Fear is one of those experiences that, just because they are unpleasant, do not stop them from being totally normal. Being alive means facing this emotion relatively frequently, among other things because in most cases it helps us face the dangers and risks to which we expose ourselves.
However, everything has a limit, and there are cases in which, without realizing it, we learn to fear things in a way that works against us. For this reason, psychologists usually see frequent fears during their therapy sessions; These are psychological problems that lead some people to unconsciously sabotage themselves, whether due to trauma, a poorly managed grieving process, or simply due to a lack of education in managing emotions, among other causes.
If you are interested in knowing the characteristics and effects of the frequent fears that lead many people to seek psychological help keep reading.
First of all, let’s start by seeing in a summarized way what exactly fear consists of and why it is so common. This can be defined as one of the fundamental emotions of the human being, triggered by situations that are interpreted as dangerous; Its importance is such that practically all members of our species experience it and express it with the same facial expressions, regardless of what culture they belong to (with the exception of very young babies and rare cases in which there are certain neurological dysfunctions that affect the nervous system).
What does this tell us about the nature of fear? That has evolved as a mechanism of adaptation to the environment through natural selection: Thanks to the fact that we are capable of experiencing this emotion, our body and mind respond to those places and living beings that could pose a threat, and also communicate to others what is happening immediately, in a semi-conscious way. Since we are a social species and are usually surrounded by people, we are predisposed to notice small details in other people’s faces and detect subtle changes in facial expressions, so it is very useful to be able to detect danger signals in fractions of second intuiting what others feel.
Now, although the neurobiological mechanisms that trigger the fear reaction have surely not changed much in the last thousands of years, what can make us feel this emotion has been varying and diversifying. That is why among the most frequent fears seen in therapy, not all have to do with fearing physical harm. As we will see, many people have learned to be afraid of very abstract phenomena that have little to do with death or injury.
The frequent fears that are seen in the psychologist’s office
What evolved hundreds of thousands of years ago as a resource to survive and avoid at all costs the danger of suffering accidents or falling victim to predators, today also serves to confront a world dominated by complex psychosocial processes: Social pressure to fit into expectations, financial instability, fake news and conspiracy theories, etc.
Taking this into account, let’s see what are the common fears that are expressed in psychological therapy sessions, although remember that some of them may overlap with each other and share common characteristics. The most common phobias, having their own characteristics that are different from those of “normal” fears, will have a separate section below.
1. Fear of death
The fear of death is among the most widespread among both those who go to a psychologist and among those who have never been to a psychology center; however, It can occur at levels of intensity so high as to cause many problems and prevent you from enjoying a good quality of life. Sometimes it gives rise to self-checking routines and is associated with hypochondria; In other cases it is a more existential fear, which leads us to ask ourselves to what extent we are special as individuals.
This phenomenon is closely linked to anxiety when thinking that if certain unforeseen events occur (for example, losing all our money or suffering from an incurable illness) we can lose our essence, what we assumed would never change in us and in our way of living. . Is a type of discomfort that is especially common in times of economic crisis.
3. Fear of rejection
The fear of rejection is linked to catastrophic thoughts about what it would mean to not have the acceptance of a certain social group, or a specific person (for example, our partner). It usually predisposes us to behave like a submissive person and incapable of defending our opinions and interests assertively.
4. Fear of loneliness
This is another of the common fears that have to do with social life, and it presents some differences from the previous one. Here, what produces fear is the unwanted loneliness itself, the fact of living without feeling a significant emotional connection with almost anyone ; It is not about worrying about losing a social relationship with specific people we already know.
5. Fear of looking like a family member
This fear appears especially in people who have grown up in broken families. The idea that ancestors, cousins and siblings are a reflection of what we could become if certain conditions are met makes many people feel terrified and have a very biased and pessimistic view of aspects such as genetic predisposition to develop mental illnesses, antisocial personality traits, etc.
6. Fear of losing control of what is done
Typically, this type of fear takes the form of a fear of harming loved ones or endangering oneself. It is linked to self-esteem problems and/or the fact of having developed a real psychopathology, such as schizophrenia or intermittent explosive disorder.
This is another of those frequent fears associated with existential crises; Those who suffer from it feel stuck in life and they suffer a lot of discomfort at the idea of not doing anything significant with those projects in which they invest their efforts.
What are the most common phobias?
When we talk about phobias, we are referring to a type of pathological fear that is part of anxiety disorders, and is characterized by a sudden rise in anxiety levels in a matter of seconds when faced with certain stimuli, which also do not pose a real objective danger. If in the list of frequent fears that we have seen before that emotion is experienced as a diffuse discomfort, in the phobia a reaction appears more similar to a panic attack, leading the person to feel that they are losing control of their body and that they need Immediately leave the place where you are exposing yourself to this stimulus.
On the other hand, although there are several types of phobias and what triggers their symptoms varies greatly, in general the latter are almost always the same: dizziness, tremors, rapid breathing, rapid increase in blood pressure, catastrophic thoughts about what what will happen next, feeling faint, etc.
These are the most common phobias:
Although this form of fear produces a lot of discomfort and is reflected in much more spectacular symptoms than the frequent fears we saw before, Paradoxically, it is easier to treat them in psychotherapy ; The phobia is usually well defined, and it is not very complicated to help a patient face these pathological fears with such specific triggers.
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