Fear of failure is the main obstacle that stands between you and your goals. This is the anxiety you feel when you imagine the terrible things that could happen if you don't achieve what you want. Anxiety causes you to stagnate or give up. Therefore, success largely depends on our ability to cope with this fear.
How to stop him from getting in your way?
Where does fear begin?
Is fear good or bad? How does fear affect our lives? How to part with him? If you are asking such questions, then my article will be useful to you.
Fear is an emotion that arises in a person in response to real or imaginary danger.
When the situation has already happened and we feel fear, this is a real danger. In the case of an imaginary danger, the event has not yet occurred, maybe it will not happen at all, but the person is already experiencing fear.
Just think about it: nothing has happened yet, and the person is already worried and stressed. Just some kind of masochism.
I really like how the character in the movie After Earth, played by Will Smith, gave his definition of fear:
- There is no fear in reality! Fear lives in one corner, in our thoughts about the future. Fear is a figment of our imagination. He makes us afraid of what is not and probably never will be! This is pure madness. Danger is a fact, and fear is your choice!
In nature, fear plays the role of a savior. If there is a threat to the life of an animal, it has two options: run or attack.
Famous psychologist and doctor A.I. Zakharov wrote that fear is based on the instinct of self-preservation, has a protective nature and is accompanied by physiological changes, which are reflected in the pulse and respiration rates, blood pressure, and the secretion of gastric juice.
Phobia of insects. What is the name of the fear of insects and methods of treating phobia
Fear of insects is a common phenomenon among people of all ages. Disgust and fear are the body’s natural defensive reaction in the face of possible danger. But if the appearance of an insect or even the thought of it causes a person to have an uncontrollable panic attack, we can talk about the development of a phobia.
What is insect phobia
Fear of insects most often develops in childhood, although it can also occur in adults. A person can be afraid of any insect - from dangerous bees to a harmless butterfly. At the same time, panic fear can be caused by both a separate subspecies of insects and absolutely all flying or crawling individuals.
What is the name of
What is the fear of spiders and insects called? This question often arises among people suffering from this disorder. To denote a phobia of insects in official medicine, the term “insectophobia” or “entomophobia” is used. This mental disorder belongs to a type of zoophobia, that is, fear of animals.
What is the essence of the disease
Fear of crawling and flying creatures is a natural manifestation of the instinct of self-preservation, which is inherent in humans at the genetic level. If fear becomes an obsessive state that cannot be controlled, a mental disorder is diagnosed - a phobia.
The disease manifests itself not only when looking at an insect, but even when thinking about it. In such cases, fear is associated not so much with the object of the phobia itself, but with the image that appears in the imagination when seeing an insect.
Types of fear of insects
Phobia has many varieties, depending on the number of all existing insects.
The name of such phobias is also different:
- arachnophobia – fear of spiders;
- myrmecophobia – fear of ants;
- acaraphobia – fear of ticks;
- dipterophobia – fear of flies;
- apiophobia – fear of bees;
- isopterophobia – panic fear of termites;
- cnidophobia – fear of wasps and other stinging insects;
- Scoleciphobia – fear of worms;
- lepidopterophobia – fear of butterflies;
- blattophobia – fear of cockroaches.
Fear can also be caused by a mosquito - most often people are afraid not of the creature itself, but of the disease that it can carry. This phobia in medicine does not yet have an official name.
Causes of fear
To get rid of insectophobia, it is imperative to establish the cause of its development. In official medicine, there are two theories that explain why a person developed panic fear - Freud's psychodynamic theory and the behaviorist theory.
Freud's psychodynamic theory
According to Freud's psychodynamic theory, which for a long time was considered the only one in medicine, the reason for the development of insectophobia lies in special mechanisms that push into the subconscious factors that protect a person in the event of danger.
For many centuries, people have tried to completely control nature and drown out these alarming signals. This led to a distortion of the mental defense mechanism. As a result, anxiety passed into the unconscious area, provoking panic fear of familiar, everyday subjects.
As Freud argued, this is how insectophobia develops. But since fear is based in the subconscious area, only qualified psychological assistance can help a person with this.
Behavioral theory
Today it is the behavioral (behaviourist) theory that predominates in official medicine. Most experts adhere to it. According to behavioral theory, a person feels intense fear, which develops in two ways - conditioned or modeled. Each of them has its own specific features.
Conditional path
The conditioned path of development of fear is based on psychological trauma received in childhood. A child who sees an insect or is attacked by one can become very frightened. In this case, the creature can be absolutely anything - a grasshopper, a butterfly, a fly, a worm.
Also, insectophobia often develops if a child first sees an insect in a place with which he has unpleasant, frightening associations. In adult men and women, the causes of the disorder have real causes - for example, fear after being attacked by bees or spiders.
Simulated path
According to the modeling pathway, the development of a phobic disorder is associated with external factors. Most often, the cause is the behavior of another person - the child observes the fear and perceives this model of behavior as correct.
Also, a disease in a child can be caused by a parent’s prohibition from touching insects, due to which he perceives them as something bad and scary.
Another provoking factor is films and cartoons in which insects act as killers or villains. Therefore, parents need to closely monitor what their children watch.
Submit or fight back?
More and more often we hear on TV, at trainings from psychologists and speakers:
“Fear is cool!”
“So success awaits you ahead.”
“Go towards fear - this is the zone of your development.”
“Get out of the swamp—this is your growth zone.”
It’s easy to say, but difficult to do, you’ll say, and you’ll be right. Having once knocked on your head and settled there, fear will become your constant companion.
I’m writing an article and I’m afraid how you will evaluate it, how you will perceive it. The fear of the “imposter” challenges me, and I accept it or surrender to its mercy.
Good or bad is a relative concept. Everyone makes a choice for themselves. I know that you can negotiate with fear and even make it an ally.
Fear has two roots:
- Fear of death.
- Fear of physical harm.
Stop feeding the beast
It is clear that all fears are different. In the event of an emergency, our response may be instinctive and automatic. But destructive fears are beyond our control. The perception of unhealthy fear is contagious and is often exacerbated by propaganda. Constant exposure to sensational bad news is a perfect example. Movies, TV shows and computer games that focus on crime and violence send a powerful message to our subconscious. It is difficult to feel safe in a war zone.
Analyze what you feed your mind. If you want to surround yourself with positive energy, think about the good, the good, the eternal. When it comes to the perception of reality, we always have a choice: live in constant fear or enjoy life.
Where is the line between imaginary fear and real danger?
It is important to understand and remember: what is dangerous is prohibited.
For example:
1. The child took a chair and wants to look out the window on the 15th floor. You shout: “You can’t, get off immediately!” The child does not understand why. He is curious, but not scared, but you are very much!
It would be more correct to say: “This is dangerous, you might fall.” Believe me, the child will hear you. And, perhaps, you will not develop a fear of heights in him, but in his small but already smart head he will understand that leaning out of the window is dangerous.
2. A child has a dream, he calls you: “Dad, mom, I’m scared.” You say: “This is a dream, forget it and sleep.” But for a child the dream is real, it is alive. Fear settled in his head. Talk to your child about his fear: what does this fear want, what is it like? In the morning, draw on a piece of paper and burn it demonstratively. And throw the ashes into the toilet. Celebrate your victory over fear with your child.
Adults have many fears, which are sometimes veiled by the phrases “I don’t want”, “I won’t”, “I can’t”.
For example:
1. You are invited to play volleyball on the beach - you refuse. In fact, you are scared: you are bad at volleyball, so the fear of being ridiculed or looking awkward is holding you back and controlling you.
2. You are invited to go to a karaoke club - you say that you don’t know how to sing. In fact, you are afraid of the evaluation of others.
3. You are offered a new project at work that you can only dream of, but the fear of failure cripples you, and you refuse it, missing the opportunity.
4. You are offered to speak at an event - you have something to share, but you are afraid.
5. You did something and are wondering if I did the right thing, if I hurt anyone, etc. Events from another reality are developing in your thoughts.
6. “My husband pays less attention. Maybe he has a mistress? - you think. Fear has swallowed logic, and you are looking for confirmation of this, picturing betrayal in your head, crying, suffering, but for real.
Why do you need to deal with fears?
“Just think, I’m afraid of water, I won’t go into the water, I’m afraid to drive a car, I’ll ride as a passenger.” In fact, this suggests that there is a deep conflict + an emotion that has not been fully lived out. In this state, biology reacts either with changes in the body, or it is programmed and passed on through generations as experience. We define such changes in the future as diseases. If we don't solve the problem, our body solves it.
In other words, there is a program that can lead to a very unpleasant result for us, perhaps even death. Fear protects us and prevents this program from being realized.
Fear has an Achilles heel
Each person can independently overcome fear if they go through the following stages:
1. Awareness of fear: “Yes, I have a fear of the dark.”
2. Acceptance of fear. Admit to yourself: “Yes, I’m scared.” You have the right to be afraid. Once you accept fear, it will begin to weaken by the minute. And you start taking active action.
3. Transformation of fear.
Pills for fear
1. Imagine and live in your head the worst case scenario - this will help reduce the importance of the experience and reduce fear. When you experience fear, it loses its power.
2. Do an exercise: replace fear with interest, anxiety with curiosity. “It’s terribly interesting to know: how will I cope with this, and what lies ahead for me?”
3. See the benefit in fear. “I’m afraid of the dark, which means I won’t walk alone at night,” “I’m afraid to fly, which means I’ll study all the safety precautions and choose the safest airline, and maybe I’ll become a famous engineer-inventor.”
4. Ask yourself questions: “When did fear first arise?”, “What exactly am I afraid of?”, “Real or imaginary fear?”, “Why am I afraid?”, “Does my fear have a reason?” Ask yourself questions more often - they will return you to the “here and now” state, to reality.
5. Visualize a successful option. Prepare yourself a comfortable space, close your eyes, relax, imagine your fear and feel how you conquer it, overcome it. The mind is unable to distinguish imaginary events from real ones. After overcoming the imaginary fear in your head, you will feel much better, since new neural connections have already been laid at the subconscious level.
6. Communicate with fear. The key to overcoming fear is that it always speaks to us. Below is a technique for communicating with your fears.
7. Look for confirmation of the success of the fight against fear, how a person with the same fear got rid of it.
8. Find the roots of fear - this is 50% of success.
9. Don’t create rituals and don’t be fooled by signs. When you forget something, don't think, "If I return home, something bad will happen to me."
10. Solve this problem with a specialist if other options do not work.
If you are afraid of a bear in the forest
I love going to the forest to pick mushrooms. I used to be convinced that sooner or later I would encounter a bear. I constantly played out this scenario in my mind and made different plans for what I would do if I met a bear. I read various instructions and advice on how to act correctly when meeting a bear. Of course, I imagined different situations.
Meeting with a bear
And then, one fine day I went into the forest to pick cranberries. A huge swamp, almost without trees. My partners ran in different directions. Suddenly I heard a rustling sound from behind. I turned around to see what the noise was and saw a huge black muzzle appear out of nowhere. She was looking straight at me. The bear was close, very close, and it really took me by surprise.
Before I tell you what happened next, I suggest you stop for a minute and imagine yourself in this situation. This is a big bear, he is so close that in one jump he can jump on you. What would you do?
To be afraid or not to be afraid was out of the question! In the next seconds, my actions happened on autopilot. Whatever plans I had made for this meeting ceased to matter. I immediately jumped up and ran as far as I could. When I turned around, I saw that the bear was also running, but in the opposite direction.
I was surprised and a little disappointed by what happened. Instead of using tricks and tricks in practice, I was transported through time and space by the power of adrenaline. Why was fear stronger?
One more meeting
I once went to the Urals. There were poisonous vipers there. I knew that when encountering a snake, there was no need to run or throw stones at it. You just need to treat her with respect and calmly pass by.
One day, while walking through the forest, I looked down and saw that I had almost stepped on a viper. And again, with the help of the mysterious power of adrenaline, she was thrown a kilometer away from the danger zone.
