Overcoming fear

Fear is the most dominant and persistent emotion we ever experience. it rules our minds and hearts and determines the quality of our lives, our success, the nature of our thinking and how we deal with the various problems in our lives. There is no exaggeration in saying that most of the emotions we experience are but different versions of the same fear.

Definitions of fear -:
•Be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event; "I fear she might get aggressive"
•Be afraid or scared of; be frightened of; "I fear the winters in Moscow"; "We should not fear the Communists!"
•An emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight)
•Be uneasy or apprehensive about; "I fear the results of the final exams"
•concern: an anxious feeling; "care had aged him"; "they hushed it up out of fear of public reaction"
•Reverence: regard with feelings of respect and reverence; consider hallowed or exalted or be in awe of; "Fear God as your father"; "We venerate genius"
•A feeling of profound respect for someone or something; "the fear of God"; "the Chinese reverence for the dead"; "the French treat food with gentle reverence"; "his respect for the law bordered on veneration"
•Fear is an emotional response to a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger.

Biologically speaking, when a person experiences fear, certain areas in their brain such as the amygdala and the hypothalamus are immediately activated and appear to control the first physical response to fear. Chemicals such as adrenaline and the stress hormone cortisol are released into the blood stream causing certain physical reactions such as:
Rapid heart rate
Increased blood pressure
Tightening of muscles
Sharpened or redirected senses
Dilation of the pupils (to let in more light)
Increased sweating

People who have experienced this will often remember the moment when disaster stuck and how time seemed to slow down. They knew exactly what to do without consciously thinking about it, they had great strength (some have even been able to lift a car to save their trapped child) and they felt no pain. All these are protective mechanisms to increase our chances of survival.
There are numerous causes of fear. Some are better known than others such as fear of flying or Aviophobia, fear of spyders-Arachnephobia, and fear of confined spaces-Claustrophobia. Others types of fear not so well known are fear of mirrors-Catoptrophobia, and fear of hair-Chaetophobia. Fear of being tickled by feathers-Pteronophobia, and Papyrophobia or fear of paper are yet other not so well known causes of fear.

Root of Fear
We have many fears-fear of terrorism, fear of death, fear of being separated from people we love, fear of losing control, fear of commitment, fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of losing our job, the list is never-ending! Many of our present fears are rooted in what Buddha identified as “delusions” – distorted ways of looking at OURSELVES and the world around us. If we learn to control our mind, and reduce and eventually eliminate these delusions, the source of all our fear, healthy and unhealthy, is eradicated.

What Causes Fear
Our brain consists of clusters of nerves that make it as a profound organ. The nerve cells in it, sends sensory signals to every part that is essentially connected to it. It can be a signal that makes us consciously aware of things around us or a signal that can be present only when stimulated. One of them is fear; fear is aroused by different stimuli. It varies in form and condition. Fear is felt when certain factors give us a feeling of being threatened or being afraid on something that might possibly happen.

There are classifications of fear and what causes fear itself. Inside us, our brain is developed to identify what causes and signifies fear in us. There are a lot of sources where we get our fears. It can be develop within our social environment, in our subconscious mind, and in the clause of our norms and values, or even during drastic changes.

In the concept of fear, there are different variations of this response, which is according to its degrees. It can be just a mild cautionary fear, phobia or trauma, or paranoia. Certain emotional relations with anxiety, pain, worry, fright, panic and terror relatively emits fear.
Today, there is several fear factors that trigger these emotional responses, one of them is highly mentioned and voted for recently. It's the fear with terrorist's attacks, death, failure, war, heights, crime, violence, and some selected animals or insects like spiders or cockroaches. But in reality, we all get that feeling of fearing something once in our life and the best thing to do is to overcome what causes fears so we can live according to what we want and not because fear is hindering us.

Symptoms of Fear
Symptoms of fear may come and go, may be persistent, or may appear frequently. The underlying component is fear is the feeling when one is not able to think logically and rationally.

Physical Symptoms of fear are:-
Tightness in chest
Tightness in throat
Oversensitivity to noise
Depersonalization
Breathlessness
Weakness in muscles
Lack of energy
Hollowness in stomach
Sighing

The Behavioral symptoms of fear are:-
Sleep disturbances
Appetite disturbances
Absentmindedness
Social withdrawal
Dreams of deceased
Avoidance of reminders
Searching/Calling out
Restless over activity
Crying
Clinging to reminders
Treasuring objects

Types of Fear
Our fear comes in different ways, some of the well known fears, which we experience commonly are as follows: -
Abandonment
Being bad, corrupt, evil, defective
Being controlled by others
Being deprived
Being harmed
Being incapable
Being of no value, worthless
Being unloved
Being useless
Change
Conflict
Death
Defeat
Diminishment, decline
Disease
Doing wrong
Failure
Fragmentation
Hurting others
Ignorance
Incompetence
Incorrect decisions
Injury
Insecurity
Invasion of boundaries
Isolation
Lack
Limitation
Loneliness
Looking stupid
Loss
Loss of connection
Material loss
Meaninglessness
No identity
Pain
People
Personal insignificance
Possessiveness
Poverty
Public speaking
Rejection
Relationships
Responsibility
Self-exposure
Self-expression
Selfishness
Separation
Sexuality
Shyness
Success
Support, guidance
Truth, God, duty, being oneself
Unknown
Vulnerability

Help for Fear
Seeking fear help is necessary so that you do not have to face the consequences that these fears bring along. Unless fear help is sought, these fears can consume us to such an extent that we become immobilized due to them. Fear causes confusion, inactivity and failure and can even result in physical ailments.

There are a number of natural herbal and homeopathic remedies that can help with overcoming fears. Fear becomes a problem that needs to be addressed when it turns into anxiety, panic or phobias. Herbs such as Melissa Officinalis, Lavandula Augustifolia, Chamomile and Passiflora Incarnata are just a few examples of a natural approach to overcoming fears by reducing stress, calming the nervous system and relaxing a fearful mind.

Many natural remedies for fear and anxiety combine a number of calming herbs to achieve the best results for overcoming fears and addressing all the different symptoms of a panicked response..
Fear help can also be sought by reaching out to others. On the other hand you can also provide yourself some fear help by self-help activities. Below are some things that you can do to ensure that you do something about your fear and seek fear help.

•Accept the fear as part of who you are – Don’t rationalize your actions or avoid fearful situations. The more you tell yourself that you are not afraid of certain things that you are afraid of, the more your fear is likely to get deep set. Ignoring an issue is not likely to solve it. On the other hand accepting that you are afraid of a certain thing allows you the freedom to attack it more openly and with more gusto.
•Analyze it – Acceptance does not mean that you stop to seek fear help and just let things be. Once you have accepted the specific fear that you have and have identified it, make sure that you analyze why you have that specific fear. The fear may be emanating from some incident that happened in the past or some stories that you may have heard. This may require some introspection and deep thinking but if you have decided that you are going to overcome thins fear, you will have to continue to explore inside yourself the real reason for the fear. If you are unable to do so, seek fear help by consulting with a counselor.

•Controlled exposure – Once you have analyzed the real cause of your fear, don’t avoid the situation completely. Fear help with come to you in different ways. Start exposing yourself to small doses of the stimulus that makes you panic. For instance if you are afraid of heights, then start to look down from the stairs on the first floor. Make sure that you prepare yourself for it before you do so. If you feel comfortable about being on the first floor and looking down, take the next challenge and go to a taller building and try the same. If you get dizziness and nausea during such instances, make sure to be safe and take a friend along.

•Talk to others – Sometimes talking to people who have sought fear help and then overcome the challenge can help you feel more confident that you can do the same. Speak to people who have been afraid of certain things and conquered the feeling of extreme anxiety and panic. If you are unable to find such people, enroll in a fear help group where people talk about their fears to deal with it.

Quotes
Trust in your faith, believe in yourself and your fears will starve to death. – Oluwabamidele

Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom – Bertrand Russell

If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living – Seneca

The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear – Nelson Mandela
The only thing we have to fear is fear itself--nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. – Franklin Delano

The way you overcome shyness is to become so wrapped up in something that you forget to be afraid. ~Lady Bird Johnson

It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it. – Aung Sab Suu Kyi
No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear. – Edmund Burke

The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek. – Joseph Campbell

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.- Frank Herbert

I have accepted fear as a part of life - specifically the fear of change.... I have gone ahead despite the pounding in the heart that says: turn back. ~Erica Jong