Fear: sources, causes, remedies. How to overcome and conquer fear.

I'm a natural disaster

In Ancient India, it was believed that each person is born under three elements, which correspond to the year, month and hour of our birth. The use of proven images in practical work was first proposed by a psychoanalyst, employee of the Research Institute of Psychology of the Russian Academy of Sciences Boris Krasnov . The theory has nothing to do with the horoscope, although there is a cyclical similarity here - there are exactly 12 elements.

According to this theory, a person who was born, for example, in 1954 (fire) on December 7 (soil) at 22.30 (clay) will be active and demonstrative in behavior all his life, will devote all his strength to his career, will love sensual pleasures and outdoor recreation.

Fortunately, few people belong to one element. People who have a little bit of everything are harmonious individuals. It’s scary when parents or teachers re-educate a child and teach him to be ashamed of his desires. A love of intrigue (coal) is not at all as bad as hyperactivity (lotus) or sensuality (clay). This is human nature, and it must be demonstrated. Otherwise, neurosis and self-destruction will replace the pleasure of living.

What is fear?

Fear is anxiety in the mind that arises from visualizations of future events that could potentially bring suffering. Fear arises at the moment a thought form appears, which shows us that this or that action will cause suffering in the future. When we imagine a picture of unhappiness, we experience fear. However, such pictures rarely come true, since the imagination often chooses the worst of all events, the probability of which is extremely low.

Fear arises in a weak mind and an idle mind.

An idle mind will always be drawn to different thought forms. These are dreams and plans, memories and fears. The topic of fear binds the mind the most because it is the most difficult to get rid of. A mind engaged in activity does not have the ability to produce thought forms that sometimes induce sadness, sometimes joy, sometimes fear. An exaggerated sense of fear is a sign of an unbridled mind.

A weak mind is more likely to experience fear because it has no goals, no guidelines, and nothing to rely on. And in the fight against fear, it simply has no counterweight. If a person is ready to devote his life to something, this means that his mind will easily cope with fear. However, if the question “why do I live and what do I want?” If a dull emptiness appears in your head and the phrase “I don’t know,” then most likely fears will haunt such a mind.

Happy Pentium Man

What prevents us from having fun today? 80 out of 100 people will say: the frantic pace of life. The regularity of two hundred years ago, when you washed once every two weeks and always slept after lunch, is a thing of the past. We have two ways - to suffer through that life or to be happy, increasing the speed and volume of RAM. Computer definition and human life are not a contradiction. There are techniques that teach you to live proactively. Diaries written out three years in advance, planning your life, no fear of action - this is happiness that is not yet available to most. When we see such people, we think: “Poor computer people!” and we don’t even suspect what a pleasure it is to live quickly.

Fear is suffering

We are afraid of our past because we fear it will repeat itself in the future. We are afraid of the present because in a few moments we will be promised suffering. Fear itself is the fear of suffering. Receiving satisfaction is usually called happiness. Thus, a person strives to achieve happiness and fears suffering. This seems reasonable in the context of the everyday worldview. Who wants to experience suffering?

However, taking a closer look at this thought, we discover that the fear of suffering often comes when there is no threat itself. There are only assumptions about her. A person who avoids suffering and strives for happiness is a common picture of an unhappy person. With all his might he is looking for himself and the opportunity to enjoy life, but he is constrained by the fear of losing something or of receiving suffering rather than happiness as a result.

However, the hard work of achieving results does not always look like a creative flight or a triumphal march from one victory to another. It often seems like a path from one suffering to another, but how can a person who is pathologically afraid of experiencing the smallest amount of suffering go through this path to the end? Hardly. Sometimes a person takes too much care of himself, fearing suffering, but at the same time he is in search of a happy path. This is a childish view and a very immature way of looking at the world.

Even after finding our true path, we will be forced to experience suffering for various reasons. However, refusing to search for your path, only because of the presence of suffering on it, is the same as refusing water, only because then you feel thirsty again and look for such water that can quench your thirst forever .

Through stress to the stars

It turns out that stress is a necessary condition for a happy life. During psychological training, it is artificially simulated so that a person can express himself and get rid of aggression. Under stress, a person behaves depending on what elements influence him: someone breaks chairs, waves their arms (fire), another experiences the situation in silence (earth). In the latter case, the specialist’s task is to force the “silent one” to disperse and throw out a charge of negative energy. Both in words and gestures. Only in this way can a person experience the pleasure of liberation. Many psychotherapists are confident that the inability to live joyfully and to splash out aggression provokes diseases: constipation, intestinal pain, infertility... Working with stress and suppressed aggression is one of the ways to find the path to a new life.

Sources of fear

Fear also arises from mental attitudes. There are a huge number of mentalities, but it is enough to give one example to understand the mentality of fear - this is the mentality of the victim. The victim is not able to take responsibility for his life and his decisions, and since life is not under his control, a constant feeling of fear of the future becomes an integral part of such a life.

We also recommend this article: Suppress desires, satisfy, refuse or control?

Fear arises from ignorance - lack of knowledge. When a person does not have knowledge, he does not know what is right and what is wrong. He does not know what to do in certain circumstances and therefore often stumbles upon suffering. And his whole life turns into a series of wrong actions and retribution for them.

Ignorance is the dominance of false ego over a living being. The more a person identifies himself with the outside world, with the body, family, wealth, the more room there is for anxiety and fear. There is no doubt that everything material is constantly in motion and brings us joy that deprives us of common sense, and suffering that deprives us of self-control.

What is the beauty of Russian wives

In addition to particular characteristics, we have a unifying principle: the soul of the nation, mentality. Ethnopsychologists seriously discuss the characteristics and priorities of peoples. Everyone’s genetic memory is different, as are their ideas about what is good and what is bad. Hence the differences in national character. For example, in Korea, no matter what elements ruled over individuals, the cult of law, hierarchy, and submission reigned in society. And he completely equalized people - for the most part, Koreans, even those living in Russia, are an “iron” nation. In Europe, with its liberal values, respect for private property and order, elements such as earth and soil predominate... And in Russia, where short periods of stability alternated with eras of chaos, water, clay, and swamp predominate - the elements of simple human pleasures. So, compared to others, we are the most contented nation in the world. And perhaps this is why the ratings of Russian wives are so high - prudent Europeans want to bring a little chaos, emotions and pleasures into their strictly regulated lives with their wives.

Personal opinion

Daniil Spivakovsky:

– The child brings into society what his mother and father give him. This is why I am actively involved in raising my daughter; we communicate a lot. She leads an active lifestyle. When she was 4 months old, we went abroad together. Whenever possible, my wife and daughter are with me. They can even go with me to other cities. My wife Svetlana and I are very sensitive parents in this sense.

Pleasure and fear

Fear has a strong influence on a person who very much strives to enjoy the fruits of his labor or strives to enjoy at all. Such a person is afraid not only of losing something of his own, but he is also afraid of the possibility of not receiving rewards or pleasures. Thus, the enjoyer has twice as many fears in his head. This can be experienced first hand. Remember the moments when you did not feel fear: did you act then out of a sense of duty or out of a desire to enjoy?

In fact, we fear being wrong more than we fear suffering. It is easier to endure several blows for someone who knows that it is right than to endure one blow for someone who knows that it is wrong. But when we know that what we are doing is correct, we do not experience suffering, because we are protected by the very thought that we are right. But this thought is no protection if we do not understand the truth. Having understood the truth and following it, a person gets rid of fear and becomes free.

Dharma rakshati rakshitam: Protect your dharma and dharma will protect you

A cure for fear. How to get rid of fear?

Real knowledge lies in understanding one's spiritual nature, which cannot be destroyed or damaged. We can change our home, family, acquire other wealth, change our body, character, place of residence - but we cannot change our spiritual origin. The spiritual principle in a person is eternal, it cannot be destroyed, and therefore for one who has come to know his true nature there is no fear.

It is very difficult to get rid of fear without affecting deep changes in a person. We can acquire certain states of fearlessness, but this inconsistent level of confidence can burst at the most important moment. If we want to get rid of fears: poverty, death, loss, we must not only accept the likelihood of such an event, but also understand that this is not the end.

Attachment to the material world causes great fear in us and we can get rid of this attachment only through knowledge. We should be aware of our spiritual nature in order to cleanse ourselves of fears, only in this way will we leave room for ourselves for a pure life.

Ultimately, fear always lies in the position of the enjoyer . When we set pleasure as the goal of our life: from position, from family ties, from our mind, suffering will always await us. Our desire for pleasure makes us open to suffering. But when we serve some purpose, try to achieve something without enjoying the fruits of labor, when we are ready to endure, we do not have the opportunity to suffer and experience fear, since we perceive difficulties, problems and obstacles not as sources of suffering, but as a matter of course. obvious things that need to be worked with. At such moments, we take our lives into our hands. What will we serve: our emotions or our goals? Choosing the correct answer means finding an intelligent life that will bring happiness to everyone and free us from fear.

Thoughts that contribute to fear:

1) focusing on a single, most often negative, solution to the problem;

2) mental chaos, inability to concentrate;

3) mental failure into a negative future;

4) the world is merciless, dangerous, treacherous, we are victims of terrible circumstances.

What is the threat of fear?

1.Manipulation. A person who is afraid of something or someone is easy to control.

2.Loss of energy. This is manifested by various psychosomatic diseases - such as sleep disorders (insomnia, nightmares), decreased potency, peptic ulcer, myocardial infarction, high blood pressure, and many skin diseases.

3. Inability to achieve the goal. Fear paralyzes our self-confidence, thereby stealing our luck.

4. Hypertrophied sense of self-preservation. Instead of overcoming psychological difficulties, we begin to deliberately avoid certain life circumstances, out of fear that they may turn into another negative experience for us.

Where does fear of the future come from?

Often, anxiety and worry about future events arise in a person due to his personal experience. In this case, a negative experience. Looking back, a person remembers his failures, mistakes, and concentrates on the negative aspect of life. Or he lives entirely in the past, savoring bad events day after day, figuring out what he would do now, what decision he would make. This inevitably creates an irrational fear of the future. A person is afraid of a repetition of certain events and situations, afraid of not being able to cope with something, and so on.

Pathological and obsessive fear, which over time under “favorable” conditions can turn into a full-fledged phobic or anxiety disorder, is usually characteristic of people who do not have any purpose in life. They don’t understand how they want to live, I can’t imagine why, why and for what they should move forward. Such individuals usually “go with the flow” and wait for what will happen next. In addition, often fear of the future in this version is reinforced by a lack of faith in oneself, in one’s strengths, low self-esteem, fear of taking risks, additional fear of stress, change, critical/crisis situations.

It should be noted that fear of future events (which, by the way, are not guaranteed to happen) is typical for people who cannot force themselves to leave their comfort zone. Individuals who are weak, driven, “lost,” and afraid of independence and responsibility usually purposefully avoid any changes. They stop developing; the idea of ​​moving and bringing something new into life seems wild to them. The danger lies in the fact that such people are not always aware of this.

Another reason why fear of the future develops is immediate uncertainty. There is nothing more frightening for an ordinary person than a closed door, behind which it is unclear what is hiding or who is hiding. You can make plans, fantasize and dream, come up with ways for self-development or achieving something, but you can hardly be one hundred percent sure that everything will turn out as it seems. Fear of the unknown is, at its core, fear of the future. And often a person gets himself worked up, exaggerates, gets himself into a nervous state, constantly thinking about this topic, forgetting about the power of thought.

This type of fear is indeed an extremely common manifestation. It does not always take a pathological form, but this is also not uncommon. If you feel that anxiety and restlessness are beginning to dominate, you cannot let the situation go. When you can’t cope on your own, it’s a good idea to get advice from a specialist.

Three main fears

Most often, there are three types of fear: fear of death, fear of poverty, fear of losing loved ones. The most common among such fears is the fear of death; it also manifests itself in the form of various phobias. The fear of poverty is the fear of losing a comfortable standard of living. This fear means not only a lack of opportunity for pleasure, but also a low social status. The fear of losing a loved one is the fruit of attachment.

The three most common fears come from the false ego, which forces us to identify ourselves with the body we are afraid of losing, with our standard of living, or with loved ones. The function of the ego is to identify and the more we identify ourselves with something material, the more sources of suffering and fear we receive.

Fear lies in a misunderstanding of yourself and your place in life. You can artificially suppress fear with the help of various practices and medications, but this will be useless, since over time such actions lose their power. At the same time, when we are able to know our deep nature and find our place in life, we will naturally stop experiencing fear.