One of the most common and primal emotion that is found in every human being is ‘fear’. Every human being, regardless of his or her age or circumstances, experiences fear at any stage of life. It can be the fear of dark, fear of being alone, fear of certain animals and insects, fear of failure, fear of monetary loss and many others.

Fear develops mainly because of uncertainty and doubt. When there is the feeling of not knowing what will happen next, fear creeps into the mind. Fear sometimes becomes so dominant that it completely takes over one’s lifestyle. For instance, the fear of failure sometimes drives the person to becoming a workaholic.

Sometimes fears develop into forms of uncontrollable psychological disorders and become phobias. According to the basic theory attempting to explain the occurrence of phobias and other irrational fears, fears are psychological traumas, experienced in one’s childhood, that have been forgotten, but a part of them has been stamped on one’s subconscious forever.

Researchers argue that only two types of fear are inbuilt in our DNA that we are born with, i.e., fear of height (Acrophobia) and fear of loud noises (Acoustic phobia). These two kinds of fears are transmitted from one generation to another. All other fears are acquired by each individual based on different experiences throughout life. There are mainly two types of fear, i.e. external fear and internal fear. External fear is often triggered by outside factors, such as all types of phobias, that are fear of things outside of ones own self. However, internal fear is one that develops inside a person as a form of negative emotion, such as low self esteem, which is often developed as a result of destructive criticism meted out towards children in early stages of life.

Fear is often connected to pain. We begin to fear any situation that we know will cause pain to us in either physical or emotional form. Buddha, the able One, says, “Thus, all fears and all infinite sufferings arise from the mind. It is not possible to control all external events, but, if I simply control my mind, what need is there to control other things?”

Edward Strecker and John Appel have described the main cause of fear in their book Discovering Ourselves, published by the Macmillan Company, New York. 1963. There are three basic causes of fear. These are: the possibility of harm, the possibility of frustration (the failure to achieve), and the possibility of not surviving. Any of these fears may be caused by real or imagined threats.

Reasonable fear is a good thing as it helps keep us safe by enabling us to sense and respond to danger. While fear is often our best friend, saving us from dangerous situations, it can also get out of control. Stress, fear and anxiety if left unchecked, can significantly damage a person’s health. So, evaluate your fears right now, leaving out the constructive fear, deal with your irrational fear before it takes control of you.