If you attend my trainings and webinars on overcoming stress and fears, and complete all the necessary exercises given, then as a result you will get rid of most of your fears, and the remaining ones will become much weaker. However, before you do this, I would like to draw your attention to the positive role of fears for a person.
At first, superficial glance, fear brings little pleasure to a person - it brings him unpleasant sensations, deprives him of joy, prevents him from doing many pleasant things and can lead to psychosomatic diseases.
But fear, as it turns out, can also be useful. Initially, this emotion arose in the process of evolution in order to protect the human body from all kinds of dangers. primitive life. But then, when man changed nature and built a new habitat around himself, the fear reaction began to malfunction and lead to all sorts of troubles.
Fear, like pain, is the body’s watchdog, which protects it from harmful influences from the outside, from risky actions and danger, thereby helping to maintain health and well-being. Let us analyze the benefit that the body should have initially derived from the reaction of fear, and see in which cases fear is useful for a person, and in which it causes harm to him.
First, fear saves our lives , stopping in front dangerous situation. We don't swim far out to sea, don't stick our fingers in electrical sockets, and try not to walk down dark alleys alone. As the ancient Somali proverb says, “A mother of a coward does not lose her son” - and in this regard, fear is useful for human life and health.
Secondly, fear mobilizes human strength for active work , which is often necessary in a critical situation. Fear dramatically increases physical strength, increases clarity and clarity of thinking. In fear, a person is able to undertake what without fear seems impossible to him. This occurs due to the release of adrenaline into the blood, which improves the supply of oxygen to the muscles and nutrients, which allows them to develop more power.
Thirdly, fear acts as a regulator of aggressiveness and serves as a statement of social order . Fear of punishment restrains the manifestations of primary biological aggression, and also keeps many citizens within the bounds of the law. Fear of punishment is the main deterrent for people who intend to harm someone else's property or health. An example of this is the outbreaks of looting and violence that accompany almost any extreme event. One client once confessed to me that while visiting a flea market in Paris, she suddenly had an irresistible desire to steal a figurine she liked from the counter - even though she could afford to buy it. The saleswoman turned away for a minute and... But then she thought about the police, got scared - and saved her good name, and also got rid of possible troubles.
Fourth, fear promotes better memory of dangerous or unpleasant events . Fear activates memory and makes its traces especially strong. So, our ancestors remembered places where they were attacked by wild animals or people from a hostile tribe. Another example: a child who gets burned once near an open fire remembers it for a long time.
Fifth important, the meaning of fear - ability to act in conditions of lack of information , when it is not enough to make a comprehensively thought-out decision. Then the behavior strategy is dictated by fear. If the brain does not know what to do in a critical situation, and the mind does not have a balanced and logic-tested recipe, then the body prefers to trust the age-old experience of instincts and emotions.
Another, sixth positive role of fear is exacerbation under its influence of all human senses , which allows you to see or even anticipate the smallest signs of danger. Polish psychotherapist A. Kempinski wrote about this: “Sometimes in some people one can observe the ability to predict an impending danger: in the picture of reality there is nothing that could indicate it, but, nevertheless, anxiety appears, which is accompanied in a dream or in reality by the picture approaching misfortune. In this case, subthreshold stimuli that do not penetrate consciousness can signal an impending danger.”
One more, seventh, positive value fear is that through overcoming it, human improvement can occur . As Fritz Riemann wrote, “if we understand our painful fear also as an indication of the need to look for errors in our own behavior or as a fear of new demands of life, as a result of which we do not dare to take a new step in our development, we must accept and understand it as an invitation to enter a new stage of our development, as a call for new freedom and, at the same time, for a new order and new responsibility. In this sense, we must view fear in its positive, creative aspect as an initiator of change." For example, since childhood I was afraid of heights, because I once climbed a tall poplar tree and for a long time could not get down from there. And as a result, to get rid of this fear, I jumped with a parachute - after which my self-esteem increased.
So, dear subscribers, if you intend to completely get rid of your fears, think - maybe you will keep for yourself a small amount of this faithful guard who protects your life, health and property? After all, we won’t kill an inappropriately barking dog, whose only fault is that it is too zealously guarding its owner’s property?
Today it is relevant to say that negative emotions affect human health. One of these emotions is fear, but, oddly enough, doctors do not consider it harmful to health. Fear is a natural human emotion, provided by nature as a defensive reaction, a moment of mobilizing the body’s resources for protection.
No person is free from the feeling of fear, just someone experiences it to a greater extent, someone to a lesser extent. This difference depends on innate personality traits and their influence on the degree of our resistance to fears and the ability to cope with them.
All people can be divided into categories depending on the form in which they are accustomed to experiencing fear. So, there are people who constantly worry about something, maintaining a feeling of anxiety. Others look outwardly calm, pretending that nothing bothers them, but in fact, their fears insidiously and imperceptibly absorb them completely and completely, giving rise to new fears. There are also those who say that they are not afraid of anything, that they can handle anything, and even fears do not frighten them, they try to understand them, perceiving this method as a path to freedom, a way to prove to themselves and others how hard they are trying, which in general is already fear. But there are people who are simply paralyzed by fear, who are afraid of everything: going out after dark, afraid of losing their job, afraid that they don’t have time or money, that no one loves them, or that they will get sick. The main danger for such people is that fear tends to come true, like a prediction.
There are six basic fears that every person experiences to one degree or another:
- Fear of survival.
- Fear of the unknown.
- Fear of abandonment.
- Fear of betrayal.
- Fear of being rejected.
- Fear of death.
Interestingly, within each of these fears lies many other doubts that we face. Thus, fear of change, as the basis of fear of the unknown, worry about financial losses, originates in the fear of survival, and the fear of loneliness is nested in the fear of abandonment. If a person worries about health, then ultimately he is worried about the fear of death. Showing distrust of everyone relates to the fear of betrayal. That is, everything that we are afraid of in life can be explained by several points.
Doctors and psychologists have found that each of the six types of fear manifests itself in a certain place in the spine and affects certain nerve trunks passing through the body and spinal cord. It turns out that when we experience one of the six types of fear, this is necessarily reflected in our well-being and the condition of the spine.
The nature of fear
When experiencing fear, our body reacts to this with changes in various organs: the heart, adrenal glands, spleen, reproductive organs. Due to fear, the level of cortisol in the body increases, a hormone that affects work immune system. Such changes lead to an openness of the immune system: it is more susceptible to viral and bacterial infections, cancer, autoimmune disorders, chronic fatigue syndrome, gastritis, asthma, diabetes, etc. Being constantly in a state of anxiety, the body becomes prone to increased blood pressure and chronic inflammation of the walls of blood vessels, the likelihood of heart failure increases.
WITH psychological point vision, fear becomes the source of phobias, neuroses, addictions, and a passive-aggressive state. Today, disorders caused by feelings of fear are a fairly pressing problem.
Medical statistics claim that of all visits to a psychologist, one third is associated with feelings of anxiety and fear. Fear is also the reason for 50% of all visits to a gastroenterologist and neurologist, 20% of visits to a cardiologist.
Given that most of the population lives in extreme situations, developing a feeling of fear is a completely normal reaction. But there is pathological anxiety, for which there are no special reasons, it is not caused by any inadequate situation that disrupts the rhythm of our lives.
The main thing to remember about the emotion of fear is that it does not go unnoticed by the body. And even the slightest premonition of bad things can cause physical consequences of fear, and when an extreme situation occurs, the body is already weakened and is not ready to survive the stress. If the body experiences chronic fear, then it is no longer ready to defend itself in a truly necessary situation. When fear arises suddenly, the “fight or flight” mechanism is triggered, saturating the body chemicals. In this case, severe fright may even cause a heart attack.
Do you get scared? So know that this is not only good, but also correct. Now let's figure out what is the benefit of fear, let’s learn about its physiology, and also about why it is to be afraid - not only creepy, but sometimes pleasant, and most often even necessary.-------
Psychologists say that fear is
a kind of internal “medicine” developed by our body in the process of evolution to protect against all kinds of problems. But, like any other drug, fear must be used correctly for its benefit.
So, let’s figure out where fear lives, what it is, where it comes from, what it is like, and how you can get the maximum benefit out of it.
Where fear lives
From a physiological point of view, fear lives in a very specific area of the brain - the amygdala, also known as the amygdala. It is believed that this part of the gray matter in the temporal lobe is one of the most ancient: situations that caused panic in many generations of our ancestors are “recorded” there. As soon as the brain receives information that the situations that worried our ancestors are being repeated, the amygdala kindly warns: “Wow, this is it. A-a-a-a!” - and we shy away from big spiders(may be poisonous) or unknowingly speed up when we hear steps from behind (this could be a predator or an enemy).In principle, it is not difficult to get rid of physiological fear. It is enough to destroy or simply block nerve impulses from the amygdala - and meet: before you is a fearless hero! True, absolutely stony and indifferent: along with the destroyed amygdala, we lose joy, a state of pleasure, and almost all emotions. The point is that fear and other sensations are intertwined in the amygdala into such a tight ball that it is almost impossible to separate one from the other.
By the way, there is an interesting point in this: while being frightened, we can simultaneously experience “neighbor” emotions - delight, joy, a different kind of revival. This is why many people love extreme sports so much - it’s that delicious cocktail of fear and joy that the amygdala feeds us.
Not only some people, but all primates are physiologically programmed from birth to fear spiders and snakes. This fear is an evolutionarily established mechanism that allows us to live longer than we otherwise could.
The main types of fear, or why you should be scared and scared
Another interest Ask- what specific situations become the trigger for the activation of fear, panic, and why does a picture that can drive one person into wild horror often seem absolutely neutral to another? Looking for an answer physiologists have found that all fears are divided into two types:- innate fears are hardwired deep into the brain, into instincts, an “inheritance” from our ancient ancestors that existed before man. They tend to signal universal dangers. So, from birth, any person is afraid of a sharp loud sound, a sudden change in the location of the body in space, the soil disappearing from under the feet, an looming shadow. This same basic type of fear about mortal danger also includes the shudder mixed with disgust that insects, spiders, snakes, and reptiles cause in us. Getting rid of the innate type of fear is extremely difficult, even almost impossible;
- acquired fears are those fears that we acquired in the process of personal encounter with life. Have you been riding a bike and fell too hard? You will have to fight hard to overcome the resulting phobia in order to get back on a two-wheeler. Has another person broken your heart or raised their hand to you more than once? To get rid of the fear of new relationships, you will most likely need a psychotherapist, self-knowledge and working with your prejudices, meditation or other practices. However, it is not at all necessary that a specific event will cause a phobia.
A huge plus of acquired fears is that, unlike innate ones, they can be quite successfully corrected by psychotherapy; you just need to turn to professional psychologist: . In addition, the brain has come up with its own defense against uncontrollable panic - training. All living creatures with a sufficiently developed psyche at an early age love to scare and be frightened: teenage baboons tease seasoned males, kittens rush around the corner at their master's feet, crows grab foxes by the tail, and human cubs tell each other terrifying stories in blood-chilling voices. fire.
In this way, the endurance threshold for fear is trained - the higher it is, the longer the mind remains in the “on” position in the event of real danger.
The benefits of fear; examples
However, psychologists still do not recommend increasing resistance to fear to stratospheric heights. Panic is a vital element for us, performing several functions at once. Let's look at situations where fear is useful, or rather even vital.UNIFYING FUNCTION. We humans are an extremely social species; the opinions and attitudes of others are extremely important to us. If others are afraid of something, then we need it too! Experiencing fear together is generally a very exciting activity that can bring together and unite even people with completely different personalities. It’s not for nothing that psychologists recommend: if you want someone to fall in love with you, go through some frightening procedure with the object of your passion. For example, ride a roller coaster together, go to a horror movie, or conquer some mountain peak together - you will be guaranteed kinship of souls for a while!
True, this human “trick” is often used not entirely for good purposes. For example, it is known that instilled fear of something - great way manipulate the masses. But that's a completely different story.
PLEASURE FUNCTION. Happily surviving a situation in which goosebumps ran down your spine is worth a lot. This is one of the most powerful “drugs” available to everyone. And it’s all about the hormonal cocktail released into the blood when frightened: this is norepinephrine (it is needed for strength and endurance, so that you can either destroy the threat or run away), and endorphins (for pain relief in case of possible injuries), and dopamine (for courage ). The memory of this invigorating mixture makes millions of people go to the "panic room", roller coasters, horror films or other entertainment. The show industry has long been making billions from this human desire to tickle the nerves. So, it turns out that the importance of physiological fear is significant not only personally for a certain individual, but also for the world's financial systems, which use this tool both for their development and enrichment, and for the manipulation of the masses.
4349There is probably not a single person in the world who has not experienced a feeling of fear at least once in their life. It is quite natural to feel it and you should not be ashamed of this feeling, since this reaction saves us from various dangers and the benefits of fear have long been a proven truth.
Examples of the benefits of fear
First, let's talk a little about human evolution and anthropology. Scientists working in these fields of science have long proven that it was fear that allowed humanity to survive and develop. Our distant ancestors, when a feeling of danger arose, tried to get as far away from the source of possible troubles as possible, which is why we did not disappear as a species, because otherwise, ancient people would simply have died from the most natural natural phenomena, for example, from the same lightning strike. Experiencing horror during a thunderstorm, our ancestors instinctively sought shelter, thereby saving their lives. It is these scientific studies that are the first and main argument in favor of fear, but let's discuss modern examples and evidence of this axiom.
Many people experience discomfort when they are in the dark, and this is what prevents them from performing potentially dangerous activities, such as walking along the streets at night, or moving around in an unlit apartment. In the first case, there is a fairly high chance of becoming a victim of criminals, in the second, of getting injured at home. But this is just one example of the benefits of fear of the dark or any other phenomenon that causes trembling in the knees; it is no less important that when a feeling of danger arises, adrenaline begins to be produced in the body, which mobilizes all forces, which means that a person experiences an extraordinary sense of his own power . By overcoming ourselves under the influence of adrenaline, we can feel our own capabilities, begin to respect ourselves and even discover new horizons for ourselves.
A good example of the benefits of fear of heights are rather banal stories about how a person, having decided to overcome himself and get rid of his phobia, begins to study with a skydiving instructor. Having overpowered themselves, such people often begin to achieve success in other matters, as they believe more in their capabilities. Just keep in mind that you need to get rid of the fear of heights with an experienced instructor, and not by walking on the roofs yourself, otherwise the matter may end in tragedy rather than triumph.
Another fact of the need for a person to have this feeling can be well illustrated by an example of the benefits of fear of water. Often a sense of danger forces a person to act instinctively, and without relying on logic, for example, we often simply run away from the same attackers. Therefore, imagine that a person who does not know how to swim suddenly falls into a deep river or lake, it would seem that he must drown and there is no chance of salvation. But the produced adrenaline can have an effect on the body that is popularly called “brains knocked out”, and the drowning person will begin to instinctively move his arms and legs in order to stay afloat.
To summarize briefly, the following can be noted:
1. Fear has helped humanity survive.
2. It protects us from provoking various potentially dangerous situations.
3. When ejected large quantity adrenaline into the blood, a person can begin to act instinctively, thereby saving himself.
4. Fear helps us improve ourselves, because by overcoming it, we begin to respect ourselves and believe in our strengths.
Do not be shy own fears, if they do not interfere with your life, then you don’t have to get rid of them at all, because this is a kind of protection system that everyone needs.
The phenomenon of fear has been studied in psychology since the 19th century. When a person perceives a situation as dangerous, the body reacts to it. The degree of manifestation and forms of fear are individual. They depend on temperament, character and experience.
Let us differentiate between the concepts of “fear” and “phobia”. And although in science these phenomena are close in meaning, fear still means a feeling of real danger, and phobia means an imaginary one. If you are giving a speech in front of an audience and suddenly forget what you were going to say, you are experiencing fear. And if you refuse to speak in front of an audience because you are afraid of making a mistake, this is a phobia.
What is fear
Doctor of Psychological Sciences E.P. Ilyin in his book “The Psychology of Fear” gives a definition: “Fear is emotional condition, reflecting a protective biological reaction of a person or animal when experiencing a real or imaginary danger to health and well-being.”
The feeling of fear is reflected in human behavior. The usual reaction of a person in the face of danger is trembling of the limbs, lower jaw, loss of voice, wide open eyes, raised eyebrows, cringing of the whole body and rapid pulse. Severe forms of expression of fear include increased sweating, urinary incontinence and a hysterical attack.
Emotion is expressed in different ways: some run away from fear, others fall into paralysis, and others show aggression.
Types of fear
There are many classifications of human fears. In the article we will look at the two most popular ones - the classifications of E.P. Ilyina and Yu.V. Shcherbatykh.
Ilyin classification
Professor Ilyin in the above-mentioned book describes affective types of fear that differ in the strength of their manifestation - timidity, fear, horror, panic.
Timidity and shyness
IN Encyclopedic Dictionary According to psychology and pedagogy, shyness is defined as “fear of social interactions, extreme timidity and preoccupation with thoughts about possible negative evaluations from others.” Shyness is caused by introversion - turning to inner world, – low self-esteem and unsuccessful relationships.
Fright
The initial form of fear. Occurs as a reaction to an unexpected sharp sound, the appearance of an object, or loss in space. The physiological manifestation of fear is flinching.
Horror
An extreme form of fear. Manifested by numbness or trembling. Occurs after emotional experience of terrible events, not necessarily personally experienced.
Panic
Panic fear can catch you wherever you are. Panic is characterized by confusion in the face of an imaginary or real danger. In such a state, people are not able to think rationally. Panic occurs against the background of overwork or exhaustion in emotionally unstable people.
Shcherbatykh classification
Doctor of Biological Sciences Yu.V. Shcherbatykh made a different classification, dividing fears into biological, social and existential.
Biological
Associated with phenomena that threaten health or life - fear of heights, fire and the bite of a wild animal.
Social
Concerns and fears associated with social status personality: fear of loneliness, public speaking and responsibility.
Existential
Associated with the essence of a person - fear of death, transience or meaninglessness of life, fear of change, space.
Childhood fears
A group of children's fears stands apart from other classifications. Pay attention to children’s fears, because if the cause of fear is not identified and eliminated, it will carry on into adulthood.
Children, ranging from being in the mother's cut to adolescence, experience fears different shapes. IN younger age Biological fears appear; in older people, social fears appear.
The benefits of fears
Let's give arguments in favor of fear and find out when a phobia has a positive effect.
General
Psychologist Anastasia Platonova in her article “Such Profitable Fear” notes that “being afraid publicly can be a very profitable undertaking.” The benefit is that when a person shares his experiences, including fears, he expects help, approval and protection. Awareness and acceptance of fears adds courage and sets you on the path of struggle.
Other useful property fear - a feeling of pleasure. When the brain receives a signal of danger, adrenaline is released into the blood. It affects intelligence by speeding up thought processes.
Biological
The benefit of biological fears is that they perform a protective function. An adult will not stick his fingers into a meat grinder or jump into a fire. The phobia is based on the instinct of self-preservation.
Pain
Fears of pain or punishment are beneficial because they encourage a person to think about consequences.