#fears #place
Fear accompanies every person throughout his life. In the history of evolution, fear served as a protection mechanism: in dangerous situations, it sharpens our senses and concentrates the body’s energy reserves on survival. The negative connotation of the word “fear” comes from the fact that, especially in our modern society, it often transcends the realm of rationality and is directed against non-dangerous objects or everyday situations. Thus, the border between danger and normality becomes unclear.
What are phobias?
Excessive fear begins with minor limitations in everyday life and can culminate in the near impossibility of a person’s functioning, even leading to a panic attack. In such cases, we talk about anxiety disorders.
Phobias are a type of anxiety disorder that involves intense reactions of irrational fear, manifested in front of certain objects, places or situations. The phobia sets in suddenly and is a serious problem, when panic episodes affect everyday existence.
Types of phobias
There are many types of phobias, but specialized literature distinguishes several main categories:
– Specific phobias – is the intense fear of a specific object or situation, for example, certain animals (zoophobia: arachnophobia – fear of spiders; murophobia – fear of mice and rats; ophidiophobia – fear of snakes), heights (acrophobia), flying (aerophobia), injection, closed spaces (claustrophobia), the sight of blood, persistent and unfounded fear of having a serious illness, despite various negative medical checks (hypochondria), etc.
– Social phobia – a very complex phobia, because the exaggerated fear is related to the negative evaluation by others, also the fear of being rejected or criticized. All these things are unobservable and are based on personal interpretations.
– Agoraphobia – fear of crowded spaces or situations in which the person could be in danger and need help, which he could not receive. For example, the concert hall or public transport.
The vicious circle of phobias
Fear is both a feeling and a cognition. (Note: cognition refers to the mental processes through which knowledge is acquired and information is processed).
It seems that we humans are programmed to fear the threats that our ancestors faced. Some of us are more fearful than others. In this sense, genes play an important role, because they influence us by regulating neurotransmitters. But fear can also be learned through observation. Also, our irrational interpretations and beliefs can lead to persistent fear or inappropriate behaviors.
All phobias are supported by avoidance. Avoiding things and situations is the main food in maintaining the state of anxiety (phobia). Other factors are our thoughts and, of course, various external factors. For example, certain people who do something in our place, “protecting us”. All these behaviors result in maintaining the phobia.
Treatment methods
The most effective methods in the treatment of phobias are both medicinal (recommended by a psychiatrist) and psychotherapy (performed by a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist with training in psychotherapy). Personally, I recommend performing these methods in a complementary way.
Psychotherapeutic interventions include:
a). changing the thinking styles that maintain the phobia,
b). techniques to relax the nervous system and
c). exposure to stimuli that produce fear.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe had suffered in his youth from a form of acrophobia, which he managed to overcome through his own method of “exposure therapy”. During his studies in Strasbourg (1770-1771), Goethe realized that he felt an intense fear when he was at great heights (the tower of the Strasbourg Cathedral). In his autobiographical work “From my life. Poetry and Truth” (Aus meinem Leben. Dichtung und Wahrheit), Goethe describes how he decided to fight against this phobia: he began to climb the cathedral tower every day, forcing himself to stay there until the anxiety disappeared. What Goethe experienced intuitively about 255 years ago is still valid today in the treatment of anxiety. This strategy is considered as an example of behavioral therapy, so called in vivo exposure.
With this last intervention I return to the quote from the beginning of the article, coming from Ralph Waldo Emerson, American philosopher, writer and poet. In a more stylistic translation: “Whoever does not overcome at least one fear every day, has not discovered the secret of life.”
From a psychological perspective, the quote captures some fundamental principles of personal development:
– As we saw above, fear is inevitable, and avoidance maintains it, even strengthens it.
– Personal development takes place outside the comfort zone.
– Courage can be learned through daily repetition of a behavior. Everything we learned once can be “unlearned” and, as a result, “relearned” in a different way.
For Emerson, the secret of life is the acceptance of fear as part of human existence and its integration as a factor of progress in personal development.
I wish that the most beautiful day of your life is everyday!
References:
Bandelow, B. (2006). Das Angstbuch: Woher Änste kommen und wie man sie können kann. Rowohlt Verlag.
Gebauer, M., & Hagena, S. (2014). Therapie-Tools: Angststörungen. Weinheim, Basel: Beltz Verlag.
von Goethe, JW (1811-1814). Aus meinem Leben. Dichtung und Wahrheit. 3 Bands. Tübingen: Cotta.
Wittchen, H.-U., & Hoyer, J. (2011). Klinische Psychologie & Psychotherapie (2. Aufl.). Berlin [u.a.]: Springer.
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