Fear

Fear is an emotion that exists in every form of life. Insects, animals and even humans exhibit fear in specific conditions, circumstances or instances. Fear has been a major area of concern in religion, science and even history, whereby scholars seek to understand, justify and even provide a remedy to this emotion.

Fear can be an adaptive response. It prepares our bodies to flee danger, fear of real or imagined enemies binds people together, and fear of injury protects us from harm. Fear of retaliation constrains us from harming one another. People can be afraid of almost anything.
Psychologists, through their extensive study of learning, have come to the fascinating conclusion that we can learn to fear almost anything. Through conditioning the short list of naturally painful and frightening events can rise into a long list of possible human fears.

Fears can also arise through observation i.e. learning by observation. This means that the fears of our parents and friends can be transformed into our own fears.
Recent studies show that fear is hereditary. We humans are quick to learn and slowly unlearn to fear wild animals and natural phenomena- fears that probably helped our ancestors survive. We are less predisposed to fear cars, electricity and bombs, which in modern society are far more dangerous
( Lumsden & Wilson, 1983; Mc Nally, 1987 )
Some biological predisposed fears develop with little or no learning- Most people are horrified the first time they see a corpse or a mutilated human body.
Some people’s fears of specific things, such as heights, are greater than others. When fears of certain things or events surpass a certain level, they are referred to as phobias.
People who tend to thrive on risk make common and naturally occurring fears seem like child play. These individuals express no fear in the face of terrifying or blood curdling situations, occurrences or things. Instead, they manage to keep their cool. Astronauts, adventurers, con artists and killers are classic examples of fearless characters.
Experience could help shape fearlessness or fearfulness but so do our genes.

Fear is natural .It is also human to fear. Your fear could be your source of courage, but it could also be your worst nightmare. We should face our fears, embrace them and learn to live with them. Most importantly we should never give in to them instead we should strive to control them. After all, fear is a human emotion which should be treated as part of the biological composition that makes one a living being.


NOTES

1. “afraid of truth, afraid of fortune, afraid of death, and afraid of each other,” observed Ralph Waldo Emerson.
2. Dogs learn to fear neutral stimuli that have been associated with shock, infants can be conditioned to fear furry objects that are associated with frightening noises, and adults can become terrified of incidental stimuli linked with traumatic experience such as rape.
3. The Minnesota study of separated identical twins found that one twin’s level of fearfulness was similar to the others. ( Lykken, 1982)
4. “He who fears all snares falls into none.” Publilius Syrus, Sententiae, 43 B.C.