All human beings have felt fear at some time, from childhood to adulthood. These fears come in many forms depending on the age, because as children we may have been afraid of small things, such as insects, dogs, cats, certain objects, people, imaginary images, etc., which are overcome with the passing of time in many cases, but in many others they can remain there as a shadow for years.
In this sense, we must analyze fear along with another emotion that is present in lots of people, which is anxiety, that enemy that sneaks into our lives, affects our attitude to life to spoil our plans, our tranquillity and our loved ones’. That is why it is convenient to quote some theoretical approaches from specialists in the subject to understand the importance and relevance of this topic, which, we are sure, will interest you a lot. Join us!
With respect to the studies conducted in this area, we must point out that it is considered scientifically that fear and anxiety are strengthened and / or controlled in two regions of the prefrontal cortex of the brain, which helps to understand how the brain process in humans is.
Thus, some neuro-psychiatric pathologies, such as generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder or phobias among others, begin with manifestations of exaggerated fear or anxiety when individuals face innocuous stimuli, that is, they do not cause physical or moral damage.
Moreover, when there is a real danger that is observed with certainty, the organism responds with fear reactions; but if the stimuli are less evident and a situation of uncertainty is generated about that latent and constant threat, anxiety becomes present, in which lots of people face intangible and unexplainable situations for others, and which reaches levels that require psychological treatments and drug treatments.
The scientific explanation of this type of pathologies is based on the fact that both fear and anxiety are emotions that depend on parallel neural circuits, which are partially superimposed on certain regions of the brain, joining the amygdala, the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex.
In this context, we must point out that many investigations have been conducted with rodents, which have definitely shown that the prefrontal cortex is fundamental for the regulation of fear and anxiety. On the other hand, research has been carried out with patients suffering from neuro-psychiatric pathologies with anxiety disorders, which have evidenced the existence of dysfunctions in the prefrontal cortex. However, the association of both investigations must follow a complex course to finally determine the incidence of this part of the brain in the regulation of these emotions.
Therefore, the regulation of fear as a natural emotion and with different levels of adaptation, it must start from the control of the stimuli that people face in certain situations in the presence of objects, animals, people and their own thoughts, that mean danger, harm or threat for them, although this is not real.
It should be considered at this point that fear manifests itself in three levels or ways in which responses to stimuli appear; these are: cognitive level, physiological level and behavioral level. At each of these levels, certain responses appeared or are identified; for example, at the cognitive level, images and / or negative thoughts related to the stimulus or situation to which it is feared are distinguished, in addition to a certain interpretation that the person makes about it.
On the other hand, at the physiological level, body changes are identified that manifest themselves through negative and / or unpleasant sensations that cause discomfort to individuals, while at the behavioral level specific actions are observed as a response to the stimulus or feared situation.
In the case of children, according to Toledo, Ferrero and Barreto (2000), “fears constitute activation responses that allow children to react to situations of danger and to acquire the skills to face harmful or threatening situations.” If this process is positively controlled by their parents, children can overcome their fears to grow with greater self-confidence and become more balanced adolescents and / or adults, capable of making transcendental decisions in their lives and having greater opportunities to success before the challenges they face.
In this way, during childhood, certain natural and age-specific fears appeared and are identified; however, fears that are learned in the environment in which the child develops also appear and that are the product of various modes of conditioning or learning that develops well either at home, at school or in the social environment that he frequents. These common fears of that age can disappear over time by overcoming stages of their lives, but others may be present throughout their lives.
Now, in research conducted on fear, variables such as gender and age have been studied, and according to Valdivia (2000), “fears in relation to gender reveal that the prevalence of fears is higher in girls than in boys.”
Regarding the variable “age”, Sarason and Sarason (1996) affirm that diverse investigations carried out in this field have allowed concluding that fears change with age. For example, after 2 years of age children begin to be afraid of separation from their parents, animals and darkness. Later, between 4 and 5 years old, they begin to be afraid of imaginary figures, physical damage and darkness while between 6 and 7 years old the fears of imaginary figures, darkness, thieves, school and separation become evident. When they are close to adolescence, let’s say that at approximately 10 years old, the most common fears are physical damage, social relationships, failure, and natural disasters.
The socio-economic level is usually added to these variables because the parents themselves face situations in which they are afraid of not being able to meet their basic needs and their children’s, which creates uncertainty, discomfort, fear and anxiety. Equally, the environment where they are is determinant, the insecurity conditions of some countries and regions generate tangible and evident fears that any human being can experience.
It is not the same to face situations of survival where you do not have for sustenance to have the adequate economic conditions where sustenance, education and health are more protected. However, it can be observed a lot that people with good purchasing power are anxious and feel fear, which is basically due to situations of job and social insecurity, as well as an exaggerated care of the possessions that they have.
In this way, it is very important to distinguish that fear represents a survival reaction of the body to an immediate threat, while anxiety represents the reaction of the organism, the body and the mind to a threat, which is less immediate, and that if the person decides on time, he can put an end to that situation that overwhelms him and that causes constant stress.
At this point, we have mentioned a very common element in this modern and convulsed society, the famous “stress”, which is nothing more than a continuous reaction of the organism before a threat that remains unresolved, and that is present every day, causing anxiety and fears that, in many cases, are exaggerated and that takes away peace and tranquility. In these situations it is common that people do not admit that they feel fear, they deny it, they flee situations and evade them in different ways so as not to face them, as a starting point to overcome them.
Definitely, to get rid of fears and therefore, of anxiety, we must start from the recognition of their existence in our lives, and identify them as a state of mind, an emotion or feeling that causes feelings at the cognitive, behavioral and physiological level that, in many cases, become unbearable, being able to lead the individual to inaction, suffering and pain, which appears if we allow it, if it dwarfs us, annuls us, limits us, without letting us take on the challenges, decisions of change and of course, without letting us be happy.
Therefore, after admitting it, we must deal with those situations, objects or people that cause us fear in the best way, as Nelson Mandela said: “It is not brave who is not afraid but who knows how to overcome it”, and to conquer them we must obviously face them with a positive attitude, not see them as an enemy but as an opportunity to grow and learn because most of the times, these fears are irrational, toxic and they limit us in our process of personal, social and spiritual growth.
Therefore, the recipe that we recommend to get rid of fears must have: a dose of self-esteem and love for others, acceptance, acknowledgement, confrontation, attitude and positive thoughts to finally overcome fear. Each of these elements must be handled very well, and in order to do so we must stop fleeing and evading fears, as well as denying them to find the root of each of them, and humble them, make them our friends, being able to control and regulate their presence in our lives.
In this way, we can continue our path towards the evolution that we need at all levels, being better people, renouncing what we do not need to be happy, giving love, joy and solidarity to all those who need it, with positive attitudes that speed up the change in our life.
ALFA