“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt was right because the fear of fear causes more distress and problems than fear itself. Fear is one of our biggest enemies. It stops us from taking the next step forward, it holds us back from daring to reach out to the unknown.
We may think about fear and its companion emotions consciously once we let go of our notion of fear as the welling up of bad forces within us (the Freudian motif) and begin to consider fear and its companion emotions as information. And the more clearly and calmly we can describe the source of our anxiety, the less it will terrorize and rule us.
What is Fear?
Dr. Karl Albrecht says that fear is “an anxious feeling, caused by our anticipation of some imagined event or experience”. The nervous feeling we experience when we're terrified, according to medical professionals, is a regular biological reaction. Whether we're terrified of being bitten by a dog, being turned down for a date, or having our taxes audited, we use the same set of bodily signals.
Fear is hard-wired into the nervous system and works like an instinct. Since infancy, we have the survival instincts to react with fear when we sense danger or feel insecure. We are protected by fear. It makes us more aware of the risk and more prepared to deal with it. In some instances, feeling terrified is quite natural and even beneficial.
It can serve as a warning, alerting us to the need to be cautious. Fear, like all emotions, can range from low to moderate to extreme, depending on the scenario and the individual. Fear might be fleeting or persist for a long time.
Fear can be triggered by real dangers, but it can also be triggered by hypothetical dangers. Panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, phobias, and post-traumatic stress disorder are among mental health illnesses that can cause fear (PTSD).
The 5 Primal Fears Shared By Us All
As suggested by Dr. Albrecht, there are 5 types of basic fears from which other fears originate.
1. Fear of Extinction
Since Pavlov first described it, extinction has been a complex process that has defied simple explanations. Describing it as just the ‘fear of death or the way one might die would be a bit simple. It's the fear of ceasing to exist completely, the fear of total annihilation.
Dr. Albrecht says that the prospect of ceasing to exist causes existential anxiety in all normal beings. For example, the panicky sensation and a burst of adrenaline a person might get when looking over the edge of a tall structure, or when surrounded with darkness or while thinking about fatal diseases is the fear of extinction or the fear of death popping up, warning you about the imminent danger.
2. Fear of Mutilation
Fear of mutilation is the fear of losing any part of our treasured bodily structure; the prospect of having our body's limits penetrated, or of losing the integrity of any organ, body part, or natural function. Anxiety about creatures, such as spiders (arachnophobia), snakes (ophidiophobia), dogs (cynophobia), and other animals you perceive to be dangerous stems from fear of mutilation.
It also triggers other phobias like the fear of needles (trypanophobia), medical procedures, fear of thunder and lightning (astraphobia), etc. All of these stem from a fear of being hurt or suffering physical pain. Don't let your fears prevent you from living life to the fullest. Remember that fear is the result of an “imagined event or experience” as defined above.
3. Fear Of Loss Of Autonomy
Fear of autonomy or fear of losing control relates to being boxed in, confined, trapped, or suffocated. It also includes fear of intimacy or commitment. As defined by Dr. Albrecht, it is “the fear of being immobilized, paralyzed, restricted, enveloped, overwhelmed, entrapped, imprisoned, smothered, or otherwise controlled by circumstances beyond our control”. It's triggered when you’re in a situation where you feel powerless or helpless.
It's termed claustrophobia when it's a physical concern, but our fear of being suffocated, constrained, unable to care for oneself, or reliant on others can equally apply to events in our lives – or our relationships. When you're at ease with discontent, it's an indication that your fear of losing control is taking control. To put it another way, you'd rather stay put, even if it's not ideal, because you feel in control within the constraints of your comfort zone.
4. Fear Of Separation, Abandonment, or Rejection
Though we must face all five of these anxieties at some point in our life, one will impose itself on us more than the others and that’s the fear of abandonment, rejection, and loss of connectedness, of not being wanted, respected, or valued by anyone. Humans have a profound desire to belong and that’s why this might be a big fear for many people. According to evolutionary theory, an early human would have died if he or she was cast out of the tribe.
This manifests itself in our relationships, how we perceive others, and how we perceive others' perceptions of us; always being afraid of upsetting others because we’re afraid of being rejected and/or abandoned. You must’ve noticed how the silent treatment feels worse than being yelled at, that’s your fear of rejection or separation at work. It also triggers when a relationship ends- friendship, marriage, and even the death of loved ones.
5. Fear Of Ego-Death
Fear of ego-death encompasses the fear of humiliation, shame, failure, or worthlessness. It may be quite devastating since it robs us of our sense of meaning and purpose. Fear of humiliation, shame, or any other mechanism of intense self-disapproval that undermines one's self-integrity; fear of one's built a sense of lovability, capability, and worthiness shattering or disintegrating.
Many people's worry of having to speak in front of a group is based on their fear of ego death. To establish healthy relationships with others - and with ourselves - we all need to feel desirable, worthy of love, and valuable in the world. Shame can be a dreadful feeling, and many of us will go to extreme lengths to avoid it.
Not only may it make us physically ill, make our skin crawl or flush, or give us stabbing aches, but it can also make us want to crawl into a hole and disappear. Shame and humiliation can jeopardize or ruin our sense of our own worth.
Written By - Sanjana Chaudhary
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