Fear Factor

Just the other day sitting on one of the last benches of my classroom, I was wondering why we fear - why does anybody fear for that matter...! Human beings, animals and even plants, anything that has life shows signs of anxiety and fear.

There are some people who are afraid of public speaking. Sight of audience troubles them. Camera fear, stage fear are some very common social anxieties. For some a pool of soothing water seems sickening, getting wet or merely splashed by water aggravates their anxiety. Some dislike mathematics to such an extent that it ultimately becomes a nightmare for them. And there are still others who find escalators very scary and have declared it to be one of the most discomforting inventions of man.

Few people suffer from the worst kind of fear, which I guess you’d find nowhere in the phobia list- these living beings experience gooseflesh and almost panic while answering their friend’s proxy at college!

I have a fear of heights – a very mild form of acrophobia. I discovered this only a couple of years ago. Before which I felt it was absolutely normal to experience a little discomfort and dizziness while looking down from height. That means I’d developed this fear without even knowing it.

My mother, a psychologist, told me that human fear is a normal defence mechanism and is essential for improving our behaviour, performance and learning. We are afraid of things that are present – that can be seen and/or felt by us but when this fear gets exaggerated to the verge of causing anxiety about things that are not physically present, it becomes phobia – a mental disorder.

What is it about heights that scares me?
"It is certainly not height that bothers me. It is ‘the impact’ that terrifies me." Yes, ‘the impact’ terrifies everybody. ‘The impact’ could be either ‘failure’ or ‘pain’ – the only two reasons that cause all our fear.