What is it?

Put simply fear is defined as an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain or a threat. Everyone fears something; fear protects people in situations where their lives may be on the line.

What does it do?

Fear in most people triggers a “fight or flight” response which is a physiological reaction occurring when the human body detects harm. Some symptoms associated with fears are sweating, trembling, chills, shortness of breath, increased heart rate, nausea, dizziness, and numbness to name a few. These reactions are the body’s attempt to prepare itself to either flee or confront what the brain is fearing.

What causes fear?

While most common fears derive from the human instinct to stay safe, some fears develop from past experiences. For example, a child who was attacked by a dog may grow up to develop cynophobia. Due to a traumatic experience during the developmental years, the child is more likely to suffer from long lasting effects in the form of fears. Humans typically associate general objects with memories resulting in fears of broad subjects such as being afraid of dogs as a whole as opposed to fearing only being attacked by a dog.

How to conquer fears?

Even though there’s no magical cure-all for phobias, there are ways to overcome fear. While it’s a lot harder than it may seem, facing your fear head on can often yield successful results. Exposing oneself to a fear can often make them realize that there is no threat behind it and slowly make them more comfortable with the subject. Conquering fear is often as simple as changing your frame of mind and once that’s done nothing can stop you.