From birth to death, a person periodically experiences a sense of fear. Someone is more susceptible to it, someone less, but there are no people on Earth who would not be afraid at all. Sometimes this feeling is quite explainable and logical, and in some cases its nature is unknown. What are the causes of fear and how to get rid of it?
What is fear?
Fear is a negative state of the human psyche provoked by a real or imaginary threat. Everyone in his life has repeatedly experienced this feeling in various situations. Even the most courageous and brave person can fear something deep down.
In psychology, fear is attributed to the basic emotional processes inherent in a person from birth. It mobilizes the protective systems of the body, prepares it to fight the threat or to flee.
Fear is a kind of danger signal that promotes the realization of the self-preservation instinct. Under the influence of fright, a person can perform such actions that are not capable of in the usual state. For example, to run with great speed, jump over high obstacles, show amazing quick wits and resourcefulness.
The nature of human fear
Fear arose with humanity itself. Its roots go back to the distant past, when its main function was to preserve the life of our ancestors. Fear is laid in man by nature in order to quickly and accurately recognize danger.
It was common for ancient people to be afraid of everything unknown and incomprehensible. They were horrified by any unfamiliar sounds, natural elements, previously unseen animals. With the development of science, man gained knowledge of many phenomena that he was previously afraid of.
Today, fear no longer carries the functions of a struggle for survival. The exception is those cases when a person gets into emergency, extreme situations. However, in the modern world all kinds of social phobias have replaced the fear of real danger. This is due to the fact that at the moment it is very important for people to be recognized by society, to respect their person.
Is fear a feeling or emotion?
Psychology interprets fear as a person’s emotion that has a bright negative connotation. At the same time, some sources consider this concept as a human condition. So what is fear? Is that feeling or emotion?
In everyday life, people are accustomed to call the word “fear” both feeling and emotion. In fact, there is no clear boundary between these concepts. On the one hand, fear is more related to emotions, since it most often has a short-term nature and is designed to activate the protective functions of the human body. And on the other?
If it does not stop for a long time, transforms, periodically repeats, takes on new forms, then we can say that fear is a feeling. In this case, it no longer serves to save, but, on the contrary, destructively affects the body. Feeling of fear is not an instant reaction to a certain stimulus, but a product of human consciousness.
Types of fear
There are quite a few various classifications of fear. It all depends on what caused this oppressive feeling. So, they highlight real, existential and social fears. Let us briefly dwell on each of them.
Real or biological fear is a fear associated with an immediate threat to human life or health. In this situation, something poses a potential danger to the individual. For example, a huge dog trying to attack a person, or natural elements such as tsunamis or earthquakes.
Existential fear is an unreasonable fear of something that does not pose a real danger to a person. Such fears lurk in the depths of the subconscious of people and cannot be fully explained. This group includes fear of darkness, death, aging, confined space.
Social fears are a relatively new group of human phobias that did not exist before. They cannot cause real harm, but carry only a symbolic threat. This includes fear of superiors, responsibility, public speaking, failures, attacks on pride. Fears of this type are the most common in the modern world, cause a person psychological discomfort and lead to a lot of problems.
Children's fears and their causes
Most often, children's fears have no real reason; they are far-fetched and exaggerated. The imagination of the kids is so rich that even a simple thing can seem sinister to them. For example, the shadow of a toy may seem like a frightening monster to a child.
In addition, children do not have enough information about our world, which can also give rise to any fear. It is good if the child shares his concerns with adults, asks for help and protection. Parents should try to explain to the baby the nature of the phenomena frightening him, to calm and give rise to a sense of security in the crumbs.
But in some cases, children's fears are caused by real events that have made a huge impression on them. This can happen if, for example, a car hit a passerby in front of a child’s eyes or a dog bites him. Such phobias can remain with a person for life, even though over time they will weaken.
Fear of death
Some people almost never think that they will live forever, for others, the fear of dying becomes a real phobia. Fear of death is one of the most powerful emotions, it is basic for a person. It’s quite logical to be afraid to die, because everyone is afraid for his life, seeks to save and extend it.
There are many reasons for fearing death. This is the frightening uncertainty of what will happen after, and the inability to imagine their non-existence, and the fear of pain and suffering before leaving for another world.
People who have not previously thought about death, getting into situations that are really threatening their lives, begin to experience real fear. This can happen, for example, if a person was nearly hit by a car, or the plane miraculously escaped a crash. At such moments, everyone begins to value their life and think that we are all eternal.
Fear of failure in love
Many people, at least once disappointed in a partner, are afraid to build new relationships. For them, love is the fear that negative emotions and suffering will recur. Now it’s difficult for them to believe a person, open their heart for him and begin to trust.
Fear of new failures in love makes people closed, closed to communication and new acquaintances. Very often, it takes many years to overcome this feeling, and some do not cope with their phobia throughout their lives.
In such situations, it is important to understand that there are very few people in the world who have never experienced a love failure. Having made a mistake once, one should not consider all men or all women to be the same. It is important to believe that you will be able to find someone who will make you happy and help you forget the previous troubles.
How to get rid of fears?
Fear is an emotion that overcomes every person from time to time. People are afraid of completely different things, so there can be no single recipe for getting rid of our phobias.
To begin with, you should try to understand what exactly caused your fear. Sometimes it is very difficult to do this, since the fear of certain things is hidden deep in our subconscious. Having ascertained the source of your phobia, you need to think about whether your fear is really a life of constant nightmare and worries, or if it, in principle, does not cause you any particular inconvenience. As a rule, fear as a short-term emotion does not require much struggle, but if it begins to develop into a phobia, then you need to get rid of it as soon as possible.
Next, you need to understand yourself, to analyze at what moments you begin to fear most. Try to minimize stressful situations in which you feel uncomfortable, anxious, and apprehensive.
In the fight against your phobias, you need to learn how to switch your attention to something positive and good, as soon as you feel that fear has begun to approach you. If you yourself can not cope with the problem, do not hesitate to seek help from specialists.