The sum of all fears

If you do your own research, you will find that there are only two primal fears – fear of heights and fear of a loud noise. Psychology today has identified and catalogued many kinds of fears—from fear of spiders to social anxiety disorder and panic attacks. There is a phobia studied and named for any type of a situation that one faces in life. But the only true double take is heights and loud noise.

If that is internalised, it proves all other fears are imaginary or even artificial. The attempt here is not to belittle the suffering of people who are afflicted with grave psychological disorders. It is just to make a point that the vast majority of fears that people suffer from are their own making— thanks to the chemical reactions that characterize their brain activity.

People who have dogs as pets at home dread Deepavali. The way the dogs react to cracker noise in enough to prove the initial hypothesis-fear of loud noise. And fear of heights (technically the fear of falling) is something that is extremely common. People have nightmares about such fear and wake up from sleep in the dead of the night.

That said, how do you overcome all the other imaginary fears that excite, confuse and weaken the mind? Courage is the only answer. There is very little medication, and therapy can do to treat phobias.

One must learn to deal with it personally. One must tackle trigger situations head on and survive the episode. Avoidance can help a little; but how many daunting life situations can one avoid permanently?

I am not a qualified psychiatrist or clinical psychologist, but it has been my experience that self-awareness can do wonders.

I have experienced paranoia and even explored it many times, at many levels. Paranoia is nothing like a phobia. It is all pervasive and throttling. It is pathological.

When I encounter people or situations that are unavoidable, it is necessary for me to question my delusive beliefs.

Ask questions like: ‘Is this person really dangerous?’ ‘What is the worst that can happen to me?’ ‘Am I really in danger or is it just in my head?’ ‘How would a normal person react to this kind of a situation?’

And above all, I don’t despair. I remain hopeful that all the pain is transient. I am not the powerless person that my mind is making me feel. I am stronger than that. And this, too, shall pass.