The 16 types of fear and their characteristics

Fear is a harrowing feeling caused by the presence of a real or imaginary danger.

It is a reaction that begins with a stressful stimulus and ends with the release of substances chemicals that cause, among other things, the heart and breathing to speed up or the body to tense. Fear often triggers stress response behaviors and a response known as fight or flight.

However, this is a complex phenomenon that does not always manifest itself in exactly the same way or have the same causes. That is why we talk about types of fear, different ways in which this emotion is expressed depending on our psychological state and the context in which the danger signals arise. Let's see what they are, their characteristics, and how they affect us.

• Related article: "What is fear for?"

How are the types of fear produced?

The stimulus causing fear it may or may not be a real thought, or a threatening stimulus (for example, the presence of a lion). Some authors affirm that there are some fears inherent to the human being and with a practically instinctive component, such as: darkness, uncertainty or death. However, the vast majority of fears are learned by associative learning or classical conditioning.

This combination of biological factors and environmental and learned factors makes the types of fear we develop very varied.

• You can learn more about classical conditioning in this article: "Classical conditioning and its most important experiments”

The physiological bases

The brain Human is a deeply complex organ. More than 100 million nerve cells form an intricate communication network that is the starting point for everything we feel, think, and do. Some of these communications lead to conscious thought and action, while others produce autonomous responses.

The autonomous fear response, that is, the one that we do not consciously activate, arises long before our reason has been able to decide anything about it. There are many brain areas related to fear. These are the most important:

• Thalamus- Decide where to send incoming sensory data (from eyes, ears, mouth, skin)
• Sensory cortex: interpret sensory data.
• Hippocampus: stores and retrieves conscious memories; processes sets of stimuli to establish context.
• Amygdala: decode emotions; Determine the possible threat; Store memories of emotions and fear.
• Hypothalamus: Activates the "fight or flight" response.

You can delve into the physiological bases of fear in our article: "The physiological and psychological bases of fear”

Types of fear

Not all people are afraid of the same stimuli, nor are the content of all fears the same. Below you can find a list with a classification of the different types of fears:

According to the existence of the stimulus

Depending on whether the stimulus that causes fear exists or not, it can be:

1. Real fear

Real fear refers to a type of fear that is is built from real components. For example, the fear of falling from an unsafe high place when there is a real possibility of falling into the void.

It is a physiological and emotional activation pattern that has adaptive value, because it leads us to avoiding danger immediately, often regardless of our conscious intentions.

2. Unreal or irrational fear

Unreal fear has its origin in a imaginary, distorted and catastrophic thinking. For example, fear of public speaking or fear of flying. They are non-adaptive fears, in which there really is no real danger.

In many cases, this type of fear can turn into a phobia; It is something that happens when this discomfort and the strategies we use to avoid these moments interfere in a way with our quality of life.

According to its normality

Depending on their adaptive nature, fears can be:

3. Normal fear

Normal fear is one that has an adaptive character, and is presented before a stimulus that can be harmful to the person. It is short-lived, does not interfere with normality in daily life and puts the individual on alert. For example, seeing a snake.

4. Pathological fear

This kind of fear activates even if there is no danger and can be prolonged indefinitely. Its level of interference in everyday operation is high. It produces great psychological discomfort to the person who suffers it, and sometimes it also affects third parties (due to its effects on social behavior) for which it requires treatment.

According to the level of affectation

Depending on the level of affectation of fear, this can be:

5. Physical fear

Physical fear is the fear of suffering painful sensations derived from a real or imagined external stimulus. For example, fear of the doctor.

On many occasions, physical fear is difficult to control, as it can cause us to move automatically and involuntarily to dodge what scares us, "taking control of the body" for a few seconds.

6. Social fear

This type of fear occurs in response to an external stimulus that is integrated at the social level. It is characterized by those situations in which the person feel that they may be ridiculed and think they will be judged and ridiculed by others. Thus, what produces fear is both the anticipation of that humiliation and the consequences it could have in the future.

Social phobia is at the extreme of this phobia.

• Related article: "Social phobia: what is it and how to overcome it?”

7. Metaphysical fear

Metaphysical fear is a fear that has an internal origin and does not draw on empirical sources. It can be associated with pathologies such as endogenous depression. You can learn more about this disorder in our article: "Endogenous depression: when unhappiness comes from within”

Other types of fear

These are other kinds of fear that go beyond the categorizations we have seen.

8. Fear of uncertainty

The fear of uncertainty is a fear that It happens when it is difficult for us to visualize the future we want. It is also called fear of the unknown, and is closely related to personal development. When a person is afraid of uncertainty, they do not step out of their comfort zone.

• You may be interested: "How to get out of your comfort zone? 7 keys to achieve it”

9. Fear of compromise

This type of fear occurs mainly in relationships. Refers to the feeling or emotion of fear that it is experienced by seeing that one's life is given to another person. Sometimes it happens because the person simply does not want to give up their freedom, other times because the person has suffered in a previous love relationship and does not want to commit again.

10. Jonah complex

The Jonah Complex is also known as fear of success. It is a term that arises from humanistic psychology, in which the person feels anxiety and panic about their own self-realization or the development of her talents.

• Related article: "Jonah complex: the curious fear of success"

11. Fear of being discovered

A fear that is characterized because the person has done something that is considered bad or illegal and, therefore, does not want to be discovered. They are experienced by lying people and individuals who they have something to hide.

12. Fear to fail

The fear of failure is a type of fear that causes a lot of suffering and that is related to the expectations that a person has. It is also related to the opinion of others. It is experienced, above all, by perfectionists.

• Recommended article: "Perfectionist personality: the downsides of perfectionism”

13. Fear to loneliness

The fear of loneliness is a fear that everyone experiences, since human beings are social beings and we need to others to enjoy the emotional balance necessary to face the problems that may arise in our day to day. The fear of loneliness also suffers those people who are in a relationship and do not want to stay single.

14. Fear of divorce

If the fear of loneliness refers to people who are in a relationship and do not want to be alone, but there are also individuals who feel great anguish about divorcing. If the fear of loneliness is more related to an inherent feeling of the human being, the fear of divorce is more related to culture, with the fear of what others will think of the failure of the marriage.

15. Fear of death

The fear of death is a type of fear that everyone feels. It is the fear of losing your lifeBecause when someone dies it is understood that they disappear forever. People often experience this fear from time to time or when they are in a life-threatening situation. In cases where this thought is constantly in a person's mind, it usually requires psychological assistance.

16. Phobias

A pathological fear that many people experience and that requires psychological treatment to be overcome are phobias. There are many types of phobias and they are also often called conditioned fears.

• If you want to delve into the different types of phobias, you can read this article: "Types of Phobias: Exploring Fear Disorders”

Bibliographic references:

• Kim, J.H.; Ganella, D.E (2015). A Review of Preclinical Studies to Understand Fear During Adolescence. Australian Psychologist. 50 (1): pp. 25 - 31.
• Ledoux, J. (2003). The emotional brain, fear, and the amygdala. Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology. 23 (4–5): pp. 727 - 738.
• Lewis, M. & Haviland-Jones, J.M. (2000). Handbook of emotions. New York: The Guilford Press.