Imagine you are sitting on your porch, and suddenly something starts moving in the grass, heading your direction. You lean forward out of curiosity. Then you see it, it stops; it appears to be staring at you. It is a disgusting, slimy-looking creature with fangs that is about to jump at you. Yes, it is a snake! You quietly sidle to the side, so it does not attack for you are afraid of its deadly venom. The feeling of faintness and dizziness overcomes you, which is a sign of anxiety. Moreover, you cry and scream hysterically after moving away from it. If you have experienced something similar, you may have a case of Ophidiophobia, the phobia or abnormal fear of snakes. Not to worry, there are cures for this phobia.
Most people are afraid of snakes but are not petrified by them to the point they are fainting. The video Wired for Fear by California Science Center shows that the amygdala is the threat center always on the look-out for danger. For example, when someone sees a snake or something that looks like a snake, their amygdala is activated. Most people would freeze and their heart rate would go up. If it were a real snake, they would slowly back away, or if it was not a snake, they would calm down. A person with ophidiophobia
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In the informational text Fears and Phobias by kidshealth.org, it tells you about how past experiences can affect you when you are older. For example, your annoying brother hid a snake in your bed when you were a child and ever since then you have been terrified of snakes. What you believe in can also affect the way you think of things, such as snakes. In most cultures snakes are a symbol of evil and darkness. Many fears are accidentally taught to people by someone else. For example, when you were a child you saw your parent(s) react to a movie. You learned to fear snakes from their reaction. Another example, if you read a scary book about snakes. You have learned to fear snakes from that
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.
Just imagine for a moment that you have a cynophobia or the fear of dogs, would this be how you would feel. Driving down the road the oil light comes on. "I must stop the car to add more oil or I will damage the car engine. This looks like a good place to pull over. I'll just stop in front of this house. The oil is in the trunk, so I'll pop the top first, then get the oil out of the trunk. OK, I have the oil, but what if there is a dog at this house. Hurry, I have to hurry. A dog might come running out and bark at me any minute. Just get the oil in the engine. I can't my hands are shaking. Don't worry, there is no dog. Just get the oil in the engine. I don't care if I spill it, just get some in the engine. Take another look around, is there a dog anywhere. OK, the oils in, now hurry get back in the car. I can't breath. I'm safely back in the car, now just take a minute and breath. When will my hands stop shaking." This is how a person with a phobia of dogs might feel. There is no dog around anywhere in sight, but the thought of a dog running at them barking is enough to cause a panic attack. In "Exploring Psychology" David G. Myers defines phobia as "an anxiety disorder marked by a persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object or situation" (432). This paper will explore the history, causes, effects, and treatment of Phobias.
Fear affects everyone's life no matter if it is fact or even fiction. When one is fearful of something, that person changes the way of living their life. In one of the first chapters of the book we see that the people of Umuofia are afraid to go outside during the night without moonlight. "Children were warned not to whistle at night for fear of evil spirits."(9) Once that moon, is up it seems that everything should be middling and the people of Umuofia fear of becoming snake dinner escapes their minds. Children have high pitched laughs. What if one of the kids during
One of the most controversial topics of the century hinges on one simple question: What makes the world go round? Most will jump to say money. Some will argue in favor of their religion. Others will point out scientific facts. The truth is, none are correct. One emotion, one aspect of life shines above the others, extending its light on merely half of our beloved globe, leaving the other semi-circle to deal with pitch black: fear. To understand its impact, society’s definition of fear must be perceived. Fear is officially defined as an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something dangerous will harm him/her. However, with his classic novel, Alan Paton shows that it extends far beyond that. An old man by the name of Stephen Kumalo leaves the comfort of his tribe in Ndotsheni, and embarks on a
Fear is a potent emotional response developed by the intrinsic need to learn in order for one to better their means of self-preservation. Though often overlooked, fear is a mental construct which presents great importance in understanding an individual’s thoughts and mannerisms. Children can help scientists to better recognize how these fears emerge. The early years of life can be considered the most daunting; everything in the environment surrounding a child is fairly new, strange, and unfamiliar. In the psychological community, it is widely accepted that fears are determined from two main constituents: biological and environmental factors. Both factors play an essential role in defining fear as well as the determination of what a child may
Conquering phobias is a specialty of hypnotherapists. A phobia is a compulsive fear of a specified situation or object (Knight 2). A few types of phobias are fear of open spaces, fear of snow, fear of the cold, fear of marriage, fear of insanity, fear of being alone, fear of darkness, fear of disease, fear of beards, fear of birds, fear of being stared at, fear of bein...
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.
In confronting any type of learned fear, you must reprogram your inappropriate fight or flight response. This means you must purposely do things that frighten you. When you are scared, an automatic reaction of resistance and anxiety occur. You don’t even have to consciously think about the feeling; it just happens. Your body reacts with an increased heart rate, breathing and muscle tension so you know to defend yourself. This built-in survival mechanism called the “flight or fight” response is hardwired into our DNA. This is why your reaction can occur without you even consciously thinking about.
This has been going on from the start of humanity. Fear comes from within the conscious and that is inevitable; there are many things that are frightening to us humans. A lot of these fears are learned through experiences growing up. I’ve always wondered what happened to someone to have such a strong irrational fear. The number of phobias are highly increasing, 2017 has been recorded as the highest amount of phobias diagnosis(Phobias 1). We teach ourselves these things without even realizing it, until we have already encrypted the phobia into our minds. There are many studies today trying to understand the development of these phobias. Having phobias can have a massive interruption of daily routines, limit productiveness, create low self-esteem, and place a strain on relationships with families or friends because people will avoid the
In this world, there are many psychological problems and issues that people are dealing with. One of the main issues that they deal with is their fears. In this case, severe fears which are called phobias. There are over five hundred (500) types of phobias with a specific name, classification and description of that phobia. Phobias can become very extreme and hard to deal with if not treated after a certain amount of time. From understanding what a phobia is, the history, statistical facts, signs/symptoms and different types of treatment one can learn and understand that phobias are a serious matter and can be treated for. As long as a person understands what phobia they have, commit to finding a treatment and have a strong enough mind, they can see that they can do anything and be rid of their fears because you are only as strong as your weakest fear.
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.
Mental health and its disorders are an intricate part of the individual and society. Mental health incorporates our emotional, psychological and social well-being. Understanding human behavior and the social environment in conjunction with biological, social and cultural factors helps in diagnosing and treating individuals accurately. Film can be used to understand and visualize how mental disorders may affect one’s life. This paper examines the film “Primal Fear” and explores the character Aaron Stampler and his mental illness, reviews literature on the diagnosis given and critically analyzes the film’s portrayal of the disorder.
In today’s society there is a high fear of crime by society. Society actions show that there is anxiety and fear about crime. Therefore, anxiety and fear about crime has placid our cities and communities. Society express fear of being victimized by crimes, criminal activities, and behaviors. Therefore, according to, (Crime, 1999) states that “ the level of fear that a person holds depends on many factors, including but, not limited to: “ gender, age, any past experiences with crime that a person may have, where one lives, and one’s ethnicity.” All of those factors have a huge impact on one’s fear level.
Chapman University recently did a poll with over 1,200 Americans to see what keeps the average human up at night and 23.6% were afraid of snakes, which happened to be in between devastating tornado and devastating earthquake. Snakes, apparently, are as threatening as a natural disaster; when in fact they are adorable reptiles that are rarely harmful. There is plenty of research that proves them to actually be great pets. They are not expensive, not hard to maintain, or time consuming animals, so what are people so afraid of?
Death is a difficult subject for many people. The topic alone can cause a lot of anxiety because of all the things we don’t know. Most of us fear death for many reasons. Whether it’s your final day, or a final moment with a loved one, it’s a painfully scary process because of its uncertainty.