my capabilities and take a rest if I feel tired. I will live my life. I will be ok!
Example 2) If I fall, I will look stupid in front of people.
REFRAME: I will not fall. I am walking to the best of my abilities. I have done everything possible to prevent falls.
However, if something unexpected happens and I do fall, people do not care about how I look and would be more concerned if I am ok.
I can deal with it. I will live my life.
Example 3) If I fall, I may not be able to get up.
REFRAME: I am now always prepared if I do fall. I am also doing everything to improve my physical abilities. If I do fall, I know help will be on the way.
Example 4) If I ride my bicycle, I may fall.
REFRAME: The last time I fell off my bicycle was right before I started to pedal. Now, before I start pedalling, I make sure that I am balanced and that no clothing, straps, etc., can get caught in the pedals or gears. In addition, I have done strengthening and balance exercises, thereby decreasing my falls risk. I will continue to enjoy riding my bicycle!
Now it's your turn. Think of ALL the reasons why you fear falling. Go through them one by one, answering the question "I am afraid of falling because?"... Then reframe the fear.
Continue for as many fears as you have surrounding this!
This process of reframing, repeating these new reframes, and taking small steps to do what you fear is known as desensitisation. Over time you will be desensitised to the fear.
This is one of many techniques to help you overcome the fear of falling
Remember, you will also need to continue to do the activities required that you want to be doing. Take your time with this and gradually increase your confidence. If you need extra guidance, get help from a professional (e.g., Physiotherapist).
With a slow and controlled approach, you'll start making significant progress.
It won't be long until you're on your way to overcoming your fears and back to doing more of what you most love to do.
IF YOU'VE FALLEN BEFORE
If you've previously fallen and the fear is constantly on your mind and is impacting your life, I recommend you speak to a psychologist or a counsellor.
A fall can be just like any traumatic event. The sooner you come to peace with the past event that once happened to you, the better your life will be.
As said earlier, educate yourself on falls, eliminate the risk factors for falls, put safety measures in place and improve your physical abilities.
Read everything within this guide and implement the strategies. Then continually challenge yourself by doing the things you fear, gradually, and your confidence will begin to increase. Your fear of falling will start to dissipate.
To speed up the process, work with a Physiotherapist, Psychologist or other suitable Allied Health Provider.
FEAR OF FALLING SUMMARY
A fear of falling is common in seniors.
A fear of falling can put you at a higher risk of falling.
By implementing a falls prevention plan and doing what's required to help decrease your falls risk, you can increase your confidence surrounding a fear of falling.
Many psychological techniques can help you overcome the fear of falling - one technique is desensitization.
If your fear of falls persists or you want help with overcoming your fear of falling, speak to your doctor or a psychologist or counsellor.
A physiotherapist can help you improve your physical capabilities, and will help guide and assist you through the process to getting stronger and balancing better, which will help build your confidence.
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