Unfounded Fears Make Us Human - What Are Yours?
By Karen Amato Schwartz, for Revive Your Life
Photo by ia7mad
Why do we have fears that appear to defy logical explanation? Lacking prior trauma, why would some things, situations or places scare us? Can it all be traced to movies or books that we don’t even remember watching? Sometimes, not even experts can find the origins of fears.
Psychics and spiritualists tell us that unexplained fears are indicators of tragedy in past lives; we don’t remember them, but their shock has been imprinted on our soul. This can explain a new and sudden fear by relating it to time frames of a past life. For example, a man who wondered why he developed a fear of dogs at 40 found, under past life regression hypnosis, that he once suffered a fatal injury from a dog at that age.
But what if you don’t believe in the theory of past lives and doubt you’ve blocked out horrible childhood experiences? You accept the fear as an unexplainable part of your life and learn how to deal with it, in one way or another.
As a child, I went off diving boards, but later developed a fear of deep water. I blamed not venturing into it on the inability to open my eyes due to contact lenses. But I knew the real reason-I was afraid of panicking and choking. I even feared being accidentally bumped into the deep end of a pool. In Cancun, I was the only one of a snorkeling party who stayed where the boat was anchored in 5 feet of water instead of swimming out to 15 feet. (I didn’t see many fish, but I did find a rather cool Mexican baseball cap.) I’m rather lucky because I must make a conscious trip to be anywhere near water, so my phobia is controllable. But no one wants to have an irrational, unfounded fear rule them. So, a few years back, I made myself cannonball into deep water…once. I didn’t like it and see no reason to ever do it again, but I refused to let fear daunt me.
We have to feel for those whose fears keep them from living normal lives, such as a fear of insects or animals that can suddenly appear anytime, anywhere. Those folks’ fears create feelings as real and limiting as any physical restraint. In all likelihood, those with fears strong enough to prevent them from leading normal lives probably get professional help at some point. Thousands of others don’t believe their fears are bad enough to warrant bills for psychological testing, evaluation and counseling. It thus becomes a decision of whether to avoid or overcome them.
Obviously, much depends on the fear and degree of anxiety that it produces. A simple example would be a person with a fear of cats asking their owner to keep the pets in a confined place during a visit. The alternative would be to not visit (of course, a person can attempt to hide their fear, but at some point their discomfort may be perceived incorrectly). This is representative of living with any fear; a person must either avoid situations where they may meet it, or display honesty and make requests concerning it. However, it’s good to know that most people will respect other’s fears and will attempt to accommodate them.
Wishing to overcome fears takes more work. Research into online sources or libraries uncovers much information regarding conquering fears, as well as dozens of discussion and support groups. There is nothing wrong in adapting other’s solutions to your own needs, or trying several solutions. If you are really serious about overcoming a fear, there are programs that utilize “steps” which gradually introduce the culprit into your life in ways that utilize goals, rewards and incentives. Even if traces of the fear remain, you’ll recognize an increased sense of motivation to try again at a later time.
Some fears serve purposes of safety and security, so there is a reason that we are programmed for this emotion. Without it, we would probably endanger ourselves in countless ways. Therefore, don’t feel like a failure if a fear gets the upper hand at times; our fears are just part of our complexities as humans, and, as such, can make us interesting!
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