Living without fear: tips to achieve it

Afraid. With this term different states of emotional intensity are identified that go from a physiological polarity, such as fear, worry, the anxiety or hesitation, up to a pathological polarity like phobia or panic.

With the word fear we express a very strong and intense emotional moment, caused when there is the perception of a danger, real or not. This definition indicates, by itself, that fear is a constant in our existence. But... would it be possible to live away from this bad feeling?

Where does fear come from?

According to the Ledoux theory, the organs of our body that are responsible for picking up the first sensory stimuli (eyes, tongue, etc.) receive information from the environment and indicate the presence or possibility of a danger. This information reaches the amygdala through two routes: a direct one that comes directly from the thalamus and a longer one that passes through the thalamus and then through the cortex to finally reach the amygdala.

The hippocampus He also plays an important role: he is in charge of making comparisons with our past experiences and is able to provide contextual information about the object of fear.

From the results of many empirical studies it has been concluded that practically any object, person or event can potentially be experienced as dangerous and therefore induce a sense of fear. Its variability is absolute, even the threat can be generated by the absence of an expected event and can vary depending on the moment.

The scary types

The origin of fear also depends on the kind of fear in question at all times.

Essentially, fear can be of two types: learned (caused by past experiences, direct or indirect, that have been proven negative or dangerous) or innate (such as fear of certain animals, of the dark, of blood, etc.) The fundamental factors to determine it continue to be the perception and evaluation of the stimulus as dangerous or not.

Why do we need to be afraid?

Fear is an emotion predominantly governed by instinct, and its objective is survival in a supposed situation of danger; That is why it manifests itself every time there is a possible risk that threatens our security.

Generally this is something positive in our life, as well as physical pain, since informs us about a state of emergency and alarm, preparing the mind for the body's reaction which will probably manifest itself in attack or flight behavior. Obviously, if this emotion manifests itself in an intense way causing us anxiety, phobia or panic, it loses its fundamental function and becomes a psychopathological symptom.

It is an important emotion!

Fear has an essential function in our life, and that is why it is important to attend to and understand it.

If for a moment we could erase prejudices and look at fear from a new point of view, a dense scene of meaning would open up before us. Behind our own fear, harmless or irrepressible, hides its reason for being: performs a specific function that has its origin in the personal history of each one of us, or better yet, in our unconscious.

At the same time, we can dare to think that fear is our ally and that it serves to keep us stable, that is, to remain in a situation of mental and physical balance. Therefore, we could consider him as a trusted friend who protects us.

Overcome fear, live without fear

At this point it would be useful to ask ourselves: How can we get over it and live without fear?

Beating fear does not mean "erasing" it by totally ignoring it, and it does not mean that we have to surrendering and surrendering to it, as well as adopting attitudes of "declaration of war" do not lead to any results positive.

Rather, it is inevitably more advantageous to accept him as an annoying but necessary guest. Lacceptance, then, is the first step. This means admitting to having a fear and also trying to understand it, and the rational way alone is surely not the best option. Understanding it means welcoming it within us, giving it the possibility of existing. I feel that fear and I make room for it inside me, so that it can carry out its function, but at the same time I know that it also helps me to better understand what I am. Fear often reveals aspects of ourselves that we are often unaware of.

When we gain a fear, it means that we have opened ourselves to a new consciousness, we have made our own those aspects of ourselves, and of life, that we did not accept and that we rejected.