FEAR
by Yuri Bacas Hosaka

“Fear is a basic emotional sensation and response system ("feeling") initiated by an aversion to some perceived risk or threat.”*

It is interesting how we share this emotion with animals. We distinguish the humans from the animals for our capacity to communicate, for our emotions, feelings and supposedly because we can think. Some people say animals only have reactions to fulfil their necessities. I always believed animals also feel and develop bonds, like humans do. Also that they communicate (at least when they are hungry! Believe me, my cats know how to let me know if they ever need me for anything!!)

Animals feel fear as humans.. but if you think about it, animals' fears are against danger, for survival. But many human fears are self-provoked and come from our dark imagination… also as a reaction to protect ourselves, but many times led by unreal dangers.

It is also interesting how there is a social pressure for men to not feel fear. As if fear should be a feminine condition, that conception establishes that fear and braveness are related. Therefore, the man must be brave to protect the woman from any danger, therefore protect her from her fears. Though, some men, fearing themselves certain dangers, can become over protective…

Is funny how when we are feeling fear, it is associated with us being alone against the feared object or situation. But how, if having someone with us, the level of fear can decrease. How, knowing that someone next to us can protect us, we can even face that fear.

Does this mean we think of ourselves of incapable to protect ourselves but think others are stronger than us? Do we have such low self esteem in certain circumstances?

Or, even more surprising is when, knowing someone depends on us (younger siblings, children, animals, partner…) we become strong and brave to face any danger in order to protect them.

Is fear then related to trust? Is then our rational side of the brain overpowering the irrational side of it?

Why when you are watching a horror movie and you are sh*t scared, you suddenly calm down? Cause, surely, at some point you have told yourself:- bah, this is just a movie, nothing on it is real.-

In many occasions, when we observe a friend who is fearing something, we usually tell them: - well, what is the worst that can happen? - And, in many cases that makes them see the light at the end of the tunnel. And so we should think ourselves when we are paralysed with anxiety over doing something or not. Because, that fear to the unknown consequence of our act is an useless emotion that, in many occasions, make our lives less intense and gratifying than they could be.

Our conservative approach to many things has been influenced by society, the media, our parents and teachers, governments or priests.

Fear is an industry. Is a way to make money. Exploited by many: insurances, governments, film makers, fashion labels, music bands, banks, churches, future-tellers, anti-virus software companies, fancy dress shops, pharmaceutical companies, the media, theme parks and even bed and breakfasts! [bat and broomsticks here]

Fear is a human feeling, such as hunger, tiredness, pain or laughter. And I don’t think there is a single person in the entire world who hasn’t felt fear at least once in their lifetime.

In every sitcom or cartoon there is a fearful character (Scooby Doo, the 7 dwarves, OTHER SAMPLES) and it can be used as a comedy effect. Seeing someone else in fear can be fun, but that is because we all have fear to different things and we may consider that what one has a phobia for, another sees it totally harmless.

It is interesting the fact that fear is such a personal and subjective feeling.

As certain as death, we should learn to live with it, accept it and try to deal with it in the best possible way. Just to make our lives easier, don’t you agree?

Fear also can be described as a feeling of extreme dislike towards certain conditions, objects, people, or situations such as: fear of darkness, fear of ghosts, etc. Personal fear varies extremely in degree from mild caution to extreme phobia and paranoia. Fears may be a factor within a larger social network, wherin personal fears are synergetically compounded as mass hysteria.
Fear may underlie some phenomena of behavior modification, although these phenomena can be explained without adducing fear as a factor in them. Furthermore, application of aversive stimuli is also often ineffective in producing change in the behaviour intended to be changed. Fearing objects or contexts can be learned; in animals this is being studied as fear conditioning, which depends on the emotional circuitry of the brain. It is one of the basic emotions and is linked heavily to the amygdala neurons.

Some philosophers have considered fear to be a useless emotion; other thinkers note the usefulness of fear as a warning of potentially unpleasant situations or consequences. Still others consider that fear is the fuel that feeds the ego's (as in "separating/judgmental agent") engine. Note that "fear" in the sense of "God Fearing" means "To regard with reverence and awe".*

As fear is based on something that we think may happen in the future, it is clearly a mental process which tries to predict the future - in that sense, the reason of fear is a projection of our mind.

We can be afraid to fall, but once we are falling, we are afraid to hit the ground, once we hit the ground, we may fear we have a bad injury, once we know we have a bad injury, we may fear the pain and the consequences of not being able to work for some time or become disabled etc. So one could say that fear is always based on something that has not happened yet, and is therefore a fantasy of our mind rather than fact.

Fear covers a number of terms - worry, anxiety, terror, fright, paranoia, horror, panic (social and personal), persecution complex and dread.

Since fear diminishes freedom of action, contracts entered into through fear may be judged invalid; similarly fear sometimes excuses from the application of the law in a particular case; it also excuses from the penalty attached to an act contrary to the law.

Fear is very personal; while one may be scared of spiders another may not be bothered by spiders or may even like them. So a fear is different for each person. Some people may have more than one fear, some fears stronger than others. A fear is in your mind, though your body may react in different ways to the fear. Some people throw up while others cry; other people get sick because of bottling it up inside. Some people don't even show that they have a fear at all.

The thing that makes a human most scared is not knowing something, fear of the unknown.

Fear is a reaction to danger that involves the mind and body. Fear serves a protective purpose - signaling us of danger and preparing us to deal with it.

Most people tend to avoid the things they feel afraid of. There are, of course, exceptions - some people seek out the thrill of extreme sports, for example, because the rush of fear can be exciting.

There are also social fears like the fear of being embarrassed or rejected or fear of failing.

What's happening in the body when you experience this reaction? The brain triggers a response that causes the heart rate to increase, blood to pump to large muscle groups to prepare for physical action (such as running or fighting), blood pressure to increase, skin to sweat to keep the body cool, and so forth. The body stays this way until the brain signals that it's safe to relax.

What Is a Phobia?
A phobia is an intense, unreasonable fear of a thing or a situation that is far out of proportion to the actual danger or harm that is possible. The fear and distress lead the person to avoid the object or situation they fear.

- Phobia, s a Greek word meaning fear. Check our the list of phobias here -

Fear can:
· Immobilize decision making.

· Prevent you from overcoming your insecurity, prevent you from trusting in others, and prevent you from being willing to become vulnerable in order to grow.

· Prevent you from being willing to let go of old habits or ways of thinking in order to change.

· Make you resistant to all offers of help from others.

· Terrify you and make you unwilling to venture out into the world, making you a prisoner in your home.

· Stifle your motivation to pursue an education or a career.

· Keep you locked in self-destructive behavior.

· Prevent you from believing in your chances to become a fully functioning, healthy individual.

· Be the reason why you find yourself stuck in old ways of acting and believing.

· Be the roadblock to change and growth; if not overcome fear becomes the patterned way of living an unhealthy life-style.

*source: Wikipedia