Loosely translated, the acronym F.E.A.R. stands for False Evidence Appearing Real. If I were to ask you, ‘What is fear?’ you probably won’t have a definite explanation of fear to offer. But if I ask you what you fear the most, you will list several things from memory. Is fear naturally occurring, or is it just the absence of courage? Perhaps it is just like darkness, which has no definition of its own but is the absence of light.
Fear is derived from the deepest core of our subconscious mind. We fear things or situations that we feel we are incompetent to handle. Fear can sometimes be fruitful as it may save you from a perceived threat, but prolonged fear can cause serious health issues and anxiety.
Fear can be deemed healthy if it cautions you to stay safe from something that may harm you. However, most of the time, fear is unnecessary. It results from irrational thoughts having you believe things that impede you from living life to the fullest. Fear stems from overthinking, which is a consequence of worrying about something that’s not in your control. Fear is a chain of reactions beginning with a threat stimulus that ends with the body preparing itself to protect it from any apparent threat. When a person fears something, they feel anxious. What begins with worrying may end in panic attacks and even worse. The physical symptoms of fear include a racing heartbeat, quicker and shorter breaths, and increased muscle tension.
Fear impairs our cognitive patterns and physical capabilities. People hide from situations where they would have to deal with their deepest fears. Left unattended, these fears keep growing over the years. They may result in something chronic, affecting not just our minds but also our physical health. Hiding from situations is not the solution to unnecessary fear; it is actually turning your eyes away from it. The effect could have a reverse reaction, worsening the situation over time.
Fear may stem from the deepest core of our minds and reflect our past traumas. You never know the intensity with which an incident can take a toll on your mental and physical health. In some cases, people who have been mistreated or hurt badly in their past develop harmful coping mechanisms and continue to live inside a bubble – the bubble of fear where they feel comfortable with their surroundings. Such people give up going out of their way to try new things. Their fears overshadow their will to achieve more and accomplish high. They become so used to staying in the dark that even a single ray of light blinds them. Worst of all is when such people are no longer interested in taking a stand for themselves; it’s as if they have just given up on everything. If harbored over a long period, this fear, struggle, and humiliation breed several lethal physical and mental diseases.
These diseases eat up the person from the inside gradually, leaving nothing but a hollow shell. I can understand that after going through severe trauma and mental torture in your life, it is difficult to grow from it. But for how long? For how long are you going to sit in that dark room? For how long are you going to blame yourself? People will oppress you as long as you keep letting them.
We all fight our own battles every day. The person sitting in front of you, looking so calm and like they have their life all sorted out, could be in a bigger mess than you. You just never know! We have all experienced those dreaded days where we don’t want to get out of bed, and the sunlight seeping through the windowpane feels searing. We just lie there, contemplating life and past events. It’s relatable, isn’t it? Everyone around us is going through one thing or another. They are fighting invisible battles that they don’t talk about. Then, sometimes they do want to talk about it. When they find common ground with someone, however, they are happy to open up and share.
I found this to be true while traveling alone. I would break from my comfort zone and talk to people at the airports and next to me on the airplanes. It is there where I not only found how prevalent bipolar disorder was in the world and the many other mental illnesses, but that my problems, as severe as they were, were not as bad as some of the other people’s problems.
For some people, it’s just a bad day. For some, it’s just a bad week or month. But for some, it’s a series of events that leave them traumatized for too many years.
However, there’s a solution to every problem, and there’s an answer for everyone’s fear. Everyone’s battle is different, and so is their method to recover from it. The first step to mend your fears is to face them. Realization is the first step, and it is half the battle won.
