Identification and honest acceptance of one’s fears is the first step towards winning over them. Following is a list of commonly found fears. Mark the fears that you have.
Fear of Unknown (death, darkness, etc.) Fear of nature (flood, earthquake, etc.)
Fear of insecurity (old age, height, space, etc.) Fear of people (teachers, doctors, boss, etc.)
a) Fear of darkness : Darkness means lack of light. People who fear darkness cannot go into the kitchen to drink water in the night. They fear that there is someone unknown in the dark. Things get worse if they happened to watch a horror show on television.
b) Fear of future : Future is unknown and uncertain and thus people worry about it. Too much anxiety and worry about the future makes us fearful of the future.
c) Fear of death : The thought of death of someone near and dear or the thought of one’s own death always causes fear in the minds of people. If a funeral procession is passing by, children are prevented from seeing it or are told to put their hand on their head, etc. Death, Ghosts, Spirits, Black Magic, etc. are unknown things. We fear these things due to ignorance. Life after death too is unknown and thus the thought of death makes people uneasy and insecure.
d) Fear of God : Fear of God prevails in many forms. Many believe that cutting hair on a certain day or eating sour food on a specific day, not accepting offerings, or not kneeling before a temple deity with due respect...all such things make God angry. These beliefs prevail because we do not know God and therefore end up believing the hearsay.
People ask, “Is God really there?”Well, the answer is, “God alone is. Ascertain if you are there.”
Fear of Nature This fear includes fear of wild animals, fire, storms, water, lightning, earthquake, etc.
a) Fear of animals : Some women, if they come to know that there is a cockroach, lizard, etc. in their kitchen, will not enter the kitchen. Some will even go to the extent of declaring: “Take the lizard out of the house at once. Either the lizard will stay in this house or I.” Fear of animals includes the fear of even pet animals like dogs, cats, etc.
b) Fear of diseases/illness : People hear or read the names of various new diseases every day and get frightened. These frightened people then search for symptoms of such diseases in themselves. If they find any, which they are sure to, they exaggerate it and start fearing that they have acquired the disease.
c) Fear of water : Many people fear water. Due to this fear, they do not enter swimming pools or ponds. They fear even going near water.
d) Fear of open roads and open sky: Some people fear open space. They have difficulty even when crossing highways.
e) Fear of accident/blood: Some people feel giddy when they see an accident or if they see blood.Fear of insecurity
People feel insecure for various reasons:
a) Fear of old age: People fear being without work, being away from family and children and the perils that come with old age.
b) Fear of heights: Some people feel giddy when they look down from heights. They cannot even enjoy the roller coaster rides in amusement parks.
c) Fear of closed places: Some people fear closed places. They would rather use the stairs than take the elevator. They even hate to go in a car or enter a telephone booth.
d) Fear of number 13: In Western countries, some people have fear of No. 13 - 13th date, 13th floor, etc.Fear of People
Many inventions have not progressed further just because of the fear of people. Because the inventor thinks, “What will people say?” The fear of people can instead be called ‘the fear of criticism’. Many people do not speak English as they fear people’s criticism if they happen to speak wrong English. A person cannot bear criticism of himself from others. If we observe our daily lives, we will find that we do or don't do many things only because of the fear of ‘others’.
a) Fear of stage: Many people suffer from ‘stage fear’ or the fear of public speaking. Their thinking is that if 400 people are sitting in the audience, there are 800 eyes staring at me. What will they say if I make a mistake?
b) Fear of teachers : In schools, some children fear teachers or ridicule from their classmates. Due to this fear they do not attempt to ask questions. They have difficulty in even answering the questions they know well.
c) Fear of doctors: Many people fear doctors. Primarily some fear injections. They will take the bitterest of medicines and even tolerate health problems, but will avoid taking injections, not to speak of operations.
d) Fear of pundits: Pundits or priests are adept at extracting money from people by creating fear. They make statements such as, “The Gods are angry with you because you have not performed this ritual. It is very important for the well being of you and your family.” Ignorant people believe in them and also fear them.
e) Fear of boss: People fear their boss since they fear being dismissed from their job. Owing to this fear, they are unable to work properly and constantly make mistakes.
Uncommon FearsComparatively fewer people have these fears:
Fear of lying: People fear that they may be caught if they tell a lie.
Fear of one’s own anger: Some people fear what they may do in a fit of rage... break things, hit someone, etc.
Fear of dying unmarried: Some people fear that they may die before their marriage.
Fear of keeping a big amount: Some people fear having too much money since they believe that it may invite theft or murder.
Fear of Stars: Some people do everything after consulting the astrologers on the position of their stars. Their routine life also is at the mercy of stars.
Useful FearsNot all fears are harmful. Some fears are necessary for our safety. E.g.: Fear of falling, fear of loud noise, fear of life threatening animals, etc. While climbing down a flight of stairs, if we start falling, we immediately catch hold of the railings. This is necessary for our body’s safety. Thus, it is a useful fear.
If the fear of exam makes a student concentrate better then it is useful.Likewise if the fear of audience makes the speaker prepare his subject matter better or if the fear of boss makes a person focused on his work, then these fears are useful.
However, if these fears increase so much that instead of helping they start hampering one’s performance, then they need to be addressed.
Some Common Phobias AgoraphobiaAcrophobia
Aerophobia Algophobia : an abnormal fear of being in open or public places : an abnormal fear of being in high places
: an abnormal fear of air : an abnormal fear of pain
Claustrophobia: an abnormal fear of being in an enclosed or confined place
Gynephobia : an abnormal fear of womenHydrophobia : an abnormal fear of water Monophobia
Necrophobia
Zoophobia : an abnormal fear of being alone
: an abnormal fear of death or of dead bodies
: an abnormal fear of animals