The Presence of Fear in People's Lifes

We all fear something, right? Everybody fears something or someone and we can’t live without fear.. While some may appear seemingly ridiculous such as a fear of flowers, that fear could actually save a life due to certain poisonous appearing seemingly innocent looking flowers. An example of this is the ‘Nerium Oleander’ or ‘Sweetly scented killer’. Our ancestors all had fears which has led to the human race living for so many centuries. There are two types of fear irrational and rational. For example, arachnophobia, the fear of spiders.

There is always more to a fear than what meets the eye. While certain fears have multiple causes, others may simply have just one. Those with a restricted number of fears for example; acrophobia and arachnophobia, may have these two fears and no others. Occasionally, there is only one cause; if this is the case, then it is likely to be from a traumatic event. An example of a fear that would have kept our ancestors alive would have been automatonophobia or the fear of human-like figures. This has successfully kept our ancestors alive if there was a human-like figure stalking around their house. A ‘normal’ fear is ophidiophobia or the fear of snakes. While many fears are perceived as normal or abstract, in the end, those fears are all too real for those who have them.

All fears are viewed slightly differently. If we live without the fears we already have, we would most likely be dead. Humans tend to fear what is different and not familiar to them, such as change in lifestyle or the fear of the unknown. An example of this is when someone is responding to a medical emergency and is performing CPR. An abnormal fear seen within society is vehophobia more commonly known as the fear of driving a car as well as boarding public transport. While it is possible to walk to certain destinations, it is challenging to get to further destinations.

Post traumatic stress disorder is a mental condition concerning the behaviours of certain people due to certain events that have happened and affected them in the past. Frank Herbert’s text, ‘Dune’ examines the ultimate idea of how fear can potentially destroy and consume a life through; “I must not fear. Fear is a mind-killer… When fear is gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” Herbert’s use of personification through “Fear is a mind-killer” highlights how fear can severely affect those that have post traumatic stress disorder. People shown to have PTSD, seem to react violently as well as scared, at what sounds like a gun, due to what occurred during their lives in the war. This reaction stems from a similar cause, a distressing or traumatic event in their life.

As individuals within a society that is forever growing, fear can end up being judged differently than it was in the last decade or so. But this does not imply that the concept and perspective on fear has changed. On the whole, the human race would be extinct if fear was not present. But, in the end, what is fear, really?