Living without fear: tips to achieve it

Fear can paralyze us, but there are strategies to control this feeling.

Fear. With this term we identify different states of emotional intensity that go from a physiological polarity, such as fear, worry, anxiety or hesitation, to a pathological polarity such as phobia or panic.

With the word fear we express a very strong and intense emotional moment, provoked when there is a perception of fear.provoked 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's theoryAccording to Ledoux's 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 the possibility of danger. This information reaches the amygdala through two pathways: 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 also plays an important role: it 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 any object, person or event can potentially be experienced as dangerous and thus 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.

Types of fear

The origin of fear also depends on the type of fear involved at any given moment.

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

Why do we need to feel fear?

Fear is an emotion predominantly governed by instinct.Its objective is survival in the face of a supposedly dangerous situation; that is why it manifests itself every time there is a possible risk that threatens our safety.

Generally this is a positive thing in our life, as is physical pain, since it it informs us about a state of emergency and alarm, preparing the mind for the body's reaction, which is likely to manifest itself in a which will probably manifest itself in attack or flight behavior. Obviously, if this emotion manifests itself in an intense way causing 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 it and understand it.

If for a moment we could erase prejudice and look at fear from a new point of view, a dense scenario of meanings would open up before us. Behind our own fear, whether harmless or uncontainable, lies its raison d'être: It plays a specific role that has its origin in the personal history of each of us, or rather, in our unconscious.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 say, to remain in a situation of mental and physical equilibrium. Therefore, we could consider it as a trusted friend who protects us.

Overcoming fear, living without fear

At this point it would be useful to ask ourselves: how can we overcome it and live without fear?

Overcoming fear does not mean "erasing" it by totally ignoring it, nor does it mean that we have to surrender and give in to it, nor does adopting "declaration of war" attitudes lead to any positive outcome.

Rather, it is inevitably more advantageous to accept it as if it were an annoying but necessary guest. Lcceptance, then, is the first step. This means admitting to having a fear and also trying to understand it, and surely the rational way alone is not the best option. Understanding it means welcoming it into ourselves, giving it the possibility to exist. I feel this fear and I make room for it within me, so that it can play its role, but at the same time I know that it also serves me to better understand who I am. Fear often reveals aspects of ourselves of which we are often unaware.

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