We all have fears. Every one of us. That is because fear is a natural human emotion.
In short, fear is the brain’s way of protecting us. Most of the time, it serves us well. Like when you are up on some mountain somewhere, and you get near a cliff. Seeing the incredible drop to the ground 400 feet below gives most of us a fear of falling. However, sometimes that fear can get out of proportion to the actual danger at hand. And who knows. Sometimes, that fear might begin to interfere with everyday life. Like when you have a little step ladder in the kitchen to reach a shelf, but you can’t get up on the first step because you have that same fear of falling.
In those cases, fear can become a phobia or anxiety disorder.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, millions of Americans live with phobias or related anxiety disorders. About 12.5% of U.S. adults—or 1 in 8 people—will experience a specific phobia at some point during their lifetime. That’s a big bunch of us.
These conditions are far more than ordinary nervousness. They are as real as I am sitting here typing. A phobia can trigger rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, dizziness, trembling, and even nausea. It gives us an overwhelming urge to escape or avoid certain situations altogether.
The most common phobias are:
The fear of flying, heights, spiders, snakes, needles, enclosed spaces, germs, open or inescapable places (agoraphobia), and clusters of small holes, known as trypophobia.
While some of these fears may seem unusual, they often have understandable roots. Researchers believe many are influenced by a combination of things. They might come from our genetics, personal experience, or childhood events. They could even be caused by our evolutionary instincts that once helped humans avoid danger.
Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that phobias are genuine medical conditions. They don’t mean that we are weak or that we lack courage. They are simply our phobia fears.
But here is another thing. Fear does not always come from spiders, snakes, or heights. Sometimes, fear comes from people. More specifically, it comes from people we do not understand.
That may explain part of our current political divide. Many Americans no longer simply disagree with the other political party. They distrust it. They fear it. They imagine the worst about the people on the other side.
Research from Pew has shown that intensely negative views of the opposing party have grown sharply over the past decade. Many studies on America’s “perception gap” suggest that people often misunderstand what those on the other side actually believe.
In that way, political fear can work much like any other fear. When something feels unfamiliar, threatening, or beyond our control, the mind fills in the blanks. Our minds. And often, it fills them in with the negative. I know I tell myself stories all the time. I think many of us do the same thing.
But with that said, some political disagreements are real and serious. Values matter. Laws matter. Leadership matters.
But fear can turn disagreement into hostility. It can make neighbors look like enemies. It can make ordinary people seem dangerous simply because they see the world differently.
I’m not sure how we conquer this kind of fear. Or the hostilities. I mean. We do not have to agree with everyone. But perhaps we can try to see people more clearly before we decide to fear them. Or dislike them.
I know this example from experience. Some people hate anyone who is LGBTQ. Some people think we are mentally ill, or sick, or evil. But in truth, we are simply homosexual, or a variation of sexual, other than heterosexual. There are just fewer of us. It is a little bit like being left-handed. Ninety percent of the population is right-handed. That doesn’t mean that there is anything wrong with the 10% who are left-handed. Same thing with hetero (90%) and gay (10%). We’re just fewer in number, that’s all.
Anyway. Fear comes in all sizes and shapes. It affects us all.
I wish that in this world, we could all look at our fears rationally and work our way through them.
“”””””””
“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear.” — H. P. Lovecraft
“”””””””
“Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
“”””””””
“The enemy is fear. We think it is hate; but, it is fear.” — Mahatma Gandhi
“”””””””
“Fear is the path to the dark side.” — Yoda
“”””””””
“When we know people, we cease to fear them.” — Dorothy Thompson
“”””””””
