Simply think about life without fear. You could go to have a health check-up feeling confident, you could walk alone in a dark street at night confidently, and so on. Fear can function as a positive reaction of the body towards danger, it can also be a disorder when it becomes an abnormal condition that leads to anxiety.
It's because you are responding to fear. And it's a natural response to fear. It is a mental image of darkness during the day and a mental image of light in the darkness conflicting the mind and body.
What is fear?
Naturally, Fear is a reaction to a specific danger in the environment. It is the emotional state that results when we interpret events as potentially harmful or threatening to the self; it commonly involves the anticipation of physical harm, loss, rejection, or failure.
Fear and anxiety are a group of conditions in which people feel nervousness that is far out of proportion to the situations they are in; their responses interfere with normal daily functioning.
Anxiety is very very similar to fear although it is somewhat more commonly experienced and often lasts longer than fear.
2. Possibility of loss or failure.
3. Loss of control or competency.
4. Threat of harm or death.
5. Being in a novel, unfamiliar situation.
6. Being alone(walking alone, etc.)
7. Being in the dark.
Although we can develop new fears at almost any time in our lives, some fears are age-related. Research shows that during covid-19 the pandemic fear and anxiety affected many people of different ages and gender, especially young people.
Infants between 6 and 9 months of age develop a fear of strangers.
The fear of noises tends to decrease between the ages of 1 to 6 years, whereas the fear of animals increases until the age of 4 and then levels off.
Fear of imagined situations does seem to increase with age. An example of this age-related fear can be seen in the reaction of Eric Gates's mother upon seeing her 5-year-old son playing with a broken glass bottle. She was overcome by fear because she imagined the numerous disastrous consequences that could result from the situation.
Anxiety is very very similar to fear although it is somewhat more commonly experienced and often lasts longer than fear.
Conditions Lead to Fear.
1. Threat of social rejection.2. Possibility of loss or failure.
3. Loss of control or competency.
4. Threat of harm or death.
5. Being in a novel, unfamiliar situation.
6. Being alone(walking alone, etc.)
7. Being in the dark.
Although we can develop new fears at almost any time in our lives, some fears are age-related. Research shows that during covid-19 the pandemic fear and anxiety affected many people of different ages and gender, especially young people.
Infants between 6 and 9 months of age develop a fear of strangers.
The fear of noises tends to decrease between the ages of 1 to 6 years, whereas the fear of animals increases until the age of 4 and then levels off.
Fear of imagined situations does seem to increase with age. An example of this age-related fear can be seen in the reaction of Eric Gates's mother upon seeing her 5-year-old son playing with a broken glass bottle. She was overcome by fear because she imagined the numerous disastrous consequences that could result from the situation.
However, the brave 5-year-old showed no fear because his imagery process had not developed to the extent that he could call up to the mind these consequences.
How helpful can Fear be in our lives;
1. It leads us to avoid objects and situations that are dangerous.
For example, people who cannot swim may fear jumping into deep water. This fear leads them to refrain from this life-threatening activity.
2. Fear also prepares the body for action.
The heart rate increases, muscles tense, digestive function slows, and the epinephrine pours into the bloodstream when we face the object of fear. These physiological changes enable us to act quickly and decisively.
3. Fear often leads to strengthening social bonds.
Children seek out their parents when they are fearful and fear leads adults to affiliate with others. Nations to come together to fight the common threat etc.
Destructive Side of Fear.
1. Problems occur when we develop irrational fears of objects that are not dangerous.2. Fear can also be destructive when we are consumed by it and unable to direct our behavior to deal with the object of fear.
3. Fear can affect decision-making and risk-taking.
Researchers have shown fear influences our perceptions, our performance, and our social behaviors. Fear can be overwhelming but being social can help to overcome it.
Increasing self-esteem through exercises and physical training and sports, meditation, yoga, and tai chi can be beneficial and may help to overcome stress and avoid overstressing which causes anxiety.
Regarding perceptions, fear is the most limiting emotion. It leads to "tunnel vision", where people block out all stimuli except the object of their fear. Thinking becomes rigid and concentrated on the object related to fear. This rigidity may lead to tragic results.
Furthermore, anxiety can lead to symptoms such as insomnia, depression, inactivity, forgetfulness, and dread.
On the other hand anxiety and fear may arouse performance depending on the difficulty of the task.
In the end, fear is a natural response to surroundings and situations. Fear can be good if it's rational because it prepares our bodies to stand firm against danger, also it may become harmful when it's irrational and problems may occur. Therefore drive your life with a mindful balance between fear and reality consciousness.
Reference
Steimer T. (2002). The biology of fear- and anxiety-related behaviors. Dialogues in clinical neuroscience, 4(3), 231–249. https://doi.org/10.31887/DCNS.2002.4.3/tsteimer
Haugan, T. Social anxiety in modern societies from an evolutionary perspective. Discov Psychol 3, 12 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44202-023-00074-6
Metin, A., Erbiçer, E. S., Şen, S., & Çetinkaya, A. (2022). Gender and COVID-19 related fear and anxiety: A meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 310, 384–395. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2022.05.036
Thank you for reading!