Fear of life (How to overcome this)
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In this short guide, we will discuss why people experience fear of life and how they can get over it.
Fear of life
Having fear is normal. It is an emotion present in all human beings and can deprive the person of moving forward.
Fear will not disappear on certain occasions, but this is not a reason for the person to lock itself up and not decide to move forward in life.
Many people feel fear of life. They are afraid to experiment, feel new things and move forward.
Although fear is present it does not mean the person cannot live its life the way they should be living.
What is the fear?
Fear is a natural response of the human being to an adverse stimulus that the person interprets as a risk situation.
The fear reaction is the result of a set of processes that occur within the human body.
On many occasions, fear is responsible for making the person aware of the external dangers that may threaten.
The process for interpreting fear occurs in the following way:
The senses begin to capture the centre of danger, then the brain interprets it and then the limbic system takes action.
The limbic system has to do with the appearance of emotional states or with what can be understood as “instincts.”
Fear, happiness or anger, as well as all emotional states full of nuances, have their main neurological basis in this network of neurons.
After this occurs, the amygdala is activated, which is responsible for triggering the entire fear system and the body goes on to suffer the following reactions:
- Increased adrenaline
- Increased muscle tension
- Increase in blood glucose
- Increased blood pressure
- Increased speed in metabolism
The amygdala is a key element of survival because its main function is to integrate emotions with the corresponding response patterns, causing a physiological response or the preparation of a behavioural response.
It is the main core of emotions and feelings in the brain.
At the beginning of societies, fear was seen as something positive since it protected our ancestors from dangers, but once the societies developed, theories began to emerge about fears which were used by the great masses to control the population and handle it at will.
In areas such as religion, fear has been used for people to follow certain leaders and they can benefit from the things they receive from others.
Condemning them with the existence of supernatural beings that are part of evil and not following them is a way of being unprotected, makes the person have no choice but to follow them.
There is another type of fear that is present at all times in people’s lives, one that makes human beings doubt their abilities and cannot move in the direction they want, this is the fear of life.
Afraid to take risks, to overcome, to work hard for what they want.
Why is there a fear of life?
There are many types of fears, even those that interfere in the lives of people called phobias.
A phobia is defined as intense and irrational fear towards a person, object or situation.
Some people can develop an intense phobia to live their life.
The fear of life is present in people’s lives.
Many are afraid of not reaching the proposed goals, not living their dreams and having to settle for something they do not want.
Sometimes people can take not so healthy measures to achieve what they want.
It is okay to give the maximum in life since you have to work for what you want, but there has to be a space where the person recognizes the limits.
Some people fall into frustration to see that they are not living the life they want and start comparing themselves to others.
Seeing the achievements of others begin to seriously doubt their abilities and may even fall into a depressive state to see what another person accomplished.
The comparisons are not good. These may be a point of reference, but not a measure that the person must take to measure their achievements with the achievement of others.
Each person is different and there are factors of which there is no control and influence in the results of each one.
The person has to accept the fact that some things are not going to happen the way they want but that this is not a reason to be afraid to live a dignified life.
There are other types of people who have a fear of life because they develop an intense fear of not trying.
There comes a point where the person makes a break in their life and stops having illusions.
It makes no sense to what it is doing every day and understands that it is better to leave everything behind.
There are also other factors for the person to be fear of life. Cultural and biological factors are present.
The opinions of others about what the person should do or cannot make the person feel pressured, without direction and confused.
When trying to meet the expectations of others, it realizes that is not living its life and begins to feel bad.
Mental illnesses such as depression can also play an important role when a person develops a fear of life.
Depression is characterized by having a low mood for most of the day and leaving aside the realization of daily activities that once caused satisfaction in the person.
When a person is depressed does not see beyond and has no strength to continue moving forward.
Many are the causes that cause fear of life.
Not knowing what you want, living under the expectations of others, comparing your achievements with others, influence of mental and physical illnesses possibly.
But the person has to understand that the fear of life will always be, but it should not be a reason to stop and not live the way the person wants.
How to overcome the fear of life?
To overcome the fear of life there are various actions the person can take to overcome the fear of life.
Fear is one of the emotions that is prevalent in human beings, and if it is true that it will not disappear forever it is best to accept it and live with it.
Accepting feeling fear of life does not mean that the person should live life in a negative way, but must recognize that it is part of itself and it is a kind of state of alert.
When there is a little fear this has a precautionary function.
It helps the person to see the danger in certain situations and to know what decision to make or not, fear helps to make the person more awake and analyze more the things that happen around.
Fear is that impulse that makes the person decide to take a risk that may be worthwhile.
For a person to overcome the fear of life it must recognize where those fears come from.
If these were unfounded through close people such as family and friends if it has an origin from a traumatic experience such as an accident or if from an illness that has caused the person to fear that something worse could happen.
When the source of the problem is known, it is easier to work on it.
If the person still fails to overcome their fear of living, the best thing they could do in this case is to seek medical help.
The psychologist will help the person to identify the fear, why are afraid to live life and work together so that the person lives life in a better way.
FAQs about the fear of life
How to overcome the fear of life after an accident that endangered my life?
The best way to overcome the fear of life after a traumatic situation, such as an accident, is to go to therapy because you may have post-traumatic stress.
PTSD is a mental health illness triggered by a terrifying situation since the person has experienced or witnessed.
Is it normal for a person to feel fear of life?
It is normal to hear and see that many people feel fear of life, but it does not mean that it is something positive and that the person has to live that way.
There is a difference to be afraid since this is a useful emotion and protects the person from possible dangers, but when talking about being afraid in a way that takes over the person’s life, it is not healthy.
How do I know if I feel fear of life?
The fear of life can be identified through the influence of fear has on a person’s life.
If fear controls in such a way that the person cannot perform their daily activities, if they feel unmotivated and find no meaning to anything, one could be talking about being afraid of life.
If this fear goes beyond having an alert function, it is also a characteristic that the person is having fear of life.
I am afraid to express my fear of life, but I am even more terrified of the idea that people can make fun of me, what can I do?
If you are afraid to express your fear of life to your family or friends, you can turn to the psychologist.
The psychologist is not going to make fun of you instead, it will show a positive attitude and make you see that there is nothing to fear, but it was a good idea to seek help.
Apart from resorting to the psychologist, people are aware of who can provide support within their circle.
Identify who are those people around you and who you know will help you.
How can I motivate myself to live my life after several failures?
Failures are part of people’s daily lives, but they should not be a reason to be afraid of life.
Failure is a good teacher because it teaches you what you should not do.
It is necessary to look at failure as something positive and that failure at certain times does not mean that the person is not good or that cannot achieve what is proposed.
Conclusion
Feeling fear of life should not impede for the person to enjoy and work on their goals. Fear, like all emotion, will always be present in the lives of human beings.
We must learn to recognize that fear has important functions in life since it works like that state of alert that helps the person identify the danger and know what to do.
Do not let the failures and bad experiences of the past interfere with the present.
The events of life have an instructive function and it is to teach people to be more resilient.
Learning to look at fear positively is a way to face every situation in daily life.
Recommended Links
- Fear of Life
- The Fear Book: Facing Fear Once and for All
- The Gift of Fear: And Other Survival Signals That Protect Us from ferocity
Break Free from the Grip of Phobias: Get Personalized Therapy on BetterHelp
