Psychology of fear

[Демитрий]

Psychology of fear

To date, there is no clear distinction between such concepts as fear, fear, anxiety, fear. Just as science does not know what is primary is the emotion of fear or the feeling of fear. However, the essence of this does not change, because fear remains one of the most important, basic emotions and continues to be a mystery to people. Why are some people brave and others disturbing? Why are people afraid of public speaking? Are there fearless people? We will try to find answers to these and some other questions in this article. What is fear? And what happens to the body when fear arises in us? What is fear necessary for and what positive qualities does this terrible word carry?

In the general scientific understanding, fear is understood as an emotional state that reflects the protective biological reaction of a person or animal while experiencing a real or imaginary danger to their health or well-being. Sometimes the expression of fear is so obvious that it needs no comment. So manifest horror, confusion, flight.

There are three forms of a behavioral reaction to fear, which can conditionally be called “stop”, “hit” or “run”. Moreover, this behavioral reaction is individual for each individual. If, when fear arises, the attempt to escape is unsuccessful, then the body replaces it with the “hit” reaction - this is how the self-preservation instinct inherent in the living organism by nature works.

With fear, our thinking becomes narrowly focused. We focus on the object of fear, so we often underestimate what is happening around us, which makes it impossible for us to look at the situation differently. It is important to emphasize that in people with different levels of courage, the physiological experience of fear is different. For example, in cowardly people, a decrease in heart rate is observed.

The causes of fear can be both internal and external stimuli. The internal ones include drives, needs, and cognitive processes (negative memories and fear of a recurrence of events). To external - environmental circumstances, for example, fear of thieves or ghosts may be an interpretation of the fear of darkness. Some fears may be associated with a fear of potential pain, such as during an upcoming trip to the dentist or surgeon (note that the person does not yet experience pain itself).

Separate fears are embedded in us by evolution. For example, some people have never seen a live crocodile or a snake, but in the zoo they are afraid when these animals rush towards people.

The functions of fear are different. Fear can kill a person, or maybe save him. Fear often paralyzes the will - the ability to resist circumstances. Centuries ago, many people died precisely because of shipwrecks for this reason - they were killed by the fear that they were doomed.

However, fear has a constructive role in human life. It mobilizes all the forces of the body in a critical situation. There are many examples of how, under the influence of fear, people performed incredible actions. There is evidence of fragile women picking up multi-ton cars to free their child in a car accident and many other cases. This proves once again that the human body has an enormous supply of strength, which is in reserve until a special case.

Such reactions are possible due to the release of adrenaline into the bloodstream, which increases the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the muscles and leads to a significantly greater increase in energy resources. The heart begins to work intensely, distilling more blood, superficial breathing appears, the complexion turns gray, the eyes open wide, the pupils dilate (hence the expression “fear has big eyes”).

Simultaneously with these processes and coupled with the activation of narrow-minded thinking when experiencing fear, a person remembers all the surrounding unpleasant and dangerous events. When there is not enough information to assess the threat, fear dictates its own model of behavior to a person based on his biological defense. At this point, it is important for the body to respond to an extended range of objects so as not to miss a significant signal that can save his life.

Are there fearless people?
When watching movies, it sometimes seems that the hero is not at all familiar with the feeling of “fear”. Suggestible personalities often try to parody such heroes. However, in reality, this behavior is an illusion. Everyone experiences fear. And the answer to the question why, in the same situations, different people act differently in different ways: a person with willpower can slow down the development of fear and direct it toward the goal. And the one who is not capable of suppressing defensive reactions, who thinks first of all about self-preservation, is often called cowards. Hence, cowardice should not be confused with the presence of fear in a person.

Inspired fears
The source of fears inspired are our parents and those people who surrounded us during infancy. It is as if they infect us with their fears - “don’t do this, otherwise it won’t work out”, “don’t come, you’ll fall”, etc. In reality, the child remembers only the last spoken word. He is not clear what others are talking about, but he clearly recognizes the alarm signal, which is characterized by a certain timbre of voice and facial expressions on his face.

Among the suggested ones can also be attributed the fears arising from overly anxious parents. Talking with a child about death, unhappiness, illness, fires and killings against the will of the baby remains in his psyche.

Social fears
The sources of social fears, phobias and panic in modern society are not only human relationships, but also inanimate phenomena, environmental, industrial risks, dangers and disasters that can cause direct and tangible harm to society as a whole and to the individual in particular. In times of economic crisis, people are afraid of losing their jobs; entrepreneurs risk losing profit.

Many pharmaceutical companies use social fears for their own ends. Advertising campaigns to highlight the dangers of the seasonal virus help people with a hypochondriacal type of medicine buy such a volume of drugs that ensures a double increase in company profits.

Fear can manifest itself in various forms - fear, fear, timidity, anxiety, fear, uncertainty, confusion, horror, panic. Consider their attention.

Fear is a form of fear aimed at the real object of danger, while anxiety is characterized by internal anxiety of the body for unknown reasons.

Shyness is a form of fear of the unknown, untried, unusual, which at times can be situational in nature, but most often has a generalized character.

Fright is a physical reflex (manifesting as a start) at an extremely strong stimulus (for example, when shooting from a weapon a person is frightened without waiting for a shot).

Horror - a kind of affect, expressed in a state of intense fear, accompanied by depression, numbness, sometimes trembling.

In times of danger, a person who focuses on eliminating the threat may not experience fear. Such cases are quite common in road accidents. When it is possible to help eliminate the consequences of an accident, people often don’t feel fear; if it doesn’t, they feel horror.

During the years of World War II, fighters more often went on the attack in groups, when fear was not so much felt, due to the fact that everyone thought the other was afraid, too, and this helped in the battle to ignore their own fear. In such situations, the incentive to reduce feelings of fear was the recognition of fear in others, which united people.

What are people afraid of?
A phobia is a pronounced obsessive fear, which, exacerbated when meeting with the object of fear, turns into fear. Phobias differ from fear in their irrationality. In other words, a person creates an illusion that he is afraid of. Typically, a phobia is a fear of something harmless, but multiply multiplied. A phobia captures a person’s thinking and does not allow him to rationally evaluate an object.

Studies have shown that in the first place people have a fear for their lives, health and the lives of loved ones, fear of war, pain, an incurable disease, fear of losing their jobs, fear for the future.

When fear takes power over a person, this is a phobia that should be treated. However, many people know about their phobias, but can not do anything with them. Without faith in one's own strength, a person cannot effectively fight, defend his interests. He develops defeatist psychology, he preliminarily sets himself up for failure and often suffers defeats, more and more convinced of his inability to act. Because of this, the need for sedatives, drowning out the severity of experiences, is increasing. The pessimistic attitude that arises under these conditions leads to the fact that everything accidental or unpleasant takes on a fatal meaning and becomes a constant sign of danger. A person is no longer able to take risks, follow a new path, not be afraid of secrets and doubts, that is, he loses his ability to all that is the basis of innovation and creation.

There are also phobias such as fear of failure, when a person is afraid to take up a new business, to research, discover and build, to make global decisions. In this case, it is necessary to accept the fact that we cannot be successful in everything. You should accept this and live with him further. Many people see failure not as a fiasco, but as an opportunity to learn new things (trial and error). The main thing is to develop a plan correctly, because you can never foresee all the risks. If this became possible, then for many, life would have lost interest.

Nothing is impossible for those who have an interest and perseverance in the craft. These categories distance fear, make them forget about it, do not leave time for it. And if fear appears, then the most reliable way to deal with it is to rationally evaluate it. It’s important not to give in to emotions.

In profiling, fear is key. The emotion of fear allows the guilty to give themselves away in the context of those events to which they are involved. However, there are exceptions to this rule. Innocent people also fear when conducting inspections, assuming that the expert may be mistaken about them. It is extremely important to distinguish the fear of the guilty person from the innocent. To do this, all profiling tools are at your service.
Source: Psychology of fear