What is fear and... What is fear, what is it like and how to overcome it? Fear as a basic emotion of the body

How often do we underestimate the harm of fear? This emotion seems natural and even ordinary to us. Indeed, it is quite logical to tremble in the face of danger. However, there is little in this world that can cause such serious harm to a person as pathological horror, squeezing our will and consciousness in a vice. Let's look at what fear is, when it is good and when it is evil for our mental well-being, and how to deal with it.

Fear is a vivid emotion that arises at the moment of danger - both real and imaginary. This feeling is present in almost all living beings, however, to a greater extent it is characteristic of humans due to their subtle mental organization.

The dictionary gives the following definition to the concept of “fear”: “an emotional state, a negatively colored experience that causes not only mental but also physical discomfort.” In psychology, the definition of the gradation of the strength of fear varies from mild, quickly passing fear to panic horror, shock and panic. The difference in the strength and duration of the fear experienced depends on a number of reasons, both external (the degree of threat to life, health, well-being, etc.) and internal (a person’s level of anxiety, lack of confidence in oneself and one’s strengths, a negative outlook on the world).

Interesting! The natural result of fear will be flight or aggression (aggressive defense), which depends on the specific situation and the animal or person’s assessment of their strength. In psychology, this phenomenon is usually called in English - fight or flight (fight or flight).

This emotion is based on the oldest and strongest instinct of all living beings - the instinct of self-preservation, and has as its main function the protection of life and physical health in the face of impending danger.

In the history of human development, fear for one’s own life also played an important role. Fear of external threats predetermined the emergence of ancient communities, thanks to which it became easier for people to protect themselves and their family. It also became one of the factors that influenced the emergence of states, world religions, and the development of science.

Thus, fear and fear perform quite useful functions both for the individual and for all humanity:

1. Signals danger.
2. Promotes adaptation to external unfavorable circumstances.
3. Forces you to look for effective ways to avoid or get rid of dangers.

Fear, phobia, anxiety - the main differences

In psychology, it is common to distinguish between such concepts as fear, phobia and anxiety. All these emotions are united by a feeling of anxiety and excitement. However, they also have a number of obvious differences.

Fear is an emotional state that is characterized as an acute sense of impending danger. Normally, it always has a certain source, which really threatens those who are afraid of it. Another important feature of this emotion is that with the disappearance of the threat, the fear gradually weakens and disappears completely.

What distinguishes anxiety from fear and phobia is that its subject is often hidden from a person’s consciousness. This emotion can be experienced due to the uncertainty of the future, before significant events. We can say that anxiety is natural to human nature. However, if anxiety turns into personal property, then this becomes a psychological problem and requires adequate psychotherapy. Various phobias often “grow” out of anxiety, and constant jitters negatively affect many functions of the human body.

Phobia is psychological disorder, in which certain objects and phenomena that are not objectively dangerous cause in a person a constant and insurmountable feeling of irrational horror.

At the same time, the phobia has a constant, stable nature, being an obsessive and often irrational horror for a person that does not have a clear logical justification (such as antophobia - fear of flowers or somniphobia - fear of sleep).

Types of fear

Fear as a philosophical concept was introduced by the Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard in 1843-1844, who divided ordinary fear into real, empirical fear and unconscious, existential fear-anguish. With the development of psychology, various classifications of this emotion have appeared. First, fear is divided into levels:

1. Normal (natural).
2. Pathological.

Normal fear is momentary and disappears as soon as the dangerous situation is eliminated. Its appearance does not affect a person’s personal guidelines and character, and, accordingly, does not affect his relationships with others.

Pathological fear is characterized by a greater degree of severity (up to horror, panic, shock) or a more protracted nature.

Professor Yu.V. Shcherbatykh divides fears into three groups:

1. Biological (natural).
2. Social (for example, loss of status).
3. Existential (horror of aging, death, eternity, religious fears).

They can also be divided according to age criteria:

1. Children's.
2. Adults.

Children's thoughts occupy a special place in psychology because they can be brought into adulthood and develop into pathological, obsessive anxious thoughts. Z. Freud called them neurotic. This fear has no real basis, representing an “illusion of the mind”, and is a psychological deviation.

The famous psychiatrist B. Karvasarsky offers a more detailed classification of fears and divides them into the following groups:

1. Fears of space (for example,).
2. Social (social phobias).
3. Fear of loss of health (nosophobia).
4. Fear of death (thanatophobia).
5. Fear of harming yourself or others (obsessive-compulsive).
6. Individual (fear of saying something rude, blushing, etc.).
7. Fear of being afraid (phobophobia).

The most common fears

The most common phobia currently is (aerophobia). Moreover, according to official statistics on transport accidents, the airplane is the safest vehicle.

Meanwhile, many people are so afraid of taking an airplane flight that they refuse to travel, meet with distant relatives, and even prestigious job, if it is related to business trips. Panic begins to set in at the mere thought of the upcoming flight - the pulse quickens, anxiety and excitement arise, and sweating increases. Sometimes a person does not even understand what it is, where the strong fear came from - and only accidentally finds out that he has become a victim of aerophobia.

On video: a small but colorful cartoon about how our fears and phobias are formed

After the phobia of flying on an airplane, the following fears follow in terms of prevalence:

1. Fear of public speaking.
2. Fear of death.
3. Fear of failure.
4. Fear of commitment.

Causes of fear

Such properties of human consciousness as imagination, memory and speech contribute to the consolidation of fleeting fear and its transformation from ordinary to pathological. Our subconscious draws us terrible prospects, our memory stores frightening memories from childhood, and speech helps convey scary stories and forecasts from mouth to mouth. And, despite the fact that most of them are nothing more than illusions, many people are capable of truly being afraid of these “ghosts”.

Like any psychological phenomenon, the feeling of fear has its own reasons, which can be divided into two large groups:

1. External reasons (real danger or threat).
2. Internal causes (childhood traumas, memories).

According to the degree of a person’s awareness of the causes of fear, we can distinguish:

1. Obvious reasons (pain, height, confined space, loneliness).
2. Hidden reasons (objectively not dangerous phenomena, but perceived as such by humans).

By the way, the strongest of all fears is considered to be based on the basic instinct of self-preservation. And no less terrible can be the horror of social “death” - the fear of shame, rejection by society. Once upon a time, when people lived in large communities, expulsion from it for any “sin” was equivalent to physical death, since a person alone could hardly live to a ripe old age. Therefore, the fear of being rejected has penetrated very deeply into the genetic memory, and is often observed in modern people.

Signs and symptoms

The physiological manifestations of acute fear are the same for all living beings and vary in severity, which depends on the severity of the threat.

First of all, the sympathetic nervous system is activated, mobilizing all the energy resources of the body. The activity of all organ systems is reconfigured in order to adequately respond to the received danger signal. The body is preparing to respond to aggression or to escape and save itself.

Moreover, changes manifest themselves not only on the emotional, but also on the physical level. When experiencing a feeling of horror, a person experiences a number of unpleasant physical symptoms:

• the pulse quickens, blood rushes to the muscles;
• trembling or muscle weakness, jitters appear;
• the blood “leaves” from the face, the person turns pale;
• the pupils dilate, vision and hearing become sharper;
• sweating increases.

A number of changes also occur in the human or animal body during severe fear:

• the level of glucose in the blood increases (the main “fuel” for the functioning of the brain and muscles);
• blood clotting increases;
• secretion of glucocorticoids increases (protection from anaphylactic shock in case of possible injury).

All of the above reactions are due to work nervous system, as well as the adrenal glands, which release hormones into the blood - adrenaline and cortisol.

How to overcome fear on your own

“Normal”, natural fear associated with a real threat is determined by human nature. We easily overcome this condition and our emotional and physical state returns to normal.

Unfortunately, with the development of humanity and the increasing complexity psychological processes, ordinary fears began to give way to pathological ones, and anxiety began to develop into chronic. In this case, a person risks his health - his immune system is suppressed, psychosomatic diseases arise.

The illusion of mind control over our emotions, including fears, leads to the problem being pushed deeper into consciousness. Over time, we cease to be aware of the causes of constant anxiety, often without even understanding the true source of our anxiety.

Meanwhile, awareness of fears and their causes is the first and most important step towards getting rid of them, a step into a healthy and happy life free from the shackles of anxiety and doubt.

There are a number of ways to self-deliverance from the fears that haunt a person:

1. The method of rationalization is the logical conviction of oneself that one’s own fear is irrational and far-fetched.
2. Objective assessment of the danger - try to assess the chances of its implementation in reality and the scale of possible damage. Is the damage so great that you are in a state of horror and anxiety every minute?
3. Determine the place of your fear among other objective dangers, compare the danger that frightens you with much more serious misfortunes (for example, war or a natural disaster).
4. Imagine that the worst thing happened. Imagine the worst possible outcome and try to rationalize even this situation. It is possible that a situation that seems like a catastrophe to you is actually completely solvable, normal, or not so dramatic.
5. Fill your life with activities and emotions. Don't let worry take up your time and attention!
6. Live according to the principle of “here and now!” Don't be scared of a future that hasn't happened yet, enjoy what you have now.

Interesting! At the core positive thinking, which is also used to combat phobias, lies reframing (the literal meaning of this word is “frame replacement effect”) - the ability to reformulate negative circumstances into favorable ones. A famous master of this type of substitution was Milton Erickson, who used reframing to treat his patients.

Therapy of fears under the supervision of specialists

Sometimes the level of anxiety reaches a critical level, and independent work over yourself may not be enough. The help of professionals is especially urgently needed if a person has psychosomatic (“nervous”) diseases.

In psychology, there are a number of generally accepted methods for treating chronic anxiety and phobias, including:

1. Behavioral therapy (behavioral therapy) is a direction of modern psychiatry aimed at eliminating unwanted behavior and developing useful skills behavior.
2. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy) — complex form psychotherapy that combines cognitive therapy with behavioral therapy.
3. Problem-focused therapy is a psychotherapy concept that combines elements of psychoanalysis, Gestalt therapy, behavioral therapy and body-oriented therapy.
4. Neurolinguistic programming (NLP) is a direction in psychotherapy and practical psychology, based on the technique of modeling or copying successful behavior, and a set of connections between speech, eye movements, body and memory.
5. Psychoanalysis - a method of treatment mental illness through identifying and analyzing repressed and traumatic experiences.
6. Hypnosis.
7. Autogenic training is a psychotherapeutic method aimed at restoring the dynamic balance of homeostatic mechanisms.

For treatment severe forms phobias and chronic anxiety can be used and medications- antidepressants, tranquilizers, antipsychotics. Sometimes therapy is carried out in a hospital because the patient feels so bad that he needs constant medical supervision.

Conclusion

As we see, fear can very well be our friend if we do not allow it to linger in the heart for a long time. The choice is only ours - to succumb to negative experiences or to fight for our health and peace of mind, on our own or with the help of specialists.

There are no people in the world who are not afraid of anything. Everyone has encountered the internal more than once in their life. But the nature of the strongest negative emotion is not clear to everyone. People wonder what fear is and how to identify its causes. They are also trying to understand how to get rid of obsessive states caused by the fear of certain things.

Psychology of fear

For centuries, the feeling of fear has caused confusion in people. The problem received a lot of attention from both religion and philosophy; painters and sculptors tried to assess the situation. With the advent of psychology in the 19th century, the phenomenon began to be viewed from scientific point vision. Fear was called internal state, caused by a state of real or imaginary threat. When a person perceives a situation as dangerous, the body gives a signal. Attitudes to the outside world and phobias are individual, and experts talk about hundreds of their varieties.

The benefits and harms of fear

Psychologists say: although the emotion of fear is negatively colored, in small quantities it can even be useful. And in general, it is normal to have fears and phobias. This does not mean that every person who is faced with an insurmountable fear of something should live his whole life under fear. When a phobia has become a problem, it must be fought, but to destroy any manifestation of fear means going against nature. After all, historically, fear of the unknown protected people from negative external factors.

How is fear useful?

The benefit of fear is its main function: to protect a person from danger (in other words, to include). Only at first glance this emotion is useless, but it arose in the process of evolution in order to protect the individual from surrounding troubles, external factors and threats. We can name the following situations when fear is useful:

1. Fear of heights saves you from falling. Water - from getting caught in a storm. Darkness - from meeting robbers and rapists in the evening park.
2. Fear of the unknown and inner instinct protects against communication with dangerous objects (matches, knives), people and animals.
3. In dangerous situations, it is produced in the brain, which has a positive effect on muscle tone.
4. A surge of adrenaline in the blood causes a person to begin to think and act faster and more harmoniously. But not always.

The Harm of Fear

The absence of fear would bring humanity to the brink of extinction, but in some cases fear is harmful. Feeling threatened does not always help a person act at the limit of his capabilities. Another scenario for the development of events in a dangerous situation looks like this:

• movements are constrained;
• breathing is disturbed, knocked down;
• a person cannot think and act normally;
• panic attacks occur.

Types of fears

Depending on the classification, fears can be divided into several groups. For example, Freud divided all emotions of this kind into real and neurotic, and his colleague, psychologist Kaplan, into pathological and constructive. That is, the first type really helps a person survive, these are the so-called biological fears, and the second is the cause of the disease. In scientific circles, it is customary to combine phobias into 8 groups:

1. Spatial (fear of depth, heights, closed spaces, etc.).
2. Social (people of a certain gender, status, reluctance to change, etc.).
3. Fear of death.
4. Danger of contracting various diseases.
5. Contrast fear is a reluctance to stand out.
6. Fear of causing harm to others.

Russian psychologist Yu. Shcherbatykh had his own idea of ​​what kind of fears there are. He divides them into three groups:

1. Social is anxiety about one’s own well-being and that of one’s loved ones, about public opinion, publicity, changes in life, etc.
2. Natural, that is, associated with natural phenomena (thunderstorm, storm, etc.).
3. Internal ones that were “laid in” in childhood.

But it would be more accurate to divide all phobias and anxieties into three (four) groups:

1. Biological – that is, related to health and life.
2. Social – related to changes in status in society.
3. Existential - internal, in which the deep essence of a person is revealed.
4. A separate group is children's fears.

Social fears

Perhaps the most extensive group of fears, which can be seen in several classifications, is social. Their peculiarity is that the objects to which the phobia is directed do not pose a real danger. They can stem from biological fears - as, for example, a childhood fear of pain from injections takes root and subsequently becomes a pathological dislike of people in white coats. With age social aspect replaces biological. It is customary to divide people’s fears of this kind into the following types:

• fear of submission (to a boss, teacher, etc.);
• fear of failure;
• reluctance to take responsibility (in the family, team);
• fear of loneliness and inattention;
• fear of getting close to others;
• fear of evaluation and condemnation.

Biological fears

It is inherent in nature itself to experience a feeling of fear and anxiety before phenomena that threaten the life of a person and his family, for example, predatory and poisonous animals, disasters. Such phobias are well-founded, and the reason that causes anxiety is truly dangerous. Biological fears are also characterized by:

• innate - their presence is inherent in the instincts of self-preservation;
• widespread - such phobias are common to all people.

Existential dread

The essence of a person is manifested in the third group of phobias: existential. They are caused in deep brain structures, are not always recognized by a person and “live” in the subconscious, therefore they are difficult to treat (if required). These include:

• fear of oneself;
• fear of space (closed, open, heights);
• fear of the irrevocability of time, the future, death;
• the emergence of anxiety in front of the unknown, the mysteries of this world.

Childhood fears

A separate category is childhood anxieties carried into adulthood. This is the main emotion - fear, and it manifests itself in the womb, when the baby reacts to the mother’s experiences. Biological fears (bright lights, loud sounds, etc.) are typical for the first months of life. These are defense mechanisms. But if the tendency towards certain phobias is transmitted at the genetic level, it is most likely that childhood emotions will develop into adult social fears.

How to get rid of fear?

Having a clear understanding of what fear is and understanding its causes, a person can try to eradicate them in order to get rid of it forever. A detailed analysis of the problem helps to cope with it. There are many proven ways to cure fear. Psychology names some effective methods:

1. Action against anxiety.
2. Logical understanding possible consequences situations. Maybe there's nothing to worry about.
3. Visualization of a phobia - on paper or in your head.
4. Courage training.

If we are talking about social phobia, it can also be dealt with step by step. There are several psychological techniques and ways to overcome the fear of communication:

• making new acquaintances and expanding your horizons;
• virtual communication, telephone conversations;
• consultation with a psychologist.

Pills for fear

It is important to understand that such an emotion as fear did not always cause natural causes. If the anxiety is caused by neurological and psychological problems, drug treatment helps. Over-the-counter anxiety medication can be purchased at pharmacies. These include:

• herbs and extracts – valerian, roseola, motherwort;
• homeopathic medicines;
• dietary supplements;
• nootropic drugs – adaptol, phenibut, pantogam.

Sometimes various drugs can really help eliminate anxiety, but not for long. For example, for a person who is afraid of flying, it is easier to take a pill before a rare flight than to undergo a long course of psychotherapy. Regular use of antidepressants and stabilizers can reduce anxiety, but if the root of fear lies deep down, pills alone will not help. You need to work on yourself.

Most bad method eliminate anxiety - freeze or run away from them. You need to fight any phobias – secret and obvious – that interfere with your life, and boldly face danger and your own weaknesses. It is important to understand that people have no control over some things, and to be able to come to terms with these types of fears. For example, don't try to conquer death or avoid everyone natural disasters. People should listen to the instinct of self-preservation, but not silt into their fears.

Learn to control your fear and use its energy for your own purposes. Fear is a constant companion for most people, especially in modern urban environments, where violence and confrontation with each other have become the norm. Of all the emotions that a person can experience, we are most familiar with fear, because... It is fear that has the greatest influence on us.

Living without fear is almost impossible for many people; After all, fear is an integral part of our life. This is an integral part of our Everyday life, like other emotions, and therefore trying to rid yourself of fear is useless.

WE ARE FORCED TO RECOGNIZE - FEAR WILL NOT GO ANYWHERE!

We really need fear; it serves through various reactions to maintain personal and collective survival. Fear is a reaction to an emotion that you can learn to control so that you can use it to your advantage, rather than allowing that strong emotion to negatively affect you. In fact, fear is a powerful weapon that will help you survive in extreme situation if you make some effort to master it and learn to direct its energy in a positive direction.

This article is devoted to how to do this. From it you will learn how to turn an emotion that most people consider negative into a powerful invisible weapon that can multiply your capabilities in a dangerous situation. First, let's try to figure out what fear is and why it has such an impact on us.

WHAT IS FEAR?

Let's take the following definition as a starting point: “Fear is emotional experience, the feeling of anxiety that a person experiences when there is a possible or obvious impending danger.”

When the brain senses danger, it releases adrenaline, which in turn causes the so-called “fight or flight” response.

This is a huge release of adrenaline that can be felt in the pit of the stomach. It forces us to react one way or another to the perceived danger: either stay and attack (fight) or flee (run). Of course, there is also: freeze, burp, but the problem is that often this reaction leads a person into a stupor.

You literally stand rooted to the spot, unable to move or make clear decisions about what to do next. This is why so many people see fear in a negative way - it negatively affects their condition, but in its direct form it should protect.

HERE ARE SOME OF THE BODY'S RESPONSE TO THE FEAR REACTION:

EYES

The pupils dilate, more light enters. This allows you to be more alert and aware of the situation. Some people experience a strange feeling of unreality, as if they don't really exist.

MOUTH AND THROAT

The oral cavity dries out so that digestive juices do not reach the stomach. The energy of the body is conserved. The muscles in your throat become tense, making it difficult to swallow. This leads to the sensation of a lump in the throat.

HEART

The heart beats faster: it needs to transport blood and oxygen throughout the body. The result is palpitations or cardiac excitement. Blood pressure also increases.

KNEES

Too much adrenaline causes the knees to become immobilized and blood to rush to the extremities; you feel weak in your knees.

BLADDER AND INTESTINES

Muscles Bladder and the intestines relax so much that there is a desire to go to the toilet in order to relieve our body for faster action.

FINGERS AND TOES

There is a tingling sensation in the fingers and toes because they are not getting enough blood.

LIVER

Carbohydrate glycogen stores are converted into glucose to increase energy.

STOMACH

A sharp reduction in the digestive juices of saliva leads to the formation of acid, which causes discomfort to the stomach.

ADRENAL GLANDS

They produce the hormone adrenaline.

SWEAT GLANDS

The body overheats due to an increase in metabolic rate, so sweat glands produce large amounts of sweat to help cool the body.

LUNGS

Breathing increases so that more oxygen can enter the body.

LEATHER

The skin turns pale due to the drainage of blood. This is the body's most basic instinct to protect itself from pain.

BRAIN

The brain determines the fight or flight response, preparing the body to fight or flee.

However, fear only affects you negatively when you allow it to. By releasing so much adrenaline into the bloodstream from the adrenal gland, your body really wants to help you. In a short period of time, your entire body becomes like a turbojet engine, ready for action. You will feel stronger, faster, and less sensitive to pain, allowing you to better withstand violent attacks.

So, if the fight-or-flight response is good for us in extreme situations, then why do so many view it from a negative perspective? Because people do not prepare themselves to react correctly when such situations arise and end up succumbing to panic.

It is believed that the occurrence of affect (stupor) is predisposed by any extreme or non-standard situation in which a person must act to save his life, but at the same time he does not know how to act.

For example: two travelers, one of whom, knowing about the danger on the road, prepares in advance and arms himself. He may worry on the way, but when faced with a dangerous situation, he does not experience a state of passion, since he is ready to react adequately. The second traveler, unaware of the danger, behaves completely differently. During an attack, he may experience a state of passion, since he is not ready to act adequately in this situation, or he will do something that no one can imagine.

As we see, one of the reasons for the development of affect is the lack of preparation for actions in unforeseen situations. This is caused by us simply mistaking adrenaline for fear. As a result, all the necessary energy is gone, and the person freezes in a daze in the face of impending danger. Our body can produce adrenaline in different ways depending on the circumstances. The two most in important ways are slow and fast adrenaline releases.

A slow release occurs when you are anticipating confrontation with something.

The body can produce adrenaline very slowly, sometimes over several months, leaving you feeling constantly anxious or afraid. This may happen, for example, before some important event for you - an upcoming exam, a divorce from your spouse, a job evaluation, etc.

An instantaneous or rapid release occurs when you are not expecting anything or when a situation develops unexpectedly quickly. Often this feeling turns out to be so strong that a person freezes in place, because... mistakes the sensation experienced for real fear.

At the same time, there is a secondary adrenaline rush that occurs when something does not go according to plan, and you begin to imagine the consequences of the situation. And here your body is trying to help you not succumb to fear.

The sooner you learn to recognize and accept the fight-or-flight response as your means of coping, the sooner you can begin working on your fear.

HOW TO CONSIST YOUR FEARS?

The first step in facing fears is to be honest with yourself. You need to really look inside yourself and decide what your real fears are and where you think they come from.

Many people never get past this very initial stage because they are often embarrassed or afraid to admit their perceived shortcomings. Perhaps they consider it weak to admit things that do not seem serious enough to them.

One way or another, we are all afraid of this kind of introspection. By acknowledging your fears, you are taking a major step in the right direction to combat them. Many people say to themselves, “It’s not something I’m afraid of, it’s just something I don’t want or don’t like to do.”

HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU SAID THIS PHRASE TO YOURSELF AND OTHERS?

But if you are honest with yourself, you will quickly realize that this is just an excuse to avoid doing anything to manage and gain control over the energy of fear. So, we must be honest with ourselves if we want to overcome our fears and give ourselves the chance to reach our full potential. In a good way To begin this work, you will need to compile a list of fears.

LIST OF INSURANCES

First, take a piece of paper and write down all the fears that you may have. Remember, be honest with yourself! No one but you will see this list, so there is no point in lying to yourself.

If you are afraid of getting hit or punched in the face, for example, write it down. If you are afraid of meeting an enemy armed with a knife, this should also be written down. And so on. Just be brutally honest and realize that this is your only chance to help yourself. After making such a list, you need to decide where to start. First, it is advisable to choose your least fear, which will be easiest to cope with.

By arranging your fears in this way, you will easily overcome them one by one. And by the time you get to your biggest fear, you will have enough confidence and willpower to overcome it.

One way to work with a list of fears is the following exercise. You place your smallest fear at the bottom of your imaginary fear tree and your greatest fear at the top, and thus build a hierarchy from smallest to largest. Then you start with the smallest fear to “work your way up.” This method promotes steady progress and increased confidence over time. Your next step is to deal with this very first fear.

IMPACT OF FEAR

To overcome any fear, you must be willing to face it. Unfortunately, there is no other way to do this. You can't avoid it if you really want to overcome it. So start with the least fear, whatever it may be. Dealing with your fear is not just an opportunity to be honest with yourself, but also a way to prevent adrenaline from slowly poisoning your life over time. If you really want to make progress in mastering personal safety, you must make every effort to overcome the barriers that prevent you from doing so. As they say - “be afraid, but do it.”

Over the years, we have taught ourselves that fear is something that slows us down and prevents us from doing what we want. However, on the contrary, fear exists to help us achieve what we want, because... it prepares our body and brain for decisive action. This is especially evident in self-defense situations, where we think we are experiencing fear, when in fact it is just our body's process of preparing to help us deal with the situation more effectively. For people who have passed special training, the adrenaline rush is not something supernatural. They know that it is simply the energy needed to cope with a dangerous situation.

You have to look at fear the same way. Learn to recognize your fears, and when you face them, use them to your advantage. Don't think of fear as fear, think of it as super fuel that motivates you to take action. Why should you be afraid when you have such powerful resources at your disposal?

Reading time: 3 min

Fear is a strong negative emotion that arises as a result of an imagined or real danger and poses a threat to life for the individual. In psychology, fear is understood as the internal state of a person, which is caused by a perceived or real disaster.

Psychologists attribute fear to emotional processes. K. Izard defined this state as a basic emotion that is innate and has genetic and physiological components. Fear mobilizes the individual's body to avoid behavior. A person’s negative emotion signals a state of danger, which directly depends on numerous external and internal, acquired or congenital causes.

Psychology of fear

Two neural pathways are responsible for the development of this feeling, which must function simultaneously. The first is responsible for basic emotions, reacts quickly and is accompanied by a significant number of errors. The second one reacts much slower, but more accurately. The first way helps us quickly respond to signs of danger, but often works as a false alarm. The second way makes it possible to more thoroughly assess the situation and therefore respond more accurately to the danger.

In the case of a feeling of fear in a person who is initiated by the first path, the functioning of the second path occurs, which evaluates some signs of danger as unreal. When a phobia occurs, the second pathway begins to function inadequately, which provokes the development of a feeling of fear of stimuli that are dangerous.

Causes of fear

In everyday life, as well as in emergency situations, a person is faced with a strong emotion - fear. A negative emotion in a person represents a long-term or short-term emotional process that develops due to an imaginary or real danger. This condition is often noted unpleasant sensations, at the same time being a signal for protection, since the main goal facing a person is to save his life.

But it should be borne in mind that the response to fear is the unconscious or thoughtless actions of a person, which are caused by panic attacks with the manifestation of severe anxiety. Depending on the situations, the course of the emotion of fear in all people varies significantly in strength, as well as in its influence on behavior. Finding out the reason in a timely manner will significantly speed up getting rid of negative emotions.

The causes of fear can be both hidden and obvious. Often a person does not remember the obvious reasons. Hidden fears are understood as fears that come from childhood, for example, increased parental care, temptations, a consequence of psychological trauma; fears caused by a moral conflict or unresolved problem.

There are cognitively constructed reasons: feelings of rejection, loneliness, threats to self-esteem, depression, feelings of inadequacy, feelings of imminent failure.

Consequences of negative emotions in a person: strong nervous tension, emotional states of uncertainty, search for protection, prompting the individual to escape and save. There are basic functions of people’s fear, as well as accompanying emotional states: protective, signaling, adaptive, search.

Fear can manifest itself in the form of a depressed or excited emotional state. Panic fear (horror) is often marked by a depressed state. Synonyms for the term “fear” or similar terms are the terms “anxiety”, “panic”, “fright”, “phobia”.

If a person has a short-term and at the same time strong fear caused by a sudden stimulus, then it will be classified as fear, and a long-term and not clearly expressed one will be classified as anxiety.

Conditions such as phobias can lead to frequent and strong experiences of negative emotions by an individual. A phobia is understood as an irrational, obsessive fear associated with certain situation or an object when a person cannot cope with it on his own.

Signs of fear

Some features of the expression of negative emotions are manifested in physiological changes: increased sweating, rapid heartbeat, diarrhea, dilation and constriction of the pupils, urinary incontinence, darting eyes. These signs appear when there is a threat to life or in front of a characteristic biological fear.

Signs of fear are forced silence, passivity, refusal to act, avoidance of communication, uncertain behavior, the appearance of a speech defect (stuttering) and bad habits(looking around, stooping, biting nails, fiddling with objects in hands); the individual strives for solitude and isolation, which contributes to the development of depression, melancholy, and in some cases provokes. People who experience fears complain of obsession with ideas, which ultimately interferes with their lives full life. Obsession with fear interferes with initiative and forces inaction. Deceptive visions and mirages accompany a person; he is afraid, tries to hide or run away.

Sensations that arise during a strong negative emotion: the ground disappears from under your feet, adequacy and control over the situation are lost, internal numbness and numbness (stupor) occurs. A person becomes fussy and hyperactive, he always needs to run somewhere, because it is unbearable to be alone with the object or problem of fear. A person is squeezed and dependent, stuffed with insecurity complexes. Depending on the type of nervous system, the individual defends himself and goes on the offensive, showing aggression. In essence, this acts as a disguise for experiences, addictions and anxieties.

Fears manifest themselves in different ways, but they have common features: restlessness, anxiety, nightmares, irritability, suspicion, suspiciousness, passivity, tearfulness.

Types of fears

Yu.V. Shcherbatykh identified the following classification of fears. The professor divided all fears into three groups: social, biological, existential.

He included in the biological group those that are directly related to a threat to human life, the social group is responsible for fears and fears in social status, the scientist associated the existential group of fears with the essence of man, which is observed in all people.

All social fears are caused by situations that can undermine social status and lower self-esteem. These include fear of public speaking, responsibility, and social contacts.

Existential fears are associated with the intellect of the individual and are caused (by reflection on issues that affect the problems of life, as well as death and human existence itself). For example, this is fear of time, death, as well as the meaninglessness of human existence, etc.

Following this principle: fear of fire will be classified as a biological category, stage fright as a social category, and fear of death as an existential category.

In addition, there are also intermediate forms of fear that stand on the border between two groups. These include fear of disease. On the one hand, the disease brings suffering, pain, damage ( biological factor), and on the other social factor(separation from society and the team, exclusion from usual activities, decreased income, poverty, dismissal from work). Therefore, this state is referred to as the border between biological and social group, fear when swimming in a pond on the border of the biological and existential, fear of losing loved ones on the border of the biological and existential group. It should be noted that in every phobia all three components are noted, but one is dominant.

It is common for an individual, and this is normal, to be afraid of dangerous animals, certain situations, as well as natural phenomena. People's fears about this are reflexive or genetic in nature. In the first case, the danger is based on negative experience, in the second it is recorded at the genetic level. Both cases control reason and logic. Presumably, these reactions have lost their useful meaning and therefore greatly interfere with a person’s ability to live fully and happily. For example, it makes sense to be careful around snakes, but it is foolish to be afraid of small spiders; One can be justifiably afraid of lightning, but not thunder, which is incapable of causing harm. With such phobias and inconveniences, people should rebuild their reflexes.

People's fears that arise in situations that are dangerous to health and life have a protective function and are therefore useful. And people's fear of medical manipulations can cause harm to health, as they will prevent timely diagnosis of the disease and initiation of treatment.

People's fears are varied, as are their areas of activity. A phobia is based on the instinct of self-preservation and acts as a defensive reaction in the face of danger. Fear can manifest itself in various forms. If a negative emotion is not clearly expressed, then it is experienced as a fuzzy, vague feeling - anxiety. Stronger fear is noted in negative feelings: horror, panic.

State of fear

Negative emotion is a normal response of an individual to the vicissitudes of life. In an implicit, expressed form, this state acts as an adaptive reaction. For example, an applicant cannot successfully pass an exam without experiencing excitement and any anxiety. But in extreme terms, the state of fear deprives the individual of the ability to fight, giving a feeling of horror and panic. Excessive excitement and anxiety do not allow the applicant to concentrate during the exam, he may lose his voice. Researchers often note a state of anxiety and fear in patients during an extreme situation.

They help relieve the state of fear for a short time sedatives and benzodiazepines. A negative emotion includes a state of irritability, horror, absorption in certain thoughts, and is also marked by changes in physiological parameters: the appearance of shortness of breath, excessive sweating, insomnia, chills. These manifestations intensify over time and thereby complicate the patient’s normal life. Often this condition becomes chronic and manifests itself in the absence of a specific external reason.

Feeling of fear

The emotion of fear would be more accurate, but there is no clear boundary between these two concepts. Often, when there is a short-term effect, they talk about emotion, and when there is a long-term effect, they mean a feeling of fear. This is where the two concepts differ. And in colloquial speech Fear is considered to be both a feeling and an emotion. Fear manifests itself in different ways in people: for some it constrains and limits, while for others, on the contrary, it intensifies activity.

The feeling of fear is individual and reflects all genetic characteristics, as well as the characteristics of upbringing and culture, temperament, accentuation, and neuroticism of each individual person.

There are both external and internal manifestations of fear. External refers to how an individual looks, while internal refers to the physiological processes occurring in the body. Because of all these processes, fear is classified as negative emotion, which negatively affects the entire body, increasing the pulse and heartbeat, accordingly increasing blood pressure, and sometimes vice versa, increasing sweating, changing the composition of the blood (releasing the hormone adrenaline).

The essence of fear is that an individual, being afraid, tries to avoid situations that provoke negative emotions. Strong fear, being a toxic emotion, provokes the development various diseases.

Fears are observed in all individuals. Neurotic fear is observed in every third inhabitant of the Earth, but if it reaches strength, it turns into horror and this takes the individual out of control of consciousness, and as a result there is numbness, panic, defensiveness, and flight. Therefore, the emotion of fear is justified and serves for the survival of the individual, however, it can also take pathological forms that will require the intervention of doctors. Each fear performs a specific function and arises for a reason.

Fear of heights protects you from falling from a mountain or balcony; fear of getting burned makes you not go close to the fire, and, therefore, protects you from injury. Fear of public speaking forces you to prepare more carefully for speeches and take rhetoric courses, which should help in career growth. It is natural that an individual tries to overcome personal fears. If the source of danger is uncertain or unconscious, then the state that arises is called anxiety.

Panic fear

This condition never arises without reason. For its development, a number of factors and conditions are necessary: ​​anxiety, anxiety, stress, schizophrenia, hypochondria,.

A depressed person’s psyche quickly reacts to any stimuli and therefore restless thoughts can undermine a person’s capacity. Anxiety and accompanying conditions gradually turn into neurosis, and neuroses, in turn, provoke the emergence of panic fear.

This condition cannot be predicted, since it can occur at any time: at work, on the street, in transport, in a store. A panic state is the body’s defensive reaction to a perceived or imaginary threat. Panic causeless fear is characterized by the following symptoms: suffocation, dizziness, rapid heartbeat, trembling, stupor, chaos of thoughts. Some cases are marked by chills or vomiting. Such conditions last from an hour to two for one or two times a week. The stronger the mental disorder, the longer and more frequent it is.

Often this condition can occur against the background of overwork and exhaustion of the body in emotionally unstable people. In most cases, women fall into this category as they are emotional, vulnerable, and react sharply to stress. However, men also experience panic for no reason, but try not to admit it to others.

Panic fear does not disappear on its own, and panic attacks will haunt patients. Treatment is carried out strictly under the supervision of psychiatrists, and relieving symptoms with alcohol only aggravates the situation, and panic fear will appear not only after stress, but also when nothing threatens.

Fear of pain

Since it is common for a person to periodically fear something, this is a normal reaction of our body, which reflects the performance of protective functions. Frequent experiences of this kind include fear of pain. Having previously experienced pain, the individual at an emotional level tries to avoid a repetition of this sensation and fear acts as a protective mechanism that prevents dangerous situations.

Fear of pain is not only useful, but also harmful. A person, not understanding how to get rid of this condition, tries not to visit the dentist for a long time or avoids important operation, as well as the examination method. IN in this case fear has a destructive function and should be fought against. Confusion about how to effectively get rid of the fear of pain only aggravates the situation and pushes towards the formation of a panic reaction.

Modern medicine now has different ways pain relief, therefore the fear of pain is predominantly only psychological in nature. This negative emotion is rarely formed from previously experienced experiences. Most likely, a person’s fear of pain from injuries, burns, or frostbite is strong, and this is a protective function.

Treatment of fears

Before starting therapy, it is necessary to diagnose within the framework of what mental disorder fears appear. Phobias occur with, hypochondria, depression, in the structure neurotic disorders, panic attacks, panic disorders.

The feeling of fear occupies a significant place in the clinical picture of somatic diseases (hypertension, bronchial asthma and others). Fear can also be a normal reaction of an individual to the situation in which he finds himself. Therefore, the correct diagnosis is responsible for treatment tactics. The development of the disease, from the point of view of pathogenesis, should be treated in the totality of symptoms, and not in its individual manifestations.

Fear of pain can be effectively treated with psychotherapeutic methods and is eliminated with therapy that is individual in nature. Many people who do not have special knowledge on getting rid of the fear of pain mistakenly think that this is an inevitable feeling and therefore live with it for many years. In addition to psychotherapeutic methods of treating this phobia, homeopathic treatment.

People's fears are very difficult to correct. IN modern society It is not customary to discuss your fears. People publicly discuss illnesses and attitudes towards work, but as soon as you start talking about fears, a vacuum immediately appears. People are ashamed of their phobias. This attitude towards fears has been instilled since childhood.

Correction of fears: take a sheet of white paper and write down all your fears. In the center of the sheet, place the most significant phobia that interferes with your life. And be sure to understand the reasons for this condition.

How to get rid of fear

Every person is able to learn to overcome his fears, otherwise it will be difficult for him to achieve his goals, fulfill his dreams, achieve success and be realized in all directions of life. There are various techniques for getting rid of phobias. It is important to develop the habit of actively acting and not paying attention to the fears that arise along the way. In this case, a negative emotion is a simple reaction that arises in response to any efforts to create something new.

Fear can arise from trying to do something against your beliefs. Understand that each person develops a personal worldview over a certain period of time, and when trying to change it, it is necessary to overcome fear.

Fear can be strong or weak, depending on the power of persuasion. A person is not born successful. We are often not raised to be successful people. It is very important to act despite personal fear. Tell yourself: “Yes, I’m scared, but I will do it.” While you hesitate, your phobia grows, triumphantly turning into a powerful weapon against you. The longer you hesitate, the more you grow it in your mind. But as soon as you begin to act, the fear will immediately disappear. It turns out that fear is an illusion that does not exist.

The cure for fear is to accept your phobia and, resigned, step towards it. You shouldn't fight it. Admit to yourself: “Yes, I’m scared.” There is nothing wrong with this, you have the right to be afraid. The moment you acknowledge it, it rejoices, and then it weakens. And you start taking action.

How to get rid of fear? Assess the worst-case scenario for the expected development of events using logic. When fear appears, think about the worst-case scenario if suddenly, no matter what, you decide to act. Even the worst case scenario is not as scary as the unknown.

What causes fear? The most powerful weapon of fear is the unknown. It seems terrible, cumbersome and impossible to overcome. If your assessment is really real and the terrible condition does not go away, then it is worth thinking about whether in this case the phobia acts as a natural defensive reaction. Maybe I really need to give up further actions, because your negative emotion keeps you out of trouble. If the fear is not justified and the worst case scenario is not that bad, then go ahead and act. Remember that fear lives where there is doubt, uncertainty and indecision.

The cure for fear is to remove doubts and there will be no room left for fear. This state has such power because it causes negative images in the consciousness of what we do not need and the person feels discomfort. When a person decides to do something, doubts evaporate instantly, since the decision has been made and there is no turning back.

What causes fear? As soon as fear arises in a person, a scenario of failures and failures begins to scroll through the mind. These thoughts negatively affect emotions, and they control life. The lack of positive emotions greatly influences the emergence of indecisiveness in actions, and time of inaction ingrains the individual’s own insignificance. A lot depends on determination: whether you get rid of fear or not.

Fear keeps the human mind's attention on the negative development of an event, and the decision concentrates on a positive outcome. When making any decision, we focus on how wonderful it will be when we overcome fear and ultimately get a good result. This allows you to have a positive attitude, and the main thing is to fill your mind with pleasant scenarios, where there will be no room for doubts and fears. However, remember that if at least one negative thought associated with a negative emotion arises in your head, then multiple similar thoughts will immediately arise.

How to get rid of fear? Despite the fear, act. You know what you are afraid of, and this is a big plus. Analyze your fear and answer the questions: “What exactly am I afraid of?”, “Is this really worth being afraid of?”, “Why am I afraid?”, “Does my fear have a basis?”, “What is more important for me: making an effort?” over yourself or never achieve what you want?” Ask yourself questions more often. Analyze your phobias, since analysis occurs at a logical level, and fears are emotions that are stronger than logic and therefore always win. Having analyzed and realized, a person independently comes to the conclusion that fear makes absolutely no sense. It only worsens life, making it anxious, nervous and dissatisfied with its results. Are you still afraid?

How to get rid of fear? You can fight fear with feelings (emotions). To do this, sitting comfortably in a chair, scroll through scenarios in your head of what you are afraid of and how you do what you are afraid of. The mind is unable to distinguish imaginary events from real ones. After overcoming the imaginary fear in your head, it will be much easier for you to cope with the given task in reality, since at the subconscious level the model of events has already been strengthened.

The self-hypnosis method, namely visualization of success, will be effective and powerful in the fight against fears. After ten minutes of visualization, you feel better and it is easier to overcome fear. Remember that you are not alone in your phobias. All people are afraid of something. This is fine. Your task is to learn to act in the presence of fear, and not pay attention to it, being distracted by other thoughts. When fighting fear, a person becomes weaker energetically, since the negative emotion sucks out all the energy. A person destroys fear when he completely ignores it and is distracted by other events.

How to get rid of fear? Train and develop courage. If you are afraid of rejection, there is no point in fighting it by trying to minimize the number of rejections. People who are unable to cope with fear reduce such situations to nothing and, in general, do practically nothing, which makes them unhappy in life.

Imagine that training courage is akin to pumping up muscles in the gym. First, we train with a light weight that can be lifted, and then we gradually switch to a heavier weight and try to lift it. A similar situation exists with fears. Initially, we train with minor fear, and then switch to stronger fear. For example, the fear of public speaking in front of a large audience is eliminated by training in front of a small number of people, gradually increasing the audience several times.

How to overcome fear?

Practice normal communication: in line, on the street, in transport. Use neutral themes for this. The point is to first overcome small fears, and then move on to more significant ones. Practice constantly.

How to overcome fear using other methods? Boost your self-esteem. There is a certain pattern: the better your opinion of yourself, the fewer phobias you have. Personal self-esteem protects against fears and its objectivity does not matter at all. Therefore, people with high self-esteem are able to do more than people with objective self-esteem. Being in love, people overcome very strong fear in the name of their desires. Any positive emotion helps in overcoming fears, and all negative ones only hinder.

How to overcome fear?

There is a wonderful statement that the brave is not the one who is not afraid, but the one who acts despite his feelings. Take steps step by step, taking minimal steps. If you are afraid of heights, gradually increase the height.

Don't give too much importance to some aspects of your life. The lighter and more insignificant the attitude towards life's moments, the less anxiety. Give preference to spontaneity in business, since careful preparation and scrolling through your head provokes the development of excitement and anxiety. Of course, you need to plan things, but you shouldn’t get hung up on it. If you decide to act, then act, and do not pay attention to the trembling of the mind.

How to overcome fear? Understanding your specific situation can help with this. A person is afraid when he does not understand what exactly he needs and what he personally wants. The more we are afraid, the more clumsily we act. In this case, spontaneity will help, and do not be afraid of refusals or negative results. In any case, you did it, showed courage and this is your small achievement. Be friendly, a good mood helps in the fight against fears.

Self-knowledge helps in overcoming fears. It happens that a person does not know his own capabilities and is not confident in his abilities, due to the lack of support from others. When harshly criticized, many people's confidence drops sharply. This happens because a person does not know himself and receives information about himself from other people. It is important to know that understanding other people is a subjective concept. Many people often cannot understand themselves, let alone give others a real assessment.

Knowing yourself means accepting yourself as you are and being yourself. It is human nature to act without fear, when one is not ashamed to be oneself. By acting decisively, you express yourself. Overcoming your fears means learning, developing, becoming wiser, stronger.

Speaker of the Medical and Psychological Center "PsychoMed"

From the works of famous intelligent psychologists, we know that fear is given to us by nature for survival. This feeling warns that a situation has arisen or may arise that threatens you or your loved ones with loss of health or life. Let's now figure out whether to scold nature or thank us for such a gift.

A man was born. He has not yet had the sad experience of falling, burning, or loneliness. He was not eaten by predators, nor was he stolen by other people's uncles. Watch his behavior - he is already afraid!

• When he is very young, he is afraid of sudden rises and falls. His vestibular apparatus gives information to the brain and it sends a command to be afraid. The baby sharply spreads his arms to the sides, throws up his head and sobs convulsively. If he were a chick, he would certainly fly. (This innate reflex makes us think about our origins.)
• Notice how strongly the grasping reflex is developed. Babies are afraid to be left alone. Seeing a new unfamiliar face, they scream in fear. By the way, crying and screaming are also one of the weapons of fear. It is unknown how many of our ancestors were saved by timely fear. But the fact that the civilization of homo sapiens lives and prospers owes much to this feeling.

Signs and reaction of the body

What is fear? By and large, fear, which we all consider a feeling, is a set of physical processes occurring in our body. A person has several senses:

• eyes provide vision;
• skin touch;
• ears hearing;
• tongue with taste buds provide information about taste;
• the nose is responsible for the sense of smell;
• The vestibular apparatus provides balance.

The brain received information from the senses about the danger, quickly analyzed it and immediately gave the command for the urgent mobilization of all hidden resources.

Orders given by the brain:

1. Eyes. In order to better control the situation and receive more visual information, the brain sends a command to the visual organs, and the pupils dilate. There were cases when a person began to look at himself from the outside. Often, on the contrary, people close their eyes out of fear, so as not to see the danger, to hide from it inside themselves.
2. Mouth, throat. The “lump” in the throat is explained by the fact that the muscles are tense, the mouth becomes dry, and the discharge stops. gastric juice and saliva for greater conservation and accumulation of energy.
3. Adrenal glands. By order from above, they begin to intensively produce adrenaline - the hormone of fear.
4. Lungs. They begin to work more intensely to provide the body with more oxygen.
5. Heart. The body suddenly needed energy. The pulse quickens, the heartbeat increases. Circulatory system begins to distill oxygen faster, feeding muscle mass with it.
6. Stomach. Discomfort in this organ is explained by a sudden cessation of saliva flow and gastric juice production.
7. Liver. Among other things, it is also a storage facility for glycogen reserves. IN stressful situation it begins to rapidly convert it into glucose.
8. Sweat glands. To prevent overheating during intense work of the whole body, it is necessary efficient system cooling. The sweat glands begin to perform its function properly. The man sweats a lot.
9. Leather. Assuming painful sensations, the brain orders some of the blood to be diverted from the surface of the epidermis, thereby reducing pain. The man turns very pale. Sometimes, as a result of a sharp reduction in blood supply to the hair follicles, people turn gray from fear.

All parts of the body listened to the brain and are ready to either carry the body away from danger or resist it. This is the mechanism that nature provided, worked out over thousands of years and fixed at the genetic level.

Why do we react differently?

But, you and I are all so different, individual and original! For some, all generations of ancestors lived on a desert island without predators or enemies. Their genes recorded only the danger of thunder and storms. When faced with a danger unfamiliar to the brain, it either does not react as it should, or, conversely, experiences horror.

In addition to different “instructions”, corrected by time, we have different mentality, character, and temperament. Armed with the same weapon, one person will rush to run, another will rush into battle, the third will be confused and will wait for instructions from above or a poke in the side.

At the analysis stage, different conclusions and methods for solving a problem may arise in the analytical center (brain) of different people. And this is with the same initial data and equal sizes of sensory information:

1. Your brain will decide that there is no danger and there is nothing to be afraid of. Yes, it happens that ignorance saves you from disaster. But it is not logical to hope that beginners are lucky.
2. The neighbor’s gray matter will become fully alert to a trifling danger and give the command not just to be afraid, but almost to panic.
3. A person who often finds himself in stressful situations, and his analytical center already has some experience in solving such problems, will realistically assess the situation and will be afraid enough to neutralize it.

How to resist and control

Forewarned is forearmed. Now you know that your paleness, trembling knees and dry mouth are nothing more than weapons. Therefore, panic is excluded, there is no fear either, there is a readiness to confront danger.

One of effective ways control- compiling a list in which all objects, creatures, life situations, natural and social phenomena, causing you fears, fears and phobias. Don't hide from yourself and write down everything you remember, from biting bees to a huge meteorite.

Now arrange your problems as the strength of their impact on you increases. Determine the most easy problem and start the fight from there. The very first victory will increase your confidence, and after solving the third or fourth problem your wings will grow.

Causes of fear

Real fear

There are many situations in which a person can suffer physically or mentally. Your reluctance to end up in one of them is normal and natural. You are afraid of pain, death, isolation, losing loved one, fall from a height, drown.

Your concern is justified by the follow-up actions. You take measures to avoid getting sick, toughen up, love and care for your loved ones, don't walk on a tightrope, don't use a faulty elevator, and don't dive off a bridge.

There is no point in fighting such fears; they just need to be understood and controlled. For example, an illogical fear of underwater monsters, if you are a good swimmer, can be brought to order simply by diving and inspecting the surrounding water area.

Pathological fear

Obsessive fear, phobia, panic - all these feelings and emotions do not help a person, but interfere with life. In a stressful situation, a panic attack is either the cause of a phobia or, conversely, its consequence.

Sometimes a person experiences constant unreasonable fear. In this case, his condition cannot in any way become an assistant in solving the problem. It only means that a problem exists and you need to contact a psychologist. Modern science has long been armed with the necessary techniques and experience to treat any phobias.

In psychology, they also call pathology the desire to tempt fate again and again, risking one’s life, not for the sake of saving someone or something, but for the sake of the risk itself. There is such a deviation from the normal state when for a person the test of fear becomes a necessary drug. He cannot live without fear, and ordinary everyday horror stories no longer excite him.

Video: What is fear?