FEAR FACTOR !!

FEAR FACTOR !!

 

What is Fear?

 

Emotions play an important part in our daily lives. Fear is one such emotion that is pre-programmed into all animals and people as an instinctual response to potential danger. 

As for what is fear 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. Still new causes of fear are being diagnosed.

Diagnosing Fear

What is fear?

Fear is not always adaptive. A small amount of fear before an important speech serves a purpose – it encourages you to focus on your topic and avoid making a fool of yourself. This is one of the types of fear that can be useful to sharpen our minds. However, some types of fear that are excessive can become crippling, or even make you feel like escaping when it is not appropriate to do so.

When fear gets out of control, or when we fear something that cannot actually harm us, it can escalate to a point where it effects our daily functioning. Fear is no longer adaptive if we find we are constantly afraid of events that haven’t happened yet.

Future-orientated fear is known as anxiety. While fear happens at the moment danger arises, anxiety is characterized by apprehension because we don’t know what’s going to happen next, and we cannot control upcoming events.

Experiencing an alarm response when there is in fact nothing to be afraid of is known as panic. Many people are familiar with this type of fear and it is often (although not always) accompanied by a phobia.

Panic is an immediate physical response to unrealistic and irrational fears. This can have a huge affect on both your emotional and physical well-being – as well as your ability to reach your full potential.

What Causes Fear?

While it is important to be aware of potential and real threats, it is just as important to react appropriately to them. For most of us, our initial startle response subsides as soon as we realize that there is no actual threat or danger.

However, this is not always the case. There are many people for whom fear becomes maladaptive, as they struggle with anxiety, phobias and panic attacks. Children are also at risk of overactive fear, as they are not always able to rationalize fears that are unrealistic or unfounded. 

What is fear  like for children? 

Children experiencing fears and phobias feel very real threats and parents often have difficulty consoling or reassuring their child that there is actually nothing to fear. Childhood anxiety can have a negative impact on their healthy development and may predispose them to problems in later life.

Fear of :-
- Falling; downward motion Borax.

-        Of pointed things; knives and forks etc. Spigellia.

-        Of Dogs; animals Belladonna.

-        Being alone; thunder strom, ghosts etc. Phosphorus 200.

-        Appearance before audience; examination etc. Argentum Nit.

-        Fear of failure, stage fright (examinations etc) Gelsemium.

-        Aeroplanes flying over the head Aconite.

-        Child fears to go to bed alone Causticum.

-        Fear to be alone; feels better in open air even though patient is chilly Pulsatilla.

-        Fear of poverty Calcarea Flour.

-        Fear of accidents Carbo Veg., If Carbo Veg fails, Psorinum.

-        Fear of being touched Arnica.

-        Fear of Cholera Lachesis.

-        Fear of consumption; contagious disease, going to a dentist Calcarea Carb.

-        Fear of cutting face while saving Caladiums.

-        Fear of dark Stramonium.

-        Fear of death; impending illness, disgust for life Pneumococcin.

-        Intercurrent remedy Sulphur.

And here are the Homeopathic remedies used for Anxiety due to different reasons :-

 - Sudden with restlessness and fear of death Aconite.

-        Prolonged with periodic and panic attacks Arsenic Album.

-        With fainting spells; profuse sweating; worse in the morning Sulphur.

-        Makes patient walk fast; due to anticipation Argentum Nit.

-        Worse lying in bed and closing the eyes Carbo Veg.

-        Anxiety aggravated by upward or downward motion; going in an elevator; worse till 11 P.M. Borax.

-        Anxious about business even when seriously ill Bryonia Alba.

-        Full of apprehensions in the evening Causticum.

-        Anxiety and fears in the evening with restlessness and palpitation Calcarea carb.

-        Anxiety worse while lying still. Sad music ameliorates the complaints Manganum Acet.

-        Anxiety due to fright, fear, exciting news; stage fright; worse while appearing for examination or interview etc Gelsemium.

-        Anxiety due to grief or shock in the subconscious mind Ignatia.

-        Anxiety; better after eating Anacardium.

-        P.S :-
Rescue Remedy is another very good option.

TIPS TO OVERCOME FEAR !!

1.   Identify your fear. Exactly what are you afraid of?

2.  Analyze your fear. Is your fear rational? Will it hurt you? Fear is a good thing if it keeps you safe and prevents you from getting eaten by a wild animal or burned by a fire. Most fears, however, are of things that won’t harm us. Those are the fears we need to banish.

3.  Use gradual desensitization. Start small. Take baby steps to gradually melt the fear away. If your dream is to travel, start traveling in a “safe” way with someone to hold your hand until you’re ready to stand on your own.

4.  Consider what others are doing. If they can do it, why can’t you? What do “they” have that you don’t? Chances are: nothing.

5.  Change the way you think and you change the way you act. You can control your thoughts. Whenever you find yourself dwelling on the things you’re afraid of, change your thoughts to think positive thoughts about the good parts of your dream.

6.  Be on the offensive rather than defensive. The vast majority of those things you fear will never happen. What you imagine is nearly always worse than the truth. Just start walking and face the fear.

7.  Go public about your fear. Somehow there is power in letting it out. Tell everyone how scared you are and, chances are, the fear will dissipate.

GOD BLESS !!