False Evidence Appearing Real- F.E.A.R

Fear is considered as a psychological term. Fear is always in relation to something. We fear because we see an object different from what we generally see around. We see an object possessing capabilities to harm our self; we see an object threatening to us. When there is fear, there is always a reference to ‘something’ of which we fear. We fear for the seen & unseen, the known & unknown, the superior & inferior.

Well, there is an umpteen list about which we are fearful. It is not clear why we fear for a certain kind of thing. But, general observation says that we fear the strange things most. The known things, no matter, how dangerous it is, couldn’t be categorized in lists of fearful nature. A risky amusement ride seems dreadfully horrifying on first look, but as we take this ride numerous of times we lose the previous feeling of fear.

No doubt, fear decreases with a cycle of habits. The more we do a thing, the more we tend to get used to its natures & qualities. And, as a result, we start becoming fearless.

During an emotion of fear, our body changes biologically. At a certain adrenaline rush, corticotropin releasing factor CRF evolves from the part of the brain called Hypothalamus.  This results in different types of uncontrollable reactions in the body and release of stress hormone ‘cortisol’ from the adrenal gland.

It is believed that fear of pain is more psychological than biological. Our body is not used to certain things of life. But as we think of experiencing a new thing in life, we start trembling for it. It’s no wonder that the first exam, the first speech, the first performance, the first interview, the first meeting was somewhat scary and alarming. The thought of experiencing something the first time is itself the main cause of usual panic attacks. The fear of experiencing the strange thing is the first thing, and the fear of unable to perform well is another. It’s so many times in our life that we undergo fear of failures. We think of failure even before we give our performances. In such case, stress level increases and our heart rates fluctuate improperly. This triggers to so many problems in our lives.

Our self-identity, our individualism is everything for us. The fear gives us a feeling that we may lose our self-image. In society, failure is always taken as a negative thing. One who fails undergoes blame game of society; it’s a kind of torture that nobody ever wants to experience in life. The fear is an illusion, it’s not in real but we feel it real because we see it as a danger.

To conclude, ‘the seed of defence brings offence’. We may think of protecting us from unseen troubles, and in this process, we are so terrified that we often lose focus and track of the performances.  No wonder, a slight fear helps us in reducing the chances of failure. But unnecessary fear of things gives us low and negative feeling. And resultantly, the self, its nature & character starts turning into a fearful being.