Chapter 2

Chapter 2

DISCUSSION

What is fear and what are the benefits people can get from it?

    I.        Definition of Fear

         

Dictionary definition, the researcher use Merriam Webster dictionary to give a definition of fear. According to the dictionary, Fear is an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger and accompanied by increased autonomic activity. It is an uneasy state of mind usually over the possibility of an anticipated misfortune or trouble. The emotion experienced in the presence or threat of danger. An unpleasant emotion caused by being aware of danger and feeling of being afraid (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fear).

Fear is one of the basic emotions and is linked heavily to the amygdala neurons. In fear, one may go through various emotional stages. A good example of this is the cornered rat, which will try to run away until it is finally cornered by its predator, at which point it will become belligerent and fight back until it either escapes or is captured. The same goes with most animals

According to Michael McGlasson in his article entitled” The Psychology of Fear”, Fear can be defined as “an intense emotional state caused by specific external stimuli and associated with avoidance, self-defense and escape” and together with joy and anger, it is one of the primary human emotions. As opposed to anxiety, fear generally refers to feelings created by tangible, realistic dangers which arise out of proportion to the actual threat or danger involved, meaning that fear is quite often unfounded with no basis in reality (http://constructinghorror.com/index.php?id=61).

Fear is without question the most important of all the emotions. Fear can be triggered by thousands of different stimuli. It means that every time we do something we counter fear. It is an emotion that all people face within their lives. Fear can be experienced on many different levels. From the heart-racing moment of suspense when watching a horror movie- to the breath stealing moment of surprise when something startles people. Even the bravest people in history have had moments of being frightened.

The researcher read an article entitled “Do You Love or Do You Fear” by Luminita Saviuc. According to this article, Fear and love are the emotion that human are capable of.  All the others are just sub-categorical emotions. For example, on love's side there is joy, peacefulness, happiness, forgiveness, and a host of others. On the other hand, fear reflects: hate, depression, guilt, inadequacy, discontentment, prejudice, anger, attack, and so on. People thinks that fear is about a sense that we are lack control or we have lost or will lose control and It creates boundaries and impedes all connection (http://www.purposefairy.com/1303/do-you-love-or-do-you-fear/).

Fear is an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger. Fear causes anticipation in one’s mind and an awareness of danger. It is the most general term and implies anxiety and loss of courage. Fear is a natural emotion but having knowledge about ones surroundings can give enough courage to face those fears with some confidence. And that little bit of confidence is what one needs to safely overcome the challenge.

          The researcher read an article entitled “Mastering Fear” written by Rabbi Noah Weinberg. According to this article, Fear is something we've all experienced and most of us would label as a negative or uncomfortable emotion. It is like any other emotion—there are both positive and negative aspects. Negative fear is debilitating. Positive fear is exhilarating. With fear, you are out of the dream world and 100 percent into reality. It means negative fear make (someone) weak while positive fear make (someone) feel very happy (http://www.simpletoremember.com/articles/a/mastering-fear/ ).

         Fear is something that people can (and SHOULD) learn to transform into love. Every single time, Love is real. Choosing a loving thought or action will bring people toward peace and happiness. Love is where people want to mother from and where they true and best selves lie. It is when they feel connected to their hearts, not their egos. When they "love that fear", are basically telling their egos to (lovingly) step aside so that our hearts can guide us. When people transform fear into love they can get many positive effects   

A study entitled “When feeling bad is expected to be good: Emotion regulation and outcome expectancies in social conflicts” by Tamir M, Ford BQ. A study has shown that we as humans regulate our emotions using an instrumental approach in order to benefit us. The most common unpleasant emotions to be used are fear and anger. These emotions typically cause the body to release adrenaline causing a ‘rush’ – just think of ‘adrenaline junkies’ who thrive off bigger and bigger highs. So in this case, fear is considered positive, it is considered pushing the mind and body to its outer limits for the ‘thrill’. In some psychotherapy approaches, fear is considered an emotion that aims to be ‘conquered’. This is typically seen in behavioral therapy using systematic desensitization to overcome phobias. This may not seem positive but surely after patients have overcome their fear, there is a feeling of accomplishment and a renewed strength (Tamir, 2012).

People should acknowledge the fear they are experiencing. Allow that it is a positive thing within them that warns them of some impending danger or harm. And then, analyze it to see if it is real or imagined, justified or not. When they recognize it's positive intent, it is no longer something to immobilize them, but quite the reverse, they can jump into action to remedy 'why' they are fearful.

According to Faith Gallup, fear in itself is not bad. It is by God’s design that we have an autonomic nervous system, for survival. When there is some life threatening situation, like an oncoming train, our body reacts instantly. A surge of adrenaline pumps through our body, allowing us to “fight or flight.” We have instant energy (and usually without thinking) to stay and fight the train, or run away. When we decide to run, and we are safely out of harm’s way, we are supposed to calm down, and return to normal state, without the level of adrenaline previously required.

Fear has two messages: Fight or flight. Some typically react to fear actively (fight), while others react passively (flight). Fight when someone is ready to face the situation or agree to fight with that. Flight, when someone runs or get scared without facing the problem.

According to Christine Louise Hohlbaum, Fear is not always a bad thing. It can sometimes move us to greatness. Fear is a tricky human emotion. It can paralyze you. It can keep you from your dreams. It can keep you small. It can also keep you safe. Fear can be your friend in just the right doses, but too much of it can kill you. Love your fear. That's all it needs. It only grows when people let it consume them and that usually happens when they forget how helpful their fear is trying to be. It really wants their best, however irrational it sometimes is. Fear can be a very good thing indeed (http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-power-slow/201307/the-benefits-fear).

         

The researcher read an article entitled “Motivated by Fear: Exploring How Negative Feedback Influences Performance”. According to this article, Fear can interfere with, compete with and overtake any ongoing activity, it can be the strongest motivational state known. It will lead to the greatest persistence in behavior with only occasional re-occurrences for maintenance of a given behavior. Fear works as a motivator for individuals with obsessive passion. People who are afraid of living in poverty may be motivated to pursue any career option in order to avoid financial destitution. In a similar way, individuals who are afraid that they may develop specific health-related problems may work tirelessly to maintain optimal physical condition. Fear often has been linked to motivation, both positively and negatively (http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/fear-failure-motivation-performance-0829121).

 

          Fear is good because it means you’re thinking of, moving towards, and considering something unconventional… So in that sense, fear is the first step in the journey you’re about to embark on. It’s an inbuilt threat alert system which helps us filter the bad and dangerous situations and happenings. Fear is there to alert people and at time to protect them from an imminent danger. Fear increases and enhances their sensory awareness of the environment, so that they can be prepared to protect their selves from anything potentially threatening or harmful.

According to Scott, Fear can be a powerful ally, instead of just an obstacle to overcome. It has the power to focus you on what’s important, prepare for upcoming challenges and be cautious in unknown situations. Fear can be helpful if: you fear the right things, you understand the fear, you control the fear and you use the fear. Fears can be good and it can be harmful. It depends on how you use them (http://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/2010/10/14/fear-is-good/).

Fear is a strong motivator. It motivates people to do their best and alerts them to threats but if fear controls people and makes them to avoid every situation that they can't enjoy life will be labeled as a negative fear. It can help us if we use it constructively. When we feel fear, it is our body responding to conscious or unconscious signals that something is 'off' or 'wrong' in a situation. The blood rushes out of the stomach, creating that "butterfly" sensation (the body has decided that digestion is NOT a priority at this moment). The body releases adrenaline and the heart starts pounding faster trying to get oxygen out to the limbs. All of this is an "emergency gear" the body can slip into in an emergency. People are often able to perform feats in this physical state that they would not be capable of under regular/normal circumstances.

Personally, the researcher looks upon fear as a positive emotion. Researcher knows that uncontrolled this emotion can breed many negative results but when controlled it can lead to good results.

  II.        Benefits of Fear

     A. Fear alerts peoples to threats.

Fear can be a really useful gut-response that helps peoples to anticipate and to respond more quickly to a genuine threat. If something is unfamiliar, it might be dangerous, so, whenever they’re in unfamiliar territory, fear crops up and alerts them to pay attention. And of course, from a survival point of view, that’s really useful.

     B. Fear motivates people.

Fear drives peoples to find new resources and options within their selves, and without. Take the fear of rejection, or the fear of loss for example. In those instances fear will often push people to do whatever it’s necessary to overcome those experiences by tapping into resources you didn’t know were there. Fear compels people to make that extra effort to succeed in their endeavors’ and achieve what they desire.

           C. Fear lets peoples know what’s important to them.

Think about it: when something isn’t important to people, they probably don’t care what happens with it, and they won’t feel fear then. It’s the stuff that’s closest to their hearts that peoples really care about, that they feel the most fear about – because it matters to them how things work out. With so many choices available to them these days, alot of creative people find it difficult to figure out what’s really important to them and decide what they want in life. A really counter-intuitive, but easy way to figure whether something is genuinely important to you is to notice how much fear you have about it. The more important it is to you, the bigger your fear will probably be.

D. Fear builds confidence.

When people do something that scares them, they become stronger. And self-confidence is the result of having successfully survived a risk. Doing something risky, something that scares people, will make a person stronger and help peoples grow in confidence. Each step outside their comfort zone and into fear builds that muscle. As that muscle gets stronger and stronger so does their spirit.