Fear is a common emotion encountered by almost every human being at least once in his or her lifetime. It is an emotion triggered by exposure to emotional or physical danger. According to an article, The Psychology of Fear, fear is an emotion that alerts a person that he or she is in danger (Fritscher, 2017). In most cases, people associate fear with negative outcomes and they try to counter the negativity with positive thoughts or actions. There are different types of reactions to fear and they depend on the circumstance causing it and the individual. Some people shout, scream, cry, fight, run, fight, or freeze. Fritscher (2017) says that the biochemical response to fear is universal while the emotion is highly individualized. When a person …show more content…
These physical reactions are universal. In contrast, emotional responses are relatively personal. Some people enjoy the thought of fear, especially people who engage in extreme sports and adrenaline junkies. Nonetheless, most people have negative responses to fear and they would do anything to avoid it. The key issue is that most people detest the profound impact the emotion has on their lives. Fear leads to poor judgement and the development of stress, which is the key agenda of this research. The aim is to discuss fear and its relationship to stress. When faced with fear, stress is a common outcome, which explains why people relate fear to negative outcomes. It puts a strain on human emotion and thoughts, which refers to stress. However, the converse could also occur. Stressful situations could bring about fear in a human being. Stressors such as work, family, and finances could lead to the fear of failure in life. In order to understand the association between fear and stress it is important to understand what fear is, including studies done to describe it and the biological explanation of …show more content…
In the article The Consequences of Fear, the problem identified engrosses the risks and dangers of misinterpretation of threats. According to Ropeik (2004), cumulative fear from different sources of threats create a greater risk, when people misperceive the level of danger posed by a threat. The modern world, where technology and high industrialization introduce new threats, is a risky place. As a result, it evokes many fears, which most people tend to misinterpret. People either overestimate or underestimate the consequences of a threat, resulting to poor risk management and decision-making. Today, people are afraid of the air they breathe, food they eat, phones, terrorism, and so much more. The inability to deal with one fear at a time results to poor judgment and high variation of opinions. The fact that it is difficult to handle one fear at a time makes it almost impossible to match opinions with facts. A survey in America shows that after September 11, most people opted to drive rather than fly. In another poll, an Anthrax attack in 2001 compelled 5% of Americans to purchase antibiotics and 20% to use prophylactic drugs (Ropeik, 2004). An important characteristic of the risk caused by fear is uncertainty. People are not sure of what to expect and, as a result, the stress and fear leads to misinformed strategies. In conclusion, the accumulation of threats in the world creates a new threat, which is the
The Dangers of Fear Irish Playwright, George Bernard Shaw, once said, “The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them; that's the essence of inhumanity.” Inhumanity is mankind’s worst attribute. Every so often, ordinary humans are driven to the point where they have no choice but to think of themselves. One of the most famous examples used today is the Holocaust. Elie Wiesel’s memoir Night demonstrates how fear is a debilitating force that causes people to lose sight of who they once were.
Fear is an everyday emotion that the human race must face, and it can bring out the best and worst of us, but its how we choose to deal with it that truly defines us.
"Culture of Fear" is a book that describes that it is our perceptions that dangers have increased, and so much the actual level of risk. Glassner explains in all of his chapters how people and organizations use our fears as a way to increase their profit. Glassner also states about the prices we pay for our panics and all the time and energy we spend worrying. Americans are afraid because of the media's broadband expose of crime, violence, drugs and diseases.
Through a lifespan, people will endure many stressful events and experiences. The severity of these events easily overwhelm them and as a result they will let their emotions overshadow sensible decisions. When in such an emotional state, it is common that people make impulsive decisions based off their feelings, but, this could lead to permanent consequences. Of the numerous emotions, fear predominantly is seen in times of crisis. Fear can be defined as, “An emotion of uneasiness that arises as a normal response to perceived threat that may be real or imagined” (Adamec). Fear may arise from a confrontation or from avoiding a threat, or it may come in the form of a discovery. Fear is often a direct result of one being scared due to a crisis
...de Americans on September 11, 2001. Now we are being told this number is possibly three times higher than originally reported, adding to the horror in America’s citizens. Society has been indoctrinated in the belief that there is continuously a worldwide threat. Paranoia and anxiety has been the key focal point and the American way of life.
One of the most complex emotions in existence, fear is the primary emotion that triggers any kind of change, as it is capable of linking with any existing emotion to create entirely different lives upon lives. For any change that happens, fear is always present to turn the tide whichever way it pleases.
Fear motivates many people to act upon matters, right or wrong. This emotion has been important in many events in both works of literature, and in the real world. It has forced military geniuses into retreat, and influenced them to plan another method of attack. Fear can be both a positive and a negative acting force in one’s life, a quality that can motivate one to success as well as to downfall.
Have you ever had something ever get to you or make you you scared? That is called fear and tons an tons of people have different fears. Fear is an emotion that makes you feel afraid or something is frighten. Some fears many include spiders, clowns and even death. ‘’Fear Prompts Teens To Act Impulsively’’ by Laura Sanders, ‘’Stress for Success’’ by Alison Pearce, and ‘’And Uncomfortable Bed’’ By Guy Maupassant all explain the idea of fear.
Fear influences people to make irrational decisions and take extreme measures. Often times, these actions are done to protect one’s reputation. Fear causes people to lie and manipulate to those they care about in order to escape what they are scared of most. Fear of failure has caused higher levels of anxiety, and has made society put blame on each other, rather than owning up to their mistakes. Fear can also cause one to forget one’s true identity and lose one’s values. There are two options that one can take when being faced with a fear: run away from the fear, or go through it and learn a valuable lesson in the end that will make you a stronger person. Fear is a harmful emotion that everyone has to go through in order to succeed.
In the words of Bertrand Russell, “Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom” (Russell). Fear causes many problems in our lives. Fear influences many of a person’s actions and decisions. However, people usually regret the decisions or actions they made out of fear. Also, these actions and decisions can cause problems for those people in their future. Fear is a harmful emotion, for it clouds people’s judgement, disables them from taking action, and causes them to make decisions that they will regret later.
Judgement is very important when it comes to making decisions whether they are big or small. One’s judgement not only affects themselves but the other people around them. Fear can alter and impede judgement. In Lord of the Flies written by William Golding the boys are gathered as a tribe and they begin chanting. The boys have been afraid of the beast and they would do anything to protect themselves from it. Simon emerges from the forest and the boys are fearful that the beast is Simon. Despite how close Simon was to the boys, he was still torn and ripped apart by all of them because they were all affected by fear. Together the boys chant, “‘Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!’ Now out of the terror rose another desire, thick, urgent, blind” (Golding 152). Judgement is easily impaired by fear and causes people to make rash decisions. The boys knew that it was Simon, however, their fear of the beast overruled their minds and they were affected by their fear. People can gain power in the fictional world and the real world. The terrifying event that occured on September 9, 2001 is also known as 9/11. Around the country, people were unsure and fearful about the events that had just occurred in front of their eyes. These attacks had violently hurt people and made them scared of their own country. People were traumatized and were very affected by these horrible actions. Pandolfo writes,
People are exposed to numerous amounts of positive and negative events throughout their lifetime. No one is given a life that is perfect or free from difficulty. Whether it is a death in the family, chronic illness, house fire, automobile accident, or any other type of impacting event, stressors are bound to occur throughout one’s life. Since people are constantly exposed to stressors in life, it is essential that one is able to adequately cope. There are three types of responses to stress. The first is the positive stress response, which is a normal and brief response to stress and is characterized by a mild increase in heart rate (“Toxic Stress,” 2017). One example of a positive stress response could be the slight apprehension one feels before
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Each bodily physiological system has an individual established set point, or level of balance; however, some fluctuations in these levels are tolerated. The balance of any system can be, and regularly is, disturbed by internal and/or external events of the mechanical, physical, chemical, biological, and/or social types. When this balance is disrupted, and involuntary mobilizations of biological processes are not able to re-establish it, an alarm reaction is activated (Schedlowski and Tewes, 1999). This reaction is referred to as a stress response, and the activating agent is the stressor (Selye, 1936). Recently, studies of stress have shifted from demonstrating relationships between psychological factors and somatic outcomes, to investigations of the mediational pathways involved in these associations. For example, (Cohen and Williamson, 1991) have built on the work of Lazarus’ model by suggesting that once an environmental event is encountered, it is appraised, and an affective response is made.
This paper is focused on how fear as a subject is being perceived by many as a dominant and primitive human emotion. An uncontrollable energy that’s exists and created within every individual, which is directed towards an object or a given situation that does not present an actual danger. The individual then analyzes that the fear is contradictory and thus cannot help the reaction. Gradually, the phobia aims to build up and aggravate as the fear of fear response takes hold. Eventually they distinguish their fear responses as negative, and go out of their way to avoid those reactions. ‘Fear is derived as a basic feeling and therefore created by us – it is not something we have, but something we do. The principle of fear is to keep us safe.’
Fear is a human emotion everyone dislikes. Fear is in every person with no exception. It can be difficult problem to solve. We can overcome our fears by challenging ourselves by analyzing fear and developing a growth mindset.