Is fear a feeling or an emotion? Real fear is ...

From birth until death, a person periodically experiences a feeling of fear. Someone is more exposed to him, someone in less, but there are no such people on Earth who would not be afraid at all. Sometimes this feeling is quite understandable and natural, and in some cases its nature is unknown. What are the causes of fear and how to get rid of it?

What is fear?

Fear is the negative state of the human psyche provoked by a real or imaginary threat. Everyone in his life repeatedly experienced this feeling in different situations. Even the most brave and courageous person can be afraid of something in the depths of his soul.

In psychology, fear refers to the basic emotional processes inherent in a person from birth. He mobilizes the body's defense systems, prepares him to fight the threat or to flee.

Fear is a kind of alarm about the danger that promotes the realization of the instinct of self-preservation. Under the influence of fright a person can perform such actions, which in the ordinary state is not capable of. For example, to run with great speed, to jump over high obstacles, to show amazing ingenuity and resourcefulness.

The nature of human fear

Fear was born with humanity itself. Its roots go back to the distant past, when its main function was to preserve life for our ancestors. Fear is embedded in man by nature in order to quickly and accurately recognize danger.

Ancient people were prone to be afraid of everything unknown and incomprehensible. They were horrified by any unfamiliar sounds, natural elements, unprecedented animals. With the development of science, man received knowledge of many phenomena, which he previously feared.

To date, fear is no longer a function of the struggle for survival. The exception is those cases when a person falls into extreme, extreme situations. However, in the modern world, all sorts of social phobias have replaced the fear of a real danger. This is due to the fact that at the moment it is very important for people to be recognized by society, to cause respect for their person.

Is fear a feeling or an emotion?

Psychology treats fear as an emotion of a person having a bright negative color. At the same time, some sources consider this concept as a human condition. So what is fear? Is it a feeling or an emotion?

By the word "fear" people in ordinary life are used to call both feeling and emotion. In fact, there is no clear boundary between these concepts. On the one hand, fear is more about emotions, since it is often of a short-term nature and is called upon to activate the protective functions of the human body. And on the other?

If it does not stop for a long time, it transforms, periodically repeats itself, takes on new forms, then you can say that fear is a feeling. In this case, it no longer serves to save, but, on the contrary, destructively affects the body. Feeling of fear is not an instantaneous reaction to a certain irritant, but a product of human consciousness.

Types of fear

There are quite a lot of all possible classifications of fear. It all depends on what causes this oppressive feeling. So, allocate real, existential and social fears. We will briefly discuss each of them.

Real or biological fear is a fear associated with an immediate threat to life or health of a person. In this situation, something represents a potential danger to the individual. For example, a huge dog, trying to attack a person, or natural elements, such as tsunamis or earthquakes.

Existential fear is an unreasonable fear of something that does not pose a real danger to man. Such fears lurk in the depths of the subconscious of people and can not be fully explained. This group includes fear of darkness, death, aging, closed space.

Social fears are a relatively new group of human phobias that did not exist before. They can not cause real harm, but carry only a symbolic threat. This includes fear of superiors, responsibility, public appearances, failures, strikes on self-esteem. Fears of this type are the most common in the modern world, cause a person psychological discomfort and lead to a lot of problems.

Children's fears and their causes

Children's fears most often do not have real grounds, they are far-fetched and exaggerated. The imagination of the kids is so rich that even a simple thing can seem sinister to them. For example, the shadow of a toy can seem like a child to a frightening monster.

In addition, children do not have enough information about our world, which can also give rise to some kind of fear. It's good if the child shares his fears with adults, asks for help and protection. Parents should try to explain to the kid the nature of the frightening phenomena, to calm and give birth to a sense of security.

But in some cases, the fears of children are caused by real events, which made a huge impression on them. This can happen if, for example, in the eyes of a passerby, a car was hit by a passerby, or the dog himself bitten him. Such phobias can stay with a person for life, though with time and weaken.

Fear of death

Some people practically do not think about the fact that they will not live, for others, the fear of dying becomes a real phobia. Fear of death is one of the strongest emotions, it is basic for a person. To be afraid to die is quite logical, because everyone is afraid for their life, strives to preserve and prolong it.

The reasons for fear of death in humans are many. This is the frightening uncertainty of what will happen after, and the inability to imagine your non-existence, and the fear of pain and suffering before leaving for another world.

People who have not thought about death before, getting in situations that really threaten their lives, begin to experience real fear. This can happen, for example, if a person was almost hit by a car, or the plane by a miracle escaped the crash. At such moments, everyone begins to appreciate his life and think about the fact that we are all unfaithful.

Fear of failure in love

Many people, even once disappointed in a partner, are afraid to build new relationships. For them, love is the fear that negative emotions and suffering will repeat themselves. Now it's hard for them to believe a person, open their heart to him and start trusting.

Fear of new failures in love makes people closed, closed to communication and new acquaintances. Very often, to overcome this feeling, go away for many years, and some do not cope with their phobia throughout life.

In such situations it is important to understand that there are very few people in the world who have never experienced a love failure. Once mistaken, one should not consider all men or all women the same. It is important to believe that you will be able to find a person who will make you happy and help to forget the previous turmoil.

How to get rid of fears?

Fear is an emotion that affects every person from time to time. People are afraid of absolutely different things, so there can not be a single recipe for getting rid of our phobias.

First, you should try to understand what exactly caused your fear. Sometimes it is very difficult to do this, because the fear of certain things is hidden deep in our subconscious. Having found out the source of your phobia, it is necessary to think whether your fear is really life in a constant nightmare and experiences, or, in principle, it does not cause you special inconveniences. As a rule, fear as a short-term emotion does not require special struggle, but if it starts to grow into a phobia, then it should be disposed of as soon as possible.

Next, you need to understand yourself, analyze, at what points you begin to fear the most. Try to minimize stressful situations in which you feel discomfort, anxiety and fear.

In the fight against your phobias you need to learn to switch your attention to something positive and good, as soon as you feel that fear has begun to approach you. If you yourself can not cope with the problem, do not hesitate to ask for help from specialists.