Why are people afraid? This question can be considered rhetorical, and quite specific. Fear is a normal reaction of the body to a stressful situation that requires maximum mobilization. At the moment when we feel fear on the emotional level, a huge number of mechanisms that prepare our body for a possible threat are activated at the physiological level. All this is debugged by nature to the smallest detail, which means that there is definitely a benefit from this kind of state. Namely: it works as a protective mechanism, keeping the whole organism intact. Therefore, let's immediately decide: the concept of "unreasonable fears" is very arbitrary - always and everywhere fear has a reason for its occurrence. Another thing is that this reason itself can be decently enough removed from the emergence of a sense of fear.
I will explain what is being discussed. The common phrase that “we are all from childhood” is forgotten by adults as soon as situations arise that are uncomfortable for them. And children's fears are just what remains in the human subconscious for many years, if not all life. And the child gets anxiety for one reason or another not just like that, but based on his personal experience of observing the surrounding reality. So, for example, fear of heights can arise during the experience of an unsuccessful fall, fear of the dark - from a bad dream, a fear of enclosed spaces - from a poorly chosen place for hide and seek (the closet slammed shut). All this is reflected in the child’s subconscious and is stored there for a rather long time until any stressful situation allows fear to manifest itself in full force. And sometimes children's fears are instilled by adults themselves. These eternal "do not come - you will burn yourself", do not climb - you will fall ", etc. form a child’s syndrome of being in a hostile environment in which fear is a reliable ally, because it warns of danger. Fears for children can arise when watching television, and when uncontrolled participation in games, "shooter", and when listening to conversations of adults about the dangers of the world.
The latter option is fertile ground for the development of such a thing as social fears. These are concerns about rising prices, an increase in the number of terrorist attacks, underpayment of cash benefits, and a general deterioration in life. In Russia, social fears are already turning into mass psychoses - because if someone says that he is doing well, he will immediately make a bunch of enemies: they can’t do well in SUCH times. Social fears impede the normal development of society, forming a defensive psychology among fellow citizens. The media contribute to creating anxiety in society: either they stuff the electorate with facts from celebrity lives (and think about why a healthy whole person should care about the details of an intimate life of a person completely alien to him?), Or they tell terrible stories of a criminal type that happen with enviable regularity in our open spaces Homeland. So social fear is ready: you cannot go out into the street - there is nothing but crime; only the elite live well, and we are not among them, so everything around is bad and we must wait for the next blow from fate.
And all this beauty: phobias of various kinds, social fears originate in what adults call “children's fears”. What to do if they are already there?
First, create a healthy, friendly living environment for both adults and children. No need to read newspapers (Professor Preobrazhensky also spoke about this - remember “Dog Heart”). Believe me, you will learn the main world news even so - there are short screensavers of news blocks, the Internet, and finally, neighbors! But you will insure yourself against consuming a huge amount of unnecessary frightening information. Also, the filter must be put on the TV: criminal news, litigation - not to view a healthy person. And when your regime will reign, calm (as much as possible, of course!), Stability and the prevalence of positive emotions, fears will begin to recede - they do not like the environment conducive to the development of a harmonious personality. And another way to deal with fears is perfectly described in the Harry Potter book: if you are afraid of something, laugh at it - with children this method works 95% (the remaining percentage are clinical cases). So smile, gentlemen! Smile