Fears, Learning, Coping

Many people have a fear of things like snakes, toads, spiders, heights, water, and small spaces. If many people have some fears, how do we all develop them? If you think about the time when we did not live in houses (we used to live in caves), but in nature, we faced many more dangers from animals. Because of this, we developed a response to situation to protect ourselves from things that might injure or harm us, such as a bite from a poisonous snake or encountering (facing) a fierce and dangerous dog. Of course, not all fears are something we have had from birth. For example, if you see someone in trouble in water or almost drown, you may react by developing a fear of water. Or, if a parent has a fear of heights, it is quite common for their children to also develop a fear of heights. The cause of this is not genetic. We are not born with fear because of our parents. It is because children have learned behavior and attitudes from their parents. One important thing to consider is the difference between what we call a fear and what we consider a phobia. While almost everyone has a fear of something, a fear is only classified as a phobia by psychologists if it is so serious (that) it causes you (to have) problems in your daily life. The Anxiety Disorders Association of America has claimed that 19 million Americans (around 6% of the population) have certain phobias, such as crossing bridges or travelling through tunnels. Another 15 million (around 5%) have a social phobia such as public speaking. Unfortunately, those who have one phobia are likely to have others too. Because many fears are learned during our lives, we just have to learn different ways of coping and adjust our attitudes to the things we are afraid of. If people confront their fear in small ways, they can learn to control how they react to the situation and not panic. It might not stop the fear completely, but it will probably help people to cope better and to focus on other issues. Many people manage to reduce fears they have experienced for a long time by using a variety of practices. Some people do something else to stop them thinking about the fear, others use breathing exercises and imagine themselves in a happy place. People have different ways of coping. Some people cope by thinking about the proof. If you’re scared of being in a broken elevator and running out of air, think whether this has ever happened to anyone. Many people have a fear of snakes, but they are thought to kill just five people a year. It is believed you are more likely to be killed by a snack vending machine falling on top of you (funny right?). Of course, the most extreme ways of dealing with a fear is to face your fears directly. As a child, Aslan Robert was afraid of heights, but he dealt with the fear when he couldn’t get into his parents’ seventh-floor apartment and climbed the building to get in. Since then, he has climbed some of the world’s tallest landmarks including Chicago’s Sears Tower and the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Facing your fears might make you achieve things you never thought were possible. Source MaMillan